We've been busy...

Well, our birthday's have come and gone. The 4th of July has come and gone. I've finished my 1st block classes, started 2nd block classes, D is half way through his semester, and life rolls on. Despite being super busy with school work and other things, we're still enjoying our summer!! I can't believe how fast it's flying!!!

Birthday's

D's birthday was the 24th, and mine was the 27th of June. We celebrated our birthday's early with my family because my mom was going to be leaving for New York to spend some time with her family. She's there until August!! Glad you're having fun, Mom! We celebrated later with D's family by going out to eat at Goodwood BBQ! Delicious food, great company...thanks to both of our families for being wonderful. We love you all!!

D & Liam drawing with 3-D chalk

Liam and his crazy static hair :)

Miss HannahI love Liam's crusty face! We were telling him he couldn't eat his plate.
Birthday babesBaby brother, SkylarPappy J

Shan & Jonathan

For our birthdays, we treated ourselves to some new sleeping bags! We severely needed new sleeping bags, so we were stoked that we found some on sale at Cabela's, and we already got the chance to put them to use!

For birthday's, we have a deal with McSweeney's that we won't buy each other gifts, but that we'd take each other out for dinner to celebrate. Their birthday's are only a month apart, so it works out nicely for us and for them when birthdays come around. This year, they totally blew us out of the water and took us to eat at Tepanyaki! It was totally amazing! Thanks again, you guys! You're the best! They cook your food on a grill right in front of you, and you totally get a great dinner and a show. We went out to dinner on R's 2nd birthday to celebrate hers too. All 3 of us have our b-days within a week from each other. R's b-day is June 30th.

Can't see T very well :(

Onion volcano in celebration of all 3 birthdays

Cake & ice cream to celebrate R's b-day...happy 2nd birthday, R!

Manti Pageant

I guess the pictures are a little bit out of order, but on June 23rd, D and I went down to the Manti, Ut pageant with my cousins, the Lapes. Thanks for inviting us to go with you, guys! We had a great time! They were so sweet and brought cupcakes down to celebrate our birthdays. And, it was great to see Jessy's reaction when she saw the costumes! We got a little bit of it on video, but it doesn't do justice at all to how excited she was.

The cool windmills headed into Spanish Fork canyon on the way down to Manti...we think they're beautiful and fun to watch.

If you look close, you can see the Manti temple in the reflection of D's glasses :)

4th of July Weekend

This year, D & I decided to hit the balloon festival before the 4th. Usually we do it on the 4th and then head straight over for the parade, but this year we decided to go early. We kind of regretted our decision because there weren't nearly as many balloons as there usually are, and they weren't able to go up because there was a storm coming in. It was still fun though. We love going to the balloon festival!!

I thought this picture looked cool :)

One of the balloon guys had funky hair!! We just had to get a shot of it!

Our traditional self-shot. We do these everywhere we go :)A couple of our favorite balloons:
Smokey the Bear
And Tony the Tiger...he was new this year!
We found Big Buddha from Fox 13 news. We're all showing our Buddha bellies :)
Then, that night we went camping with McSweeney's up Hobble Creek Canyon. So fun. We LOVE camping!!
The burning bush ;)
D got some really cool fire shots!J & T showing off on the log.
McSweeney's in their huge, cozy tent.
We made YUMMY peach cobbler in the dutch oven!
D playing with fire...go figure!
R loved sitting in her very own camping chair.
Moonlight coming through the clouds and the trees.
First time officially using our new sleeping bags!
D made a delicious breakfast for us, on top of the scrumptious tin foil dinners he made for us the night before...I seriously have the coolest husband in the world! I love you, babe!
J enjoying his bacon.
R & T
Yeah, that's why I usually don't take pictures of myself in the morning :)

After camping, we went home and got ready to head to the Freedom Festival. We enjoyed a delicious chocolate dipped frozen banana from Travis and Rachel's Banana Stand, and did some browsing.

Us in the car we want to get...a convertible Smart car.

After the Freedom Festival, we went for a hike up Payson Canyon to the Grotto...a fun little waterfall. The hike was tretcherous!! Just kidding. It was only .6 miles to the falls and back. Totally a fun little hike. We heard it's better to visit earlier in the spring though because there's more water. (Thanks for the tip to try out the hike, Janice!)

