Karen's Birthday

Alan was going to take Karen out for her birthday dinner, but she wanted to eat at home with her family instead. My guess is she's been gone too much lately and missed these chubby cheeks.

So Alan made a delicious dinner and we celebrated with her.

John and I gave her a giant pack of U-No bars. They should last her a couple road trips.

Scott gave her his name charm for her grandkid necklace.

My mom gave her a mortar and pestle with some avocados for making guacamole.

Alan gave her a baby ipod for her long runs and drives.

We had boysenberry pie from Gizdich Ranch for dessert (where Scott and I strawberry picked).

Then on Saturday Katie's family came down for the official family dinner.

And we celebrated all over again, only this time with burnt almond cake from Dick's Bakery.

We hope you had a happy birthday Karen!

Crouton Chicken

John needed to make some fried chicken samples for a work project.

 Scott was very excited about the whole process.

 Drooling in anticipation.

He loves helping dad cook.

John used this picture in his presentation.

Just smelling that fried goodness made him chubbier.

19 Weeks

Most of Scott's pictures from this week were already posted in blogs about our Utah trip. Before we left he managed to turn himself around in his crib. I haven't caught him in the act yet, but he's very good at maneuvering for a 4-month-old. 

He also enjoyed a tasty meal of his dad's chin.

Retaliation for all the times John "eats" Scott's tummy.

Heading Home

Julie and Christian let us stay at their place while we were in Utah (Thanks, Knights!). Scott barely napped the whole trip and crashed hard at night.

 Julie showing us one of her tricks. 

 Scott was impressed.

 Unfortunately, Julie works nights and we ended up leaving a day early to get Joseph home for some talks at church so Karen could take Terri to her radiation appointments.

 Scott did squeeze in a little playtime before we had to leave, though.

 Julie didn't want pictures, since she'd been awake all night, but I think they look so cute and happy together. 

 We stopped in Salt Lake on our way out and Kevin met us at a nice park to visit for a few minutes before we hit the road. We had planned to visit my college roommate, Katie, but ran out of time.

Our trips are always too short!

BYU Tour

We went to visit Jon-Paul at the Clyde building and John showed us around his old stomping grounds. I found Ryan's picture on the wall.

 Also, a vending machine for nerdy necessities, such as batteries and transistors.

 Scott envisioned himself as an engineer. 

 It was about 100 degrees Wednesday, then pouring and chilly Thursday. Scott was excited to wear his cute jacket.

 We had lunch in the Wilkinson Center with Jon-Paul.

 I went to change Scott and the restroom had an automatic toilet paper dispenser. What will they think up next? 

 Scott fell asleep after that, so we went to the Creamery on Ninth and shared an ice cream. There were at least 30 kids in that tiny place, including a few wrestling on the floor in line ahead of us.

So, we enjoyed our treat in the car where Scott could sleep in peace. John had me get the "Y" in the background to prove authenticity.

Visiting Utah

We had a very busy time trying to see as many people in Utah as possible.

 First stop was Phyllis and Clay. Scott loved it at their house. We also saw Brianon, but I forgot to take a picture with her.

 We visited Sarah at her salon and had some hairs trimmed.

 Scott liked chilling on the Fergs' new couch.

 We saw the Faamausili's new house in Eagle Mountain. Now that they moved, Henlee is starting to warm up to us.

 We spent a lot of time at Grandma Blank's chatting and passing Scott around.

 He was on high alert at all times. So much to see!

 He liked this Scott-sized chair, complete with a drink holder for his bottle.

 The boys were wrestling and Scott watched with full attention. Half concerned, half wanting to join in with his cousins.

 I think Aunt Stephanie was a favorite. She could get some good squeals out of him.

 John went to a movie with James and Cory while Scott and I stayed with Grandma. They came in to visit for a few minutes when they brought John back.

Everyone wanted a turn holding the baby, even the little guys.

Scott loved the attention and is bored back at home with only his mom to entertain him all day.

Scott's First Fourth

Saturday Karen told us her mom was sick and we should come visit sooner rather than later. Tuesday after John came home from work, we took off for Utah.

 We stopped in Reno for the night and Scott had his first hotel stay.

 He loved it.

 We made it to Utah Wednesday afternoon and visited with Grandma Blank. She doesn't even look sick. I think it was a ploy to get visitors and unlimited peach pie.

Regardless, we wanted Scott to meet everyone and everyone to meet Scott. All four generations together.

 At night, Mark put on a firework display in the front yard. The entire neighborhood came. Just kidding, these are seriously all family members. And I couldn't even get them all in one frame.

 You could see three big shows going on around us and then ours in the street. I've always been in San Jose, where your own fireworks are illegal, so it was really cool for me.

 Scott did not think it was as cool, but Aunt Heather shielded his eyes and ears. He thanked her by sucking on her shirt.

 While we were on our trip we used disposable diapers, so Scott had a blow out every day and did not make it very long in his patriotic outfit. 

He still had a fun holiday!