Special Trip

I feel like we have been on the road every weekend for the past couple of months! This time was an especially exciting trip. Bill left work a few hours early on Friday and we drove to Salt Lake and stayed at my parents house. Dan, Zibbey, Noah and Sloane are there for a few more weeks while they do some remodeling to their new house, so it was so fun to spend time with them. Those kids are so darn cute!

Saturday morning, Bill and I left Sam with my parents and drove to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in Daybreak, Utah. I had not been out there yet and was excited to see yet another beautiful temple in the Salt Lake Valley. It is gorgeous!

The first special occasion was to see Bill's sister, Carrie and her husband Troy sealed to each other and their youngest daughter, Isabelle. It was a beautiful ceremony and made me so grateful for my knowledge of eternal families.

Afterward, we picked up Sam and went to Carrie and Troy's house for a little lunch and visiting and then to see the blessing of our newest Whitaker nephew. Bill's other sister, Melinda and her family came down from Rexburg and blessed Seth Whitaker Ollerton who was born on August 28th. He is such a sweet little baby with tons of black hair!

Sam was having a ball while his cousin, Leah, bounced him on the trampoline. We had dinner with my family that night and then drove back home Sunday morning. We knew we were back in Idaho when we were stopped at a traffic light behind this:

We're proud to be Idahoans!

Fall

Sam and I met my sister, Ann and her boys to go on a walk on a beautiful autumn day. We walked from our new house to my sister, Becky's house which took about 30 minutes. (That will be convenient!) We took the boys out of their strollers and realized their clothes coordinated with each other and that we had to have a photo shoot. Becky, as luck would have it, had four big pumpkins on her doorstep, so they served as our props.

The Three Musketeers: Whit, Sam & Cael

Sam with Daddy at the Boise Depot

And this is Sam's latest trick. If we say, "Do funny face", this is what we get. He sure has got a cute little personality!

Countdown!

So far, it looks like the builders are right on schedule and we're looking at just a month to go! We'll see if it stays that way! The exterior paint is almost finished. They put the wrong color on the sides and back. When it is finished, they will be the darker brown.

Sam has discovered the door stop by the front door. It makes a very captivating noise and provides several minutes of entertainment and then he's off to find something else to explore.

"Hey! There's that lawnmower guy again!

"What are you looking at?"

Ten months!

The months just keep flying by! This little guy is all over the place now. Changing his diaper has become a major drama. The minute I turn to grab a diaper, he flips himself over to his hands and knees and is off like a shot. Even strapping him into his stroller can sometimes be tricky. He's been battling a cold for the last week, but is still as happy as ever! We just love him!

Celebrate All!

It's an annual tradition. The St. Luke's Women's 5k in Boise. Two years ago my sister, Ann, our friends Micah, Lisa, Amy and I ran it. It was freezing and raining and we almost didn't even make it to the start line because the shuttle was late.

Well, this year was different. The weather was gorgeous! Lisa and Micah flew in to town Friday afternoon. We went downtown to get our numbers and t-shirts and look around the trade show. All of us, except Lisa (who ran), decided to walk the 5k in the stroller division with all our little cherubs.

The race started in front of the capitol building. Ours was the last wave to start so there was a lot of waiting around time. It was a nice walk, but we all decided that next year, we'll leave the babies with their dad's and run it. We're just not the moseying type.

Sam, Whit & Cael

It was a fun morning. Later that evening, Ann, Lisa, Micah and I crashed my other sister, Becky's ward's Relief Society dinner before watching Women's Conference. And Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a delicious lunch with Ann, Travis, Micah & Lisa before taking them to the airport. It was a fabulous weekend. Can't wait until next year!

PX

This weekend we drove down to Elko, NV for the Ellison Ranching Company's annual shareholders meeting at the PX Ranch. We left Friday afternoon and since my bro-in-law, Travis couldn't join us, drove in tandem with my sister Ann, her twin boys and our niece, Rachel and arrived just in time for dinner with my parents at The Nevada.

After dinner, we all went back to our rooms and hit the sack. Unfortunately, through the night, Rachel and my bro-in-law, Jared got really sick and Becky's whole family, except for Jonah, ended up driving back home Saturday morning and skipping the meeting.

The PX Ranch was recently acquired by the ERC, but used to be owned by Bing Crosby in the 1950's. A funny story I heard at the meeting was that Bing's wife had a drinking problem and he sent her to the PX along with her doctor to help her "dry out". When he came to check on her a few days later, both his wife and the doctor were drunk!

Sam & Daddy's trick that gives Mom a heart attack

Sam, Cael & Whit in their Beasts Of Burden with their cousin, Jonah

After the meeting Saturday morning, we had a nice lunch and then had to hit the road. Jonah was the helper on the way back, and after a few stops for all the babies, we all made it home that evening.

My parents brought all of Sam's books that we left at their house. He is in heaven! His favorite part of the day is storytime with Daddy just before bedtime.

We found Sam sleeping like this the other night. Now that he's figured how to get from lying on his back to sitting and crawling, we often find him sitting up in his crib when he should be sleeping. He must have worn himself out and then crashed! What a cutie!

Sun Valley

We spent a fabulous couple of days in Sun Valley, ID this weekend. Bill had an estate planning conference and Sam and I tagged along. I just love it there. I have such wonderful memories of going there with my family while I was growing up and they all just come flooding back each time I'm there.

We arrived Thursday evening, had dinner in Ketchum and checked into the Inn. Our room had a huge walk-in closet that conveniently fit Sam's portable crib, so we set him up in there and he slept like a baby! (pun intended) It made nap times very nice!

It was quite a bit cooler in the mornings there, but we still got out for our usual morning walks. Sam loved to watch the swans and ducks in the pond and babbled on and on at them as we walked by.

Bill was in meetings all day Friday, so Sam and I met one of the other wives and her baby for lunch that afternoon and then went swimming with Bill after dinner.

The water was nice and warm and Sam had a great time splashing and chasing his ball.

Bill had more meetings Saturday morning, so Sam and I went for our walk and then another quick dip in the pool before nap time. We packed up and headed home later that afternoon. It was such a fun weekend...I can't wait until next year!