My cute husband :)
T behind the falls

Then, finally the actual 4th of July holiday!! We were almost late for the parade because I thought it started at 10, but thanks to my punctuality and love of being early to things, we just barely missed the beginning of the parade and pretty much saw the whole thing. Thanks again to the McSweeney family for saving a spot for us and for providing yummy pancakes and other food!

R & J blowing bubbles

Being airplanes :)
D got his first chance to ride on a Segway...I opted to just take pictures.
Traditional shot again
(Mike and Lora, you guys are in the background, and we didn't even notice! Haha...small world!)
Better shot of us :)
And then it wouldn't be a 4th of July post without posting shots of the fireworks!!

We hope you all had as wonderful of an Independence Day as we did!!

Happy 29!

Today is my sweetheart's 29th birthday! And such a joyous celebration calls for a list of 29 things I love about my incredible husband, although I really could go on and on...

1. You make me laugh everyday, sometimes so hard I cry.
2. You show me you love me in more ways than I could ever even try to count.
3. You have the cutest toes in the world!
4. You are so dedicated to the things you put your mind to.
5. You are an amazing example to me and everyone around you.
6. You have the greatest sense of humor and always find ways to surprise people and make them laugh.
7. You are charming. Seriously.
8. You are such a gentleman. I love that you always get the door for me, and I love knowing that you'll still be doing it for me when we're 90.
9. You have beautiful blue eyes.
10. You have cute dimples!
11. You are a worthy Priesthood holder, and a wonderful patriarch of our little family.
12. You are always willing to help someone in need.
13. You are so easy to talk to, and such a good listener when I need you to be.
14. You always make me feel beautiful, even if I don't think I look it.
15. You make the most wicked breakfast burritos. Mmm! And I love that you always make breakfast for me on the weekends.
16. You know when it's time to play....always!
17. You teach me Portuguese, even though I'm the slowest learner in the world!
18. You help me to relax when I feel stressed or overwhelmed.
19. You are my biggest supporter, and I'm so glad I have you as my backup in everything I do.
20. You have a strong testimony of our Savior.
21. You take me to the temple.
22. You have an amazing memory, and I love asking you random questions to see what you know about it.
23. You are SMART!! I'm totally jealous! :)
24. You love to travel with me and go on fun little random adventures when we can.
25. You love to read out-loud to me in the car on road trips, and you use different voices for the different characters.
26. You love our little inside jokes, and like to make up new ones with me.
27. You like to relax and watch movies with me a lot.
28. You are my husband, and my eternal companion.
29. You are my best friend in the whole wide world!!

Happy Birthday, D! I LOVE YOU!!

Skunked!!

We finally got around to washing and cleaning out our car yesterday...we hadn't done it all winter, gross, I know. It needed it bad! We were so excited that it was all clean and we were on our way home when we nearly ran over one of these beauties:

D slammed on the breaks, and the skunk ended up under our car--no worries, we didn't hit it, but he sure hit us!! Now our lovely, clean, car smells like SKUNK!! Luckily you only smell it for about the first 30 seconds you get in, then you get used to the smell and it seems to go away. I was just glad D didn't kill the poor little skunk, he was just innocently trying to cross the road we happened to be driving on. Skunks are D's favorite animals...no joke. He did his 4th grade animal report on skunks to find out more about them. He doesn't particularly mind the smell of skunks unless it's on his stuff. D was a little upset about the skunk smell in our car, but I couldn't stop laughing hysterically. I thought it was quite ironic that we wait almost 9 months to clean our car, and on the day we finally get it done we get skunked. Hilarious! On top of that, I think that's the first time I've ever seen a live skunk, and I'm glad he lived to see another day. Thank you, Skunk, for giving us something to laugh about and remember!

*Pictures of D's Labyrinth Canyon trip to come.

Labyrinth Canyon

This is where my husband is at the moment. I'm so jealous!! I'm sure we'll post pictures of his current trip after he gets back. Have fun, babe! I love you!!

D's 2004 trip
Him doing a backflip off the rocks

We went on the trip together in 2006
The scenery is absolutely breathtaking!

