family pictures

We have needed a family picture for a while now. I asked Janice to come over and snap some of us and she was wonderful to come over and do it. Luck was with us and we got one with everyone looking at the camera and looking happy. Hooray! This is no small thing with little kids.

After she left I took some of the kids so I would have some potraits.

Oh, Natalie, I just had to stick two of your pictures on here, you cutie.

(6 months)

Ian (2)

Kimi (4)

Cali (6)Hard to believe that all these cute kids are mine.

labor day breakfast 2009

Ah, Labor Day, the crisp autumn air up in the canyon, the smell of scones frying in the morning, and the sound of children falling in the creek at the Richard's annual family breakfast in Millcreek Canyon. I asked Grandpa Richards how long this family tradition has been going on and he thinks it has been at least fifty years. Now that's a tradition.

Everyone at our table was enjoying their breakfast while Grandpa Colton was frying up some of his famous eggs and little smokies.

Here's Cali and the other kids before her spill in the water. She wasn't the only one there to take a dip.

All in all, it was a perfect morning to get together with family and enjoy some good food in a beautiful place. Did I mention there were scones?

a spoonful of peanut butter helps the peanut butter go down

Now that Cali (our allergy-riddled child) has begun eating lunch at school, I was able to do something yesterday I've never done before. I made peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. Kimi had to be bribed with chocolate milk to try it, and then found it was pretty tasty.

Ian, on the other hand, found his new best friend. After wolfing down a sandwich, which doesn't usually happen, he wanted more so I gave him a spoonful. He then wanted more, and more, and more. He pulled the jar out again before he went to bed. And got it back out this morning as soon as he got up. Guess who ate a good breakfast of peanut butter toast followed by a few spoonfuls of peanut butter to wash it down.

I feel bad I have been depriving him of this for so long.

Thanksgiving Point

Some of my friends from high school and I got together last week at the Thanksgiving Point gardens. It was a two dollar admission day which was a steal to get into these fabulous gardens. It was so fun to reconnect with old friends, some of which I don't think I've seen in almost ten years. My memory card kind of seized up after this photo so I didn't get a group shot unfortunately.
Kimi was my map reader and Ian was there to give me a push from behind if we were taking too long. They are always willing to help.

flashback friday: yellowstone 2003

That is Cali and me on her first trip to Yellowstone. We were living in Rexburg and my dad called me up one morning and asked if I'd like to go for a drive up to Yellowstone with him. I jumped at the chance.

I can't believe Cali was ever this little.

I hear that driving around Yellowstone still has this effect on Cali.

ride on the not-so-magic school bus

I wish that I could post a picture of Cali getting off the bus, but it wasn't meant to be.

Unbelievably to me, we had another experience like last year. I thought I had all my bases covered so she would get on the bus and make it home. It all worked out up until the getting off at the right stop. The bus driver was new and stopped a few houses before the bus stop so Cali waited. I watched the bus stop and then leave with no Cali is sight. "You've got to be kidding me." was all I could think.

I raced to the phone to start making calls, and between calls to the school (where I got no answer) the phone rang.

"Is this Jana Colton? I have your daughter here."

It was happening again.

Cali had gotten off at the next stop which is across a busy road in the parking lot of Walmart. Unable to cross the street on her own, she broke down and cried, and some nice strangers found her and called me. Thank heavens for those nice strangers because I have nightmares of what would have happened if some not nice strangers had been around. By this time Scott was home and raced to bring home our sobbing Cali.

So I had covered all the bases except getting off the bus anywhere the bus stops on our street. We just keep getting curve-balls thrown at us. Scott made the same calls I made last year to the school and transportation, and we have told Cali to talk to the bus driver if she misses her stop.

Here's hoping that we have no more experiences like this.

first day of first grade

Cali was off to school again today. I realized that from now on she will probably be spending more time away from me than she will be with me. This along with the impending sense of doom feeling I had last night had me thinking thoughts of homeschool, but Scott talked me back to reality.

I packed her lunch, braided her braids, and watched her get on that bus without a look back.

There goes my baby.

you can go home again

We took our family back to Idaho to visit Grandma and Grandpa McCracken. As soon as we got there, they asked if we wanted to go camping. I hadn't been planning for that, but I am sure glad that they were. Alan and Angela had masterminded the trip to Calamity, an unfortunate name for a vacation destination if you ask me. We had no calamities; just a whole lot of fun.

