The Great Outdoors

This posts' theme is all about being outside. We have been feeling cooped up in Arizona and we loved enjoying the lovely Utah temperatures. Here is what we did:

{Swimming at the Mechams}

Bryan's parents graciously invited us to come swim at their house. They have a fun pool in their backyard in Santaquin. We had a great time.

I'm seriously a wimp when it comes to pool water temperature. The water was a little cold to me (mostly because I'm used to the bathtub temp in our pool in AZ.) However, Jackson LOVED it. I think the basketballs are what sealed the deal for him. He was laughing and splashing and saying "Ball! Ball!" over and over again.

Ashley and the boys played an intense water basketball game together. Seriously, all of them had scratches by the time they were done. A few were bleeding. If you look closely in the picture above, you can see the blood on Troy's side.

The Bushmans take their sports seriously. That's why they are all so fast, strong, agile, and athletically skilled. ;)

Troy played this game with Jackson for a while. He seemed to like it okay. Not really too excited, not necessarily scared, just indifferent to being tossed 4 feet in the air.

This one's my favorite. Something about the position of Jackson's limbs combined with his facial expression kills me.

{The Backyard}

The Bushman's backyard was Jackson's favorite place. He wanted to be there every second he wasn't sleeping or swallowing food. Luckily Mckay was a good sport and took him out there to play a lot.

On our last night in Payson we had a hot dog roast in the backyard firepit. It was so fun! I love eating outside.

Grandpa Bushman protecting our little explorer from the flames and teaching him the proper way to roast a dog.

Jackson and Madi were quite the little pair all week. They followed each other around everywhere they went. Madi is getting so big! She also says about a hundred words. My favorite is when she would point to Jackson and then look at me and say "Baby." Haha! She is only 48 hours his senior, but I guess she's right, he is the baby of the two.

Thanks for a lovely Payson stay family! We loved spending all that time together and can't wait to see you again soon!

Out & About

Here are some pictures of us out & about while we were in Payson. We had lots of fun!

Here we are swimming at Landon & Stephanie's kiddie pool one day. When I say "we" I mostly mean Jackson and Madi.

Jackson wasn't sure what he thought at first. I think it was a little colder than he was used to.

We went to Timpview High in Provo one day to watch Mckay's baseball game. You'll find him there playing 2nd base... the zoom on my camera isn't the greatest, but I promise it's him.

While we were in Provo we stopped in to visit our friends the Sheppards. Braden and Sarah move to Nebraska soon to start Law school, so we couldn't pass up a chance to see them. We got to visit for a few minutes. Little Gavin has grown up so much!

{Date Night in Provo}

Troy's mom was so nice and offered to put Jackson to bed for us so we could go on a date! Hooray! We went to Goodwood and got Honey Stung Chicken Sandwiches. Our old favorite BBQ place. Mmm! They were so good. Sarah, Braden and Gavin joined us for dinner. We were so glad. It was good to have a nice long visit/catch up. We've missed those guys.

After dinner Troy and I went on a reminiscent walk around campus. Troy hadn't been there since my graduation over a year ago. We thought we should photograph some of the places we visited most. Here it goes:

The MARB. This is where Troy had most of his Biology classes. It's also where a lot of the big general classes are held. I took Anatomy, Physiology, Nutrition, Biochem and the dreaded Pathophysiology (oh how I loathed that class, Klysta was the only shining light there!) in these rooms. Here you see Troy reading the Daily Universe. I have so many memories of sitting in class here. (And of seeing people reading the Daily Universe through class as Troy is modeling above. Ha!)

Pictured on top you see the testing center. A.k.a. the most prayed in building on campus :) Pictured on bottom you see Troy and I trying to take a picture of us in the SWKT mirrors. We weren't very successful as you can see.

Another failed attempt. :) The SWKT  (Spencer W. Kimball Tower) is where I spent most of my time. 

In the basement you find the "Nursing Learning Center," affectionately known as the NLC. This is where I had all my skills labs.

I have some fun memories sitting at those desks trying to study. I'll be honest, most of the time it wasn't very effective. I usually had too many friends to talk to that were welcome distractions. :)

Final stop: the library. They had a exhibit on Florence Nightingale (THE most famous nurse if you didn't know that already.) I had my picture taken by the lovely mannequin donated to the exhibit by the College of Nursing. We had a nice walk through our old studying spots. It was quite nice visiting and knowing that I didn't have a test in my future.