Us at the top of Bow Knot Bend
The Party Barge - We tied all the canoes together and floated down the river for a couple of hours. Good times!

And some videos from our 2006 trip :)

The Banana Stand

WARNING!!!

THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT, BUT YOU MUST KEEP READING!!

Our cute nephew, Andrew is running the Banana Stand, along with the help of his parents, at the Provo Farmer's Market every Saturday, all summer long. If you're in the area, you should definitely check them out and give them some support. We think this is such a great idea, and a fun family activity to do throughout the summer. The Farmer's Market is located at the park on the corner of Center Street and 500 West in Provo--just tell them we sent you :)

D & I stopped by this last Saturday to check it out and we totally recommend stopping by to get one of their DELICIOUS chocolate dipped frozen bananas. So tasty!!!

Good luck with the Banana Stand, you guys!

The boss, Andrew

Their best customer ;)

Getting ready to dive into my delicious banana!!
Little helper, Allie
I had to post the static picture :)

P.S. If you like the skirt Allie has on and the aprons, you should check out Rachel's Esty shop by clicking on the "Hers So Cute" button on the left side of our blog.

It's Official!!

I finally have a college degree! (Kind of.) I personally don't really count an Associates as much of a degree because you still can't do much with it. I really completed my Associates in December, but I didn't apply for graduation until Spring semester, so I just got my official diploma in the mail yesterday...and I'm already about half way done with my Bachelors too! Yay!

Air Show!!

On Saturday, D & I had a SUPER busy day! We got up bright and early to go run in the Art City Days 5k. There were over 2,000 registered runners!! D beat his last time by 4 seconds, and unfortunately I was 1 minute over my last time, but I blame it on all of the people...the first 2 minutes of the "run" we actually had to walk because we were waiting for all of the people in front of us to start moving. So, really we both ran it faster, but I didn't beat my time because of our slow start :( It was still really fun though!

After the 5k, we went home and got ready to head up to Layton for the Hill Air Force Base Air Show. This was D's first air show, and my second (even though I grew up in Layton). It was really fun to be there with my dad and little brother, Skylar, and the McSweeney's, but there were TONS of other people there too! Despite the thousands of people on the base, I ran into a good friend from high school that I haven't seen in years! It was really fun to browse around HAFB and watch the planes and jets. I'm not sure what all of them are called though :)

The two pictures below display the legacy of U.S. aviation, the middle plane was used during WWII, the plane above (F4 Phantom) was used in Vietnam, and the plane below (F16 Falcon?) which is our modern day fighter.
I know this one is a WWII Zero...D & I see them on the show "Dog Fights" on the History Channel, one of three that are still flown today.

Us in front of F6F Hellcat fighter that went head on with the Japanese Zero above, specifically designed to fight against them.
This one was GINORMOUS!! You can see an itty-bitty plane in the background too.

Astronauts: Dad, K, D, Sky

Jumpers
Sky & Dad
The coolest part of the air show was watching the Thunderbirds. Thanks for taking such great pictures, Skylar!

Also, here are a couple really short sample videos from the air show. You really have to be there to experience the whole effect. It was really amazing to watch the Thunderbirds fly so close to each other! If you get the chance to go next time they're in town, we totally recommend it!





P.S. Can I just tell you how great it is to have D home for the summer already? Yesterday was his first official day of summer vacation, and it was WONDERFUL to have him home with me!! Honey, here's to a summer full of doing whatever we want! Woo Hoo!

Old Family Photos

I was browsing through our folder files, and found some fun, old family pictures. What a treasure! The ones of my family, my sister actually just scanned in, and I'm so glad she did! Thanks, Shannon!

Adorable baby Darwin :)

Deming Family '99 (ish)

Koon Family '87
Sorry my face is so washed out, it's a really old picture, and I have lily-white skin :)
Also, Tayton has his mustache on up-side-down!
Koon Family '87

Sci Guy

Most of you who read our blog know that D is a junior high science teacher. He absolutely loves his job...especially when the end of each semester rolls around and he has the opportunity to do totally fun science demonstrations with his students. He brings all kinds of chemicals to school and blows stuff up, freezes food and other fun items in liquid nitrogen, and does all sorts of fun experiments.