About five minutes after we got there my men were building fires. Yes, two fires, because of a mix-up, but that's another story. I never get to be the pyro anymore, darn it. Here's a shot of Grizzly Adams with some more wood, and a few of why camping is so great.

Camping food, also a rare delicacy. Where else do you get to eat food you just blackened over a flame with dirt caked on your face?

Whoever first thought of telling the kids to paint rocks while camping was brilliant. Its hours and hours of entertainment.

I was excited about the camping destination because we passed through Swan Valley. The Rainey Creek Store had been on my list of to-do's when we left home. This store claims it is world famous for its square ice cream cones. Why is ice cream better when it is square? It's a mystery that I have been working on for years, and plan to keep investigating. Scott and I tried to "help" Ian with his, so he kept moving farther and farther away.I was only planning on staying for the weekend, but the stay was extended to two-weeks. Scott went back home and left me and the kids there to enjoy more time at the family homestead.

For Family Home Evening I wanted to go see the new remodeling of the Idaho Falls Temple Visitors center. That is when we took pictures in the temple gardens.
They now have a Christus in the visitors center. The sister missionary working there encouraged the kids to touch it, which they did like little monkeys. I couldn't really get mad at them for being so excited to be near Jesus.

Grandma and Grandpa took Cali and Kimi camping in Island Park for the week. They toured Yellowstone and had all sorts of fun. I heard that Kimi's love was shopping in West Yellowstone.

I don't know where she gets that.

While they were gone, Angela called me one day and asked if I wanted to go to the zoo. It was an overcast, warm, and absolutely perfect day so I am so glad she suggested it. We got to see lots of animals and Ian was so excited. Natalie just chilled in the stroller the entire time. It was the best trip with kids to the zoo I have ever had.

Here's a few shots of Cali and Kimi experiencing the best way to cool down in Summer.

At this point my battery died in my camera and my charger was at home.

You are probably all relieved.

I did miss some things I would have liked to photograph like the gargantuan plants in the greenhouse, the first shooting star I have ever seen, and hanging out around the new fire pit in the back yard. Good times, good times.

Thanks to Mom and Dad for letting me come vacation at your house with my munchkins! And thanks to Tino for hanging out with your nerdy, older sister!

6 months

Natalie: 13 lbs 15 oz

Current interests and talents: Blowing raspberries with her tongue, grabbing whatever Mommy is holding, putting said objects into her mouth, and making terrible faces if that object is food, but chewing and swallowing if it is paper.

Things not interested in: eating anything but mommy's milk (aside from paper), rolling over from her stomach to her back, and any tummy time at all.
Also excels at: making everyone around her smile.

The post about our vacation is still coming. Blogging at the speed of life is very difficult.

coming soon. . .

We got home Saturday night and I had a goal to get a post up today on our Idaho adventures, but that's not going to happen. So consider this your teaser trailer until its up. The last time I had pictures taken in this garden I was in my wedding dress. Things change!

lighting up the night

This post could also be labeled "fun with high speed burst." I am up in Idaho with the kids right now having all sorts of adventures and getting backlogged on all sorts of posts, but I had to put this one up so I can get rid of some photos on my memory card.

Christine and I drove up to Buffalo for the evening where Grandma and Grandpa are camping with Cali and Kimi. On the way back home we went through a storm and I pulled out my camera to try to capture some of the lightning. I turned on my high speed burst and took about 800 pictures. My camera isn't that fancy, but I love to see what I can get with it.

I got a lot of this:

And a bunch of this: But I also got this:
And this:
Then we came to Rexburg and I wanted to get a closer look at the new temple. There it is, the bright spot in the center of the photo.
Love it: Awwwesoome:
And now the pièce de résistance. The next 4 photos go in order of consecutive bursts.

And voilà, we are at the temple:
Très beau.

Now I can start deleting about 800 photos.

oquirrh mountain temple open house

Last Thursday we were able to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. It was great to take the kids there and show them the inside of a temple. They enjoyed all the sparkly chandeliers, the many pictures of Jesus, and especially the cookies.For those of you who don't know, this temple is the fourth in the Salt Lake Valley, and along with the Jordan River Temple is one of two in the city of South Jordan. In the picture below you can see the Draper Temple across the valley.
Ian continued to enjoy his cookie even as we tried to get some family shots. Its great to know that because of buildings like this I can be together with these guys forever.