{More Celebrating}

We had a super fun party for Jonas while we were in UT. It was a nice, happy celebration after a long hard week. Jonas was so lucky to get to have lots of family to celebrate with him. Although he is covering his ears in this picture..he LOVED having everyone singing to him. I have a video of him..but I can't get videos to upload lately.

Jonas covers his ears when he is scared....but also when he is excited :)

HERE IS THE MASTERPIECE! I can't believe Grandma Stevenson spent ALL day making this cake for Jonas. He L.O.V.E.D it! He really wanted to touch it and play in it, but we wouldn't let him. Its all done by free-hand. She's an amazing cake decorator. I need to take some lessons.

After cake and ice cream (homemade ice cream that was SOO good), we opened presents. The rule was no presents, because we had to pack everything in a suitcase. Grandpa and Grandma Stevenson didn't listen very well. That's OK. He loved this lap-top. Of course it helps that its Handy Manny. He also got a new shirt with Manny on it. If I let him choose his clothes...he picks it! His new Handy Manny PJ's are his FAVORITE. He was one spoiled boy!

*why is this text underlined? UGH*

Here he is with his laptop. So far he just likes to turn it off and on. He also hits the nails and tries to work the screwdriver. It was a dream come true for him to get it. I've let him play with it in Target for months now. He finally got to take it out of the box!

There were also great times after when the golf clubs came out. I think Grandpa Pierson, Uncle Duane, My Dad, and Kaylee lost a lots of balls in the hay field across the street. :) I wish I would have taken pictures!

Thanks so much to everyone for coming and celebrating Jonas' fun day. It was great to be together as a family for a Birthday!! Special thanks to Grandma for making THE best home-made Vanilla ice cream on the planet AND the best Handy Manny cake EVER! We love you :)

This picture has nothing to do with J's birthday. Its my sister, Taryn's, lunch one day. Not one, but TWO baked potatoes. So much she had to put it on two plates AND it takes her 45 minutes to make them. (They were already baked) They taste good though...right Tayrn?? Love you :)

{Our little J is 2!}

I think everyone says it: "Wow! I can't believe my baby is..." It really is crazy how fast time flies. Its safe to say Devin and I have had the best two years of our lives so far. Jonas is so much fun, so frustrating, and always hilarious. We took Jonas to Chick-fil-A for dinner, and then to get ice cream afterward. He was in heaven. That's his idea of a perfect day.

Jonas and Dad opening his new race track. They've both had lots of fun with this gift!

New books. One of his favorite gifts. Always.

A new Handy Manny chair. He's a little afraid of it. It folds up pretty easy. He's taken to putting his blankets in it and pushing it around the house instead. You know, just to avoid any incidents.

Then we headed upstairs for one last surprise.

"Mom, there's nothing in the bathroom."

"Oh wow! Look what Dad found!" I love it!

Reaching, Reaching, Reaching....

YEAH!!! It went in! We bought the basketball hoop with money from Jonas' Great-Grandparents. They're so good to him. He LOVES this thing! He's so funny and stands on the front of the stand to try and slam-dunk it. He also runs around saying, a ball, a ball. It was worth the frustration of trying to fit it in our little car. We really need to get a bigger car.

Happy Birthday Jonas Boy! Mom and Dad sure love you!!!

{Swimming at Home}

We bought J a pool for his birthday, but due to the heat we had over the weekend we gave it to him early. To say he LOVED it...is an understatement. He had a blast and threw a major fit when we made him get out...about 2 hours later!

It looks like they are practicing the baptizing thing. You got a while Boys!

L.O.V.E. J's face in this one. He has the best of both worlds: a pool, and his BFF, Dad.

The pool came with Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters to shoot the aliens behind Jonas. He couldn't figure out how to make them work. It didn't matter though, because he and Dad had more fun splashing each other. I love how his hair is soaked...and he wants more!

Cute Cabana Boy! He loved the pool. We need to get it out again. It provides hours of entertainment!

Recooperating

Some how everyone at our house has been sick, sick, sick with summer colds. Head colds. The worst. AND Jonas is working on his two year molars. Its been a long few weeks. We haven't been out much. Just trying to get over the stuffy, achy, coughy...yuckyness. We're getting there!

I decided to take Jonas to the splash park with some friends last week. We had a blast and he loved it...but I forgot to put the memory stick in my camera. SO Devin took us as a family on Saturday. Jonas loved it again. He is definitely a water babe!

He didn't even mind the water spraying in his eyes. He would just rub it out...and keep on walking.

They had the buckets that fill up and then dump. He wouldn't go under them, but we spent a long time looking at them.

Devin made him walk through the big fountains. He loved it. Giggled the whole time.

Here he is trying to explain to Dad why they should NOT go through the big fountain again. He got a little tired of it. He loved it when it was as tall as him, but when it was taller.....he wasn't so fond of it.

Hard to see them, but this was inside the big fountain.

This was Jonas' face most of the time. I'm telling you...he loved it!

His favorite thing were the sprinklers that shot out of the ground. He'd wait for them to go off and then run around in them. Then he got smart and stepped on them and waited for them to go off. Then he'd moved his foot and run around again. He cracked me up. We need to go again. He's free until the 27th...when he turns 2...but let's not talk about that....