{Payson Temple Site}

Christa took us on a walk one morning to see the Payson temple site. They haven't broken ground yet, but it's going to sit in such a beautiful spot. Those lovely mountains as a background! It will be perfect.

This wheat field is where the temple will sit, adjacent to the church behind us. Pretty cool huh?

As always, Jackson loved the idea of being outside. I think he would live in a tent if he had the choice.

Independence Day Weekend

After our visit with the Dallings, we headed to Payson to spend a few days with the Bushmans. Fourth of July weekend in Payson was awesome. It was SO fun to see everybody and catch up. We miss our Payson peeps when we're away! We also enjoyed the cool air. We were outside about 75% of the time. Jackson was in heaven.

Madi & Jackson in their 4th of July outfits. Neither of them were too interested in getting their picture taken.

{Provo Fireworks}

We went to Provo on the 3rd to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks show. Neil and Christa found a nice spot by the Hinckley building on campus.

Here we are in our spot, under and around the gazebo. Apparently the flash on my camera was blinding (thus the picture of Troy in the bottom right ;)

Jackson was pretty worn out by the time the fireworks started, but he loved the show. He kept pointing at the sky and saying "ohhhh." So cute.

It was so fun to be back in Provo again watching the fireworks. Go cougars! (P.S. I wore a sweatshirt!! Do you know how fun that was? I LOVE Utah summer nights ;)

{Bushman Baseball}

Troy's family has a tradition of playing baseball together the weekend of July 4th. We played together on the Monday following the holiday. I love playing! We all had a great time. Jackson loved watching the ball. He frequently tried to run on the field during our game.

Can't you just see him in Little League in about 5 years? :)

There was some stiff competition out there. See how Bryan and Ashley showed up with their game faces on?

Hooray for baseball. I hope we get to do it again soon!

{The Bee's Game}

On Monday night we went to the Bee's game together. Mckay rode up with us. Jackson gave him a nice head scratch on the way. Cute huh? It was totally unsolicited too.

The Bee's game was great. Lots of peanuts and fresh air.

Jackson and Madi played together in the stands. They even snuck in a few kisses ;)

It was a pretty good weekend. July 4th is Troy's favorite holiday. Spending it in Utah and being outside so much was amazing.  (Can you tell we've had cabin fever?)

Meeting Macy

After our adventures in San Francisco, we flew back to Salt Lake to spend some time in Utah. While we were there, our paths crossed with the Dallings! I was delighted when Christy and I realized several weeks ago that we'd be able to see each other 4th of July weekend. I've been dying to meet Macy Claire, Ryan and Christy's 4 month old little girl. Isn't she the cutest thing?!

Christy's family let us crash their party and had us over for a big breakfast. We got to visit and catch up and I got to hold Macy. She is adorable. It was the best!

While Christy and I were visiting, Troy and Ryan joined the Dallings' brother-in-laws in a basketball game. Jackson was usually close by, perhaps contemplating if he should join in.

Jackson was in love with all the toys at the Hellewell house. He couldn't get enough of them. Jack didn't know how to open the door to the car, so he just dived in through the window when he was ready to get in. Pretty funny to watch. The little boy in the left corner picture is Matthew, Christy's nephew. He is adorable.

We had to do a Macy-Jackson photo shoot before our time was through. Unfortunately Jackson was not the most cooperative. He was more interested in pulling Macy's hair or grabbing her hands.... (so sorry Christy!) Macy was a good sport about it. She's the most chill baby I've ever seen. I think she definitely inherited Christy's cool-headed personality.You can see it in her expression in all of these pictures. The "just happy to be here" look, I love it!

We (as in Christy and I) decided our children should wed someday. I think their first meeting went very well. In fact, they may be meant for each other. When Jackson does his ear piercing scream that makes everyone cringe, Macy smiles! Can you believe that? Match made in heaven.

(Jackson is showing some mid-riff in these pictures. I didn't realize he was exposed as I was wrestling him to hold still for the pictures. Sorry Jackson.)

Our few hours together went by way too fast. Christy and I are always wondering why Phoenix and Houston can't be closer. We had so much fun Dallings! Thanks for hosting a lovely morning for us. We can't wait to see you all again soon.