A little while back, he discovered a new fun thing to do with his students :) He discovered sulfur hexafluoride. It's basically the opposite of helium, at least when you inhale it. He had a little bit left over from his class room demonstrations, so he brought some home...

Lape Family Reunion '09

D and I had a wonderful weekend hanging out with my mom's side of the family that lives out here in Utah (which is pretty small compared to everyone who still lives back east) for our annual Lape Family Reunion. My parents and siblings were unable to come down for it, but D and I enjoyed every minute we were there. (Even the part of waking up at 7 in the morning to the kids playing Pokemon outside the tents!) I have a ton of pictures to post, and most of the post is basically for memories, and for the family members who were unable to come and experience the fun. I will try to spare those pictures that some family members would not appreciate seeing on our blog as well :). Hope you enjoy!

Day 1 - Friday

Miss Abbie

Trying to get D's attention...it worked! ;)

Frisbee was a BIG hit!
We decided this is Jessy's road rage face - watch out for when she turns 16!

Abbie was seriously into the game too!

Beautiful sunset!!
Me and Christopher jumping. I really am way too out of shape to keep that going. He totally wore me out! (P.S. Christopher is going to be 9 tomorrow!! Happy Birthday, Ferf!!)
D was having some fun with the camera :)
This is Parker's tonsil shot
Ben
The boys decided this is what a gopher would look like just before it gets hit by a car. Nice, boys...Nice.
They call me "evil eyes" :)
D brought a couple of telescopes and fortunately the sky cleared enough for everyone to get in some good observation of the moon. D took this amazing shot (and a few others) through the eye piece of one of the telescopes. Cool, huh?
*As a side note, when I asked Aeryka if she wanted to look at the moon through the telescope, she said, "Kiarwin, (that's what they call me) I can already see it!" Haha. Smart little girl!

Day 2 - Saturday

Painting the shed so we could write our names on it.
Alice, Abbie, Aunt Sharon
Slip-n-Slide Time!!
Matt had this same look on his face every time he slid.

Parker was into spinning down the slide.

Robby

Aeryka

Jessy & Parker

Nicholas

Ben looked like he was in pain every time he went - the water must have been cold!
(Or maybe it was his bone-y rear-end sliding across the ground?)

Then D joined in the fun

I love this boy!!

The kids love their cousin Darwin, too.
Christopher's favorite thing...WATER!!

Abbie

The source behind the spraying - Sarah.
When they were done with the slip-n-slide, they decided they needed a pool :)
Adding more water to their tarp-pool.
So much fun on the slip-n-slide made everyone sleepy!
Randy & AbbieAfter napping, it was time for more water.
This time in the form of a water balloon fight!After water ballons, it was time to get ready for launching bottle rockets.
D was teaching the boys how to make a proper bottle rocket :)
The boys.
Everyone got a turn to pull the string, launching the bottle rockets into the air.
MattRobby
Nicholas - I love this shot!
The spectators :)
Ben
Parker
Christopher (with Alice and Randy)
AerykaAbbie
Jessyka

Day 3 - Sunday

After church it was time for croquett!
The cutest couple in the world!!
Me and Ferfy
Getting ready to paint names on the shed.
Aeryka had the privilege of being 1st!
The process...
The finished product :)
Abbie and her kool-aid mustache.
4 little monkey's sitting in a tree...
...or was it 5?......6?...
...or was it 8?
Uncle Bob (a.k.a. Poppy) and Christopher (a.k.a. Ferf) eating dinner and sharing hugs.Evie cooling off in her pool.
The cool shot D kept trying to get of Evie shaking off.
(D, Randy, and Uncle Bob tried to get this shot for like 15 minutes. They kept putting Evie back in her pool, and hoping to get this cool shot. After lots of persistance, it finally paid off!)
The finished product of the shed.
*As a side note, when Uncle Bob had finished painting "Poppy's" on the shed, Alice says, "Dad, your 'P' is going to drip." Haha. I guess you really had to be there...it was pretty funny :)

Painting the shed with everyone's name on it started as a tradition back in NY at my grandparent's house when I was just a baby. Here's the original shot of the original barn, which no longer exists, unfortunately.

(My family's names are in the center, kind of toward the top.)

Thanks for a fun Family Reunion weekend everyone!! We love you all!!