This picture cracks me up. We got this tool set (Handy Manny Tool Set...his favorite cartoon) from G&G Pierson for Christmas. He's played with it off and on, but lately its his toy of choice. He takes all the tools out, and then puts them back in. (He knows the tools by name..so if you say.."Ok...now put in Rusty..he puts in Rusty..its comical) Last night he started carrying around the house..by the handle..acting like HE was Handy Manny. It was hilarious. We kept making him take the tools out, put them back in, and then he'd pick it up and walk off like he had a repair job to do. Maybe you had to be here...I'm glad I was!!

A Great Man

Our trip to Utah wasn't all fun and games. Mostly, but not all. Its hard to lose someone you love. No matter the age, the circumstance, or the person, its hard. Losing Grandpa Stevenson was no different. He is a great man. A Gentle Giant. My Hero. I loved him all my life, and I will love him forever more for all the things he taught me. For his shining example, and for the simplicity of a man he was.

Deweyville, UT – Charles “Bud” Stevenson passed away peacefully on June 29, 2010, in Ogden, Utah, surrounded by his family. Bud was born on Jan. 25, 1938, in Preston, Idaho, to Leland W. and Erma Sparrow Stevenson. He attended elementary school in Ogden, Utah and secondary school in Dayton, Idaho. Bud married JaNeal Schvaneveldt in Weston, Idaho, on April 2, 1954. They were later sealed in the Logan Temple in 1958. They lived in Dillon, MT, Linrose, ID, Honeyville, UT, and settled in Deweyville. Bud and JaNeal were blessed with three children: Christy (Dan) Thomas, Brad (Sue) Stevenson, and Sharon (Delbert) Spackman. They have 15 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Bud was a High Priest in the LDS church. He served in many callings including the bishopric, High Priest Group Leader, teacher, and home teacher. He was an example of service, always volunteering to help others in the church and community. Before retiring, Bud owned and operated a dairy farm in Deweyville. Before farming, he ran his own milk route. He loved the outdoors and could be found fishing almost daily. He also loved to hunt and rodeo in the RMRA. Bud is survived by his wife; children; grandchildren; brother, Duane (Holly) Stevenson and many brothers and sisters-in law. He was preceded in death by his parents and grandson, Trent. Funeral services will be held on Monday, July 5, 2010, at 12:00 p.m. at the Deweyville Church. There will be a viewing on Sunday, July 4, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Deweyville Church and Monday from 10:00 to 11:40 a.m. prior to the funeral. Interment in the Deweyville Cemetery.

Jonas and I were SOOO thankful that Devin was able to make it to the services with us. Its true that you need your other half. I am better when he is with me.

Jonas was making sure the sprinklers were all in order at the Cemetery. Good thing he doesn't know about all the snakes they have up there!

Grandma has been our rock through it all. She's strong, and brave, and beautiful. I love her.

Grandpa had the best looking casket I've ever seen. He would have loved it.

The Boys waiting to bring him down. My little brother, Chad, got to drive the Hearse. Probably not an experience most would want. Chad said it was an honor.

My Dad learned everything from his Dad, then he taught Chad and I everything we know. (mostly) We all lost a great man that day..but like my Dad said...we are all better for having know him.

..Back in the Game..

We've been a little out of the blogging world lately. It wasn't on purpose. I got behind...and then way too overwhelmed to know where to start. So I'll start here.

Just after my birthday in June-my BFF Tiff and her darling girlies came to visit for a weekend. We hit the Zoo and the Museum of Natural History. It was so so much fun to see her. I hate that we don't live closer. We sent her and the girls home with the flu though...sorry about that! CAN'T wait for the next time Tiff..and maybe the new little MR. will be around to join us! Love you!

This was Jonas post-flu. He was one very sick boy. It was our first experience with the throwing up thing and I would love to think it was our last. It was horrible. He was so miserable and Devin and I were very worried. It was SOOO nice to get our adorable JoJo back a week or so later! Why he put the toast on his head...I'll never know!

After Tiff left, Jonas and I hopped a plane to Utah. It was the Chlarson Family Reunion in Bear Lake this year and we got to go. We had a great time! Here we are playing at the beach...

J wasn't real sure about the water at first, but once he got in...we couldn't get him out.

Our camp hosts had several old trucks/cars. Here are Jonas and Colby in a 1922 Model T Ford. Pretty sweet! We went for a ride in the back and had lots of fun...even if Jonas did have a death grip on me the whole time!

We had this water spout in the backyard of the house we stayed at near Bear Lake. Jonas spent many hours checking it out :)

We had our first experience irrigating the garden with Grandpa Stevenson. As you can see from the shoes...it was a success. Jonas loved it. We'd clean him off...and he'd go right back to the water. Needless to say Grandpa should have some pretty good tomatoes soon!

This is Jonas' foot COVERED in honey that he climbed on my parents' table and carefully opened and then SPILLED EVERYWHERE!! This was my first experience with him climbing and getting into something. So we took a picture.

We spent lots of time soaking up the beautiful weather while we were there. It was so nice and not humid and hot like we missed in MD. Jonas loved it because he could stand to be outside where he wanted to be!

The swings were a huge hit. It took him a while, but before we left he would take our hand and lead us down to the swings.

Just a cute, cute boy...with a sandy nose :)