Ketchup/Catsup/Catch-up

I am procrastinating a one page paper for my History class and instead decided to catch up my blog in one, giant, picture-filled post.  Jeff, being the wonderful man that he is, has been filling in to make up for my lack of updates and I almost don't want to take over again because I love his posts, but it's time I get these pictures and stories up before I forget everything.

First, a quick stitches update (obviously, Michael is fine, but here are some additional pictures to share).

A picture of the stitches the day after Michael got them:

And Michael's practically invisible scar.  It's the slightly pink line barely covered with hair:

Bear Lake (Late July, Early Aug)

Michael and I went camping at Bear Lake with Jeff's family for their yearly family trip (they switch between Bear Lake and Goblin Valley).  Jeff wasn't able to make it since work was crazy and he couldn't take the time off, but his brother-in-laws were very sweet and helped me put my tent up and take it down (Thank you again Jon and Spencer!)

Michael wanted nothing to do with the lake at first, but eventually warmed up to it and loved running through the shallow areas- fully clothed, of course:

One night I had to make a bathroom run and almost ran into a skunk.  I didn't have my glasses on, so I didn't notice it until it spun around at my approach.  It was about 20 feet away and just looked like a big black and white blur.  I didn't really know it was a skunk until it ran off (as I backed slowly away) without turning around, meaning its rear had been facing me!  I was more than a little freaked out.  Unfortunately, it had run off towards the bathroom, so I sucked it up and peed behind a bush.  We were camping, after all.

When I got back to my tent, I found that my child had completely taken over my side of the blow-up mattress:

Good morning, pillow thief:

We had a lot of fun swimming, collecting shells, and flying kites.  Michael even got to fly a Lightning McQueen kite and only let go of it twice (note: it did not immediately fall when he released the string, so I got to sprint and dive after the escapee -which I'm sure was why he let go twice because it was so funny the first time):

 

Our improvised time-out chair (we seem to need one where ever we go):

The cutest thing about this trip was the great game Michael and his cousin Luke came up with.  They'd run under the flap to our tent's "porch" and run out again as fast as they could and surprise each other:

My favorite moment was when they collided.  I shouldn't say that, but it was absolutely hilarious.  Each kid was on one side of the flap and both ran at the exact same spot.  They both cried for a bit, but eventually went back to their game as if nothing had happened.  Okay, that's not quite true.  They were both a bit more cautious when running under the flap, but that's how you learn, right?

One last Bear Lake story.  This one doesn't have any pictures because it was probably the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me:

Michael, after I put him down for bed in our tent one night, escaped.  I was across the parking lot playing Bang! with the family when Jenna walked up with a crying Michael.  She had been checking on her kids in their tent and heard Michael crying.  He walked out of a bunch of trees clutching his blankie and sobbing for mommy.  I can't even try to describe how horrified and sick I felt.  I thought for sure he was safe in the tent while, instead, he was wandering the campsite.  He could have gotten completely lost and just disappeared.  I had left the zipper at the bottom of the door and he had figured out how to open it.  He even zipped it up behind his clever little self.  It still makes me feel sick to my stomach remembering.  Needless to say, he did not spend any alone time in our tent after that.  When Michael went to bed, so did I.

Visiting the Orrs (Aug)

Jeff touched on this already, but I had a ton of pictures on my camera and wanted to share.  We use my Uncle James's improv show as an excuse to go visit Anne, James, and their awesome kids as often as possible.  Last time we went, we stopped off at Promontory Summit to see Golden Spike National Historic Site and the "choo-choos" there.  We watched the train demonstration and had a blast.

This picture pretty much sums up how Michael felt about the whole thing:

 

He wanted Mommy and Daddy to sit next to him on the choo-choo stairs:

We'll definitely be going back.

Once we got to Kuna, we discovered we were lucky enough to have timed our visit to line up with Kuna Days!  They had a parade and fireworks and a huge vendor area (that we did not visit).  Michael and I joined Anne, Becca, and Sarah for the parade.  Jeff, the crazy, thinks parades are boring.  

I love small town floats:

 We saw horses and cows and trucks and tractors aaaand...

Firetrucks!  Michael was ecstatic:

Until they sprayed us with water:

Thankfully, they were the last thing in the parade so it was okay that Michael decided he was done:

They kind of killed his love for firetrucks for a while.  I pointed out a firetruck on the way home from the parade and Michael just whined and sucked his thumb.  He's fully recovered now and can't get enough of them again.  Huzzah.

I also got a quick picture of Uncle James doing improv:

We love his show (his group is called Chicks n' Giggles and if you ever get a chance, we highly recommend you see them!).  We can't wait for winter to pass so we'll feel safe driving North for another visit.

Visiting the Veronins (Sept and Oct)

We've actually visited my family twice during my no-posting time.  I can't remember which pictures are from which visit, so here they all are.

Michael loves playing with Ki and Tess.  Hanging out with them always encourages him to do new things like climb:

 

and jump:

and go crazy:

Those kids have a blast together:

Jeff and I were invited to learn how to catch,

kill,

pluck (the easy way with a whizbang barrel- they go in feathered,

 and come out clean),

and clean chickens with my dad while they cleared out the bad egg layers in their flock:

 We were also present for my Granny's 75th birthday (Sept) and she let the kids blow out her candles:

Also, now that my parents have their own bees and harvest their own honey, they're a part of the local beekeeper club.  They had a party where honey-based foods competed for rather extravagant ribbons.  They also compared honey and beeswax to see who's was the best and most pure.  My parents came home with a ribbon in each category!  The big winner was my mom's blueberry lavender (honey) cheesecake.  Everyone raved about it:

I just love this picture, so I had to post it.  On the drive home from my family's, Michael got to play the iPad and decided to keep his blankie on his head so he wouldn't lose it.  I laughed really hard when I first noticed and, since I was alone in my car with him, took about 5 pictures over my shoulder in an attempt to capture it:

 Brigham City Temple Open House (Aug)

Michael, baby Daniel, and I had the opportunity to attend the Brigham City temple open house.  Michael's favorite part was the transit bus that shuttled us from the parking lot to the temple:

In fact, he loved the bus so much, that he wanted nothing more than to get back on it.  He refused to walk and cried the entire time.  The temple was gorgeous, but I couldn't wait to get out and take my dang kid home.  This picture is about how the whole adventure went:

Of course, as soon as we got back on the bus, life was good again.

Haircut (Nov)

Last, but not least, Michael got yet another haircut.  I love to post these just because I'm always amazed at the difference a haircut makes.  I always let his hair grow out far too long, but haircuts are such a battle that I put them off as long as possible.

Before:

 

After:

Sorry about the length.  Hopefully I'll never let myself go so long without posting again.  No guarantees, unfortunately.  Love you all and thanks for bearing with me!  :)