Adventures of Sandboy and "Is-a-cow"....

My very favorite time of day/year, has to be the summer evenings. I love to be outside when it's still warm, but not hot, still light, but not too bright. The sun shines through the trees and gives everything a wonderful, warm glow. Yesterday, before dinner, we decided to go outside to play for a while. We sat and made fun things in the sand, and I thoroughly enjoyed just being together outside. Matt worked the hose, while I tried to keep the sand mostly in the box and out of my face.

After quite a while of sand-playing, Kaden decided it was time to get out and parade himself around. A few of the following pictures are a little risky...but he's little, so it's okay :)

Then he spotted Isabel....

That can't feel good on the little bum.

She went to hide in the tall grass, but he was soon to follow. He just loves her, but the feeling doesn't seem to be mutual. He thinks she is sturdy like a dog, and she spends a good part of her day irritated with him or hiding from him.

He's all excited and squealing and I can only imagine what must be going through her mind.

Finally, she has to make her move to escape-for now at least.

Until next time Isabel...

I think this is real.....

PROGRESS!!!! HURRAY, finally!

This has been the biggest headache, but things are falling into place...I am guardedly optimistic, and starting to allow myself to get excited again. We had some major issues with the housing company, the contract, etc. but after putting up quite a strong fight, things are going fairly smoothly. By the way, anyone who knows me, would be SO proud of my newfound ability to be slightly assertive (even though sometimes that assertiveness is covered with anger and stress, and therefore the inevitable tears that follow...yeah, that really makes people take me seriously! I really need to learn how to control myself when it comes to the crying thing...). Anyway, I have learned a lot of lessons from this, and it's possible I am a little, tiny bit stronger :) YES!


Basement slab and concrete, super.




Walls, WALLS!!!




Today they set the house on the basement. It was actually sad for me to see the house in pieces, missing half the roof, etc. After the fight I have put up for this thing, I am seriously attached.

Easy does it...

It was pretty fun to watch. The crane opperator was brilliant in my view. He maneuvered the thing perfectly. I was nervous he was going to bash the two halves together...but he did excellent.

Matt and I sitting by the walking path up on the hill. We were like kids at the Imax theater...we just needed popcorn to make it complete. We were so giddy and excited.

The back of the house. Whoa....it's kinda big. Lots of (big) windows=Lots of Light=HAPPY Jess. You can see those storm clouds rolling in. The crane finished just in time for the lightning to go crazy. Good thing, it was a major lightening rod sticking up 100 ft. in the air just asking to be struck.

Kaden ran around in here for a long time. He was so happy and excited and found lots of interesting things to play with...none of which were safe.

So today was pretty thrilling for us. They still have to put the dormers back on and fix the roof, and replace a few pieces of siding. Then they'll start the driveway and garage. Things are going well though and I am so happy to see progress, SO HAPPY.

I have to just mention how awesome my dad has been through all of this. He has been checking up on our site almost daily, and has caught a few errors, and keeps a close eye on everyone and everything. He has taken so much stress off of me and is indespensible. Today, he hung out there all day, missing his weekly golf game and work. I felt so bad because his feet were hurting so much, but he is happy to be able to help us out. I don't know what we would do without such loving friends and family who are always so willing to lend a hand.

Slot Canyon

This was one of the coolest hikes I've ever been on. We hiked a few miles up a stream that has carved a deep, narrow canyon. It was spectacular with the rippled red rock, the sun shining in, and the beautiful vegetation.

I hiked up a little way with Kaden, and Matt walked up with his hiking poles. He did great, but wasn't able to go too far because his back hurt so much. I am so thankful for Matt's aunts and uncles who offered to watch Kaden and stay back with Matt so I could go on the hike. I LOVE this kind of thing, and it was such a fun adventure. Craig, Kara, Dave (Traci's husband), Caleb (Dave's son) and I started out together, and later Traci and Nicole joined us. Click the pictures to see them bigger...(so much more detail!)




There were a few places to climb up, and this latter was a bit precarious. There was another spot where we climbed up a slippery log using a knotted rope, while the waterfall sprayed us. It was so much fun though!


Monkey Dave

About half way up we came to this natural waterslide. It was too much fun; we flew down that thing. The water was freezing, but felt so refreshing. I want to go back!

Craig and Caleb, train style.




Craig, Kara, Nicole, Caleb, Me. Our feet were completely numb and felt like stubs by the time we finished. We had the best time, and the canyon was gorgeous. I want to go again and again.

Lake Day

We spent an afternoon at the lake during the reunion. We had lunch, rode bikes, and played in the water. Kaden was in Heaven, water and other kids to play with, the best of both worlds.



Little puppy dog lapping up the water. He's so funny the stuff he comes up with.

James is 4 months younger than Kaden, and Kaden just loved him. Too much maybe. Whenever James would cry, Kaden would go hug and kiss him, rub his back and say, "s'okay". It was too cute. I LOVE Jame's super curly hair.

Little piglet. He is obsessed with eating by himself and using utensils. He trys to eat everything with a spoon or fork...including apples.

Maybe it's cursed.....

To get to our family reunion, we drove right by the spot we had our accident. Brian Head is only about 15 miles from there. I am not superstitious, but upon finding this out, I just had a yucky feeling-I never wanted to go by there again. Despite this, I was excited for the reunion and had been looking forward to the various planned activities.

On Friday, the 2nd full day there, Matt's aunt came down to our cabin and said that Matt had fallen down the stairs of the other cabin. I felt bad for him, but wasn't too concerned, because he does fall occasionally and he's always pretty tough about it. This time was different. Apparently everyone in and out of the house heard the HUGE crash and thump, thinking an ice chest was falling down the stairs. I went up to see how he was, and he was just sitting in a chair looking miserable. He wasn't really able to move at all and he looked like he was going to faint. He said his back hurt, so we took a look and it was already very bruised. I couldn't even touch it he was hurting so bad.

After a few hours, he was still in a lot of pain and unable to move hardly at all. We knew something was wrong because he couldn't even eat his dinner! We decided that for peace of mind we needed to take him to get checked out to make sure he didn't break something. Traci's husband Dave, and the other priesthood holders gave him a blessing and we were off. We were sad that we missed the Shakespeare play everyone else went to.

I felt so bad for him. Every turn in the road hurt. He was trying to be a good sport, but I could tell he was truly miserable. We got to the Cedar City emergency room and they still had us on file, and got us right in. The hospital was all too familiar; it was surreal being there again. After a few tests and xrays, we were relieved to find out that it was "just" a strain, and deep bruising. He has been pretty sore since, but is feeling better daily and will be back to normal soon!



He also got his arm pretty good. Poor guy.

He was such a good sport, and so friendly to the nurses.

Brian Head

We just returned home from a fun weekend at the Hatch family reunion (Matt's mom's fam.). It was up at Brian Head Utah, near Cedar City. We were up around 10,000 ft. so the weather was beautiful, and the views spectacular. We got in a lot of hiking, biking, socializing, and of course, LOTS of good food. Here are a few pictures from some of the lookouts we visited.



I am so sad that this is blurry, but the view was incredible.

What a great picture of my two handsome men.

I kind of feel like a horse when I carry Kaden in the backpack. I feel like I have a saddle on, and it even creaks like the leather of a saddle sometimes. I feel even more equine when Kaden grabs my hair like reins and steers me around. I am at his whim, and it seems as if HE'S the boss.


I love it when he gets so overcome by his love for me..hah..that he just throws his arms around my face and squeezes really tight. He is the best little hugger....he's my love bug.

Cool little dude.