A full summer of fun

We headed out West again this time towing "Big Red" the trailer. First stop Ogden to visit with Nana and Grandma Coates. Uncle Ryan came out for a weekend to visit. Highlights of our visit there were playing at the Splash Pad, the Hill Airforce Base Museum, In-N-Out and the Red Iguana Restaraunt, Movies with Nana, and lots of yummy treats at Grandma Coates's house.

Next up was the McWhirter gathering in Frisco. Lots of hiking and good family time was had.

Finally we were on our own for camping. One night in Frisco where Carter and Gracen adopted the campground hosts or maybe that was the other way around. Then on to Independence Pass where we linked up with the Bonnells for a couple of nights of fun and a great day of hiking at altitude.

Then it was back to Summit County for five days that took us through the Fourth of July and the Frisco Town Parade. Uncle Ryan came up for a couple of days of shared fun.

Then we finished up with three nights in Rocky Mountain National Park with great hiking and Carter and Gracen getting their Junior Ranger Badges.

Play Ball !!!!!

Carter had his first t-ball game on Tuesday. It looked iffy all day with gray skies and early drizzle. Carter was convinced it wasn't going to happen when he saw the forecast two days earlier. I kept telling him to think positive and that a forecast only meant that it "MIGHT" rain. He seemed pretty skeptical. Dad called just before the end of the day to check on the weather and the possiblity of rain. It hadn't rained up to that point and he really wanted to come down so I told him to come on. Thankfully the rain held off long enough for us to get our game in and Papa was there to capture some great images of the affair. I have called kid's soccer affectionately "KID MAGNET". However, if ever there was a game in which kids converged so completely as a group upon a single object as if it exibited a gravitational pull superior to anything else in the known universe, T-ball would be that game. There were a few points at which not a single yellow shirt was out in the field save that of our first baseman who miraculously remained fixed to his post. The rest converged on a single spot practically in a pile to battle it out for an unseen ball that had been hit 15 feet into the field, overrun by the three closest players who proceeded to turn around and converge with the remainder of the team all streaming in from their distant positions with increasing speed gained over their distance. It was truly a sight to behold and all you could do really was stand and marvel at the scene laughing. I LOVE T-BALL.

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

Today Carter decided to kick off our Christmas family time with a fun little playground accident. Apparently while running around on the playground he tripped going up some stairs and face planted biting through his bottom lip and knocking his top two front teeth loose. Luckily it was an early release day and that Carter and Amy are at the same school. Lucky Amy got the call at around 10:40 a.m. She figured at first that it was something little like a scraped knee but got there to find a much more serious situation. After a quick visit to the school nurse they headed over to the pediatrician's office where they saw several people who all gave the " Ooooooh that looks bad." comment. Because it was a face wound they encouraged us to see an ENT doctor with more experience with stitches and scarring. The only problem was, of the two docs they recommended one was out of town and the other was closing for the day to take his staff out for a Christmas Luncheon. He was gracious enough to come back and see us at 3:00 even though his office was closed. Between the pediatricians and our 3:00 Amy called and got Carter in at the dentist to check out his teeth. (by now they were bothering him). The dentist said they needed to go and so after some funny gas(nitrous) and sleepy juice (novicaine) Carter had both top front teeth pulled. They finished up just in time for us to run next door to the ENT doc. Dr. Ford was incredible. It was just him and the cleaning staff and he had even called in his own daughter just in case so we wouldn't feel like it was just him. The good news after a thorough look was that by now Carter's lip was healing up nicely and he didn't think he could improve on what was happening all by itself. He ushered us out with a Merry Christmas and didn't charge us for any of his (I'm sure very valuable) time. So maybe this wasn't such a bad start to the holidays being reminded how blessed we really are that this was a "major" event. It made us think about how really minor the event was. We live in a great little town with incredibly generous and caring people. All of our docs, nurses, and assistants we dealt with today were very nice, and Carter was well cared for. God bless our health care workers and the job they do every day.


Ouch!!!

This is actually a smiling shot. Mr. tough GUY!!!

Seasonal Tidings

Yes we've finally gone and done it. We have fully given into the hype. We are now one of those houses that I never imagined. Amy went out to Lowes the other day and bought lights for the front porch. Then she went back and got the dangling Moravian star string for the big opening and some stars for the opening in our kitchen. I must say they look festive and pretty in a non-gawdy statement of holiday cheer. I just never figured I'd be "that guy". I'm drawing the line here and now for all the world to see (and mock me for when I'm unable to deliver on my ultimatum) that THERE WILL BE NO SANTA OR REINDEER OR OTHER SUCH NON-SENSE BEYOND THESE LIGHTS! The only reason I feel remotely secure in this statement is that that would never be something that Amy would be into (at least I pray that is the case).

We had our annual Christmas party last night. Sorry no pics. It was complete with the Russ Hiatt ( Amy would say overly complicated and bossy) version of the White Elephant Gift Exchange which features a mandatory spin of the Chutes and Ladders Spinner of Chance (DEATH as I like to call it). It's a twist on the standard holiday party pattern that apparently you either love or hate and our group of friends is growing weary of . Of course it is still instigated by me and as long as I can delude myself that even a single person among the group finds it even the least bit entertaining shall continue henceforth. Pardon me while I step down from my cruise-director soap box. OK now then where was I? Oh yes Christmas Party. It was a nice return to the crowd who has been coming for the past few years. Last year events conspired against many attending. I just like any excuse to get friends together.

And then that leads us to today and a holiday tradition from my childhood that has been absent for many years. The making of CHEESE BREAD. This was an annual occurance at my house which I became increasingly involved with as I grew older each year. It goes back to my grandparents restaurant days when my Dad was responsible for making the bread for the day. I remember being allowed to help a little more each year (translation get a little more in the way and my hands a little messier playing with dough). Below are some pics of Carter's first involvement this year. He was a great little helper while Gracen took her nap and Amy ran errands. The messiest parts are undocumented as I had dough stuck to my hands for over 30 minutes while Carter did his best to assist with flour pouring. Now the bread is rising despite grossly underestimating the amount of flour needed. We ended up supplementing with whole wheat flour and a little self rising as that was all we had in the house and thank goodness we even had that. Hope that doesn't mess anything up but the dough appears to be rising just fine as I type this. Won't be long before Carter and I are back into making a huge mess in the kitchen. Happy Holidays...

Getting in the SPIRIT of Christmas

Advent Calendar


















Riding to the parade in Papa's truck.



















At the parade with Papa and our friend Lance.

























Gracen and Papa

Picking out our Christmas Tree with Papa.

Carter's Birthday

Sunday we had Carter's birthday party. Five pre-k and kindergarten kids running wild in the Rescue Squad wasn't nearly as bad as it sounds. They got the quick tour of an ambulance as well as crawled all over our big crash truck. We did a turn-out gear race and then a rousing game of pin the siren on the ambulance. The big hits were the Monster Truck pinata, opening presents, cake and icecream, and a ride in the big ambulance around the local neighborhood. I guess we've entered into the big time now and there's no going back. Carter is such a big boy now and it is so funny to see him with his friends. He is so confident and self assured. He some times gets a tad bossy but he is well liked in his class. I'll do another post on the rest of the weekend soon.