Veteran's Memorial

So last Sunday I heard about a traveling Vietnam Veteran's Memorial at a nearby park. We decided to go observe the closing ceremonies and see the replica of the wall they have in DC. It was really an inspiring and gratifying event. There were some speakers, a gun salute, and they took down the flag. They also honored all of the veterans present as well as those currently serving. Lately I have been on a war-kick in the books I have read. I recently read Flags of Our Fathers and listened to the book The War on CD. Both of them are in-depth documentaries about World War II. The books really opened my eyes to what soldiers go through as their duty and it made me so grateful for them. Thanks to their sacrifices we live in the world we do.

Soren is so proud Easton is starting to do some tricks. He started this on at exactly 3 monthes. They can keep it going for quite a while....

I had to put this picture on here because it really reminds me that Easton is his Dad's son. Recently there have been a LOT of photos that they take together where they have the exact same expression on. I LOVE IT!! Here are a few more examples..... :)

Yankee's ( well, Mariner's...) Game!

Last weekend the Yankees came into town. When Soren found out he was thrilled so we just had to go . He is one of the only people I have ever met that likes the Yankees so we went to cheer them on. Bo and Melanie Scoffield accompanied us and we had a great time. Our seats were really high, but we had an amazing view of the water, the city and the game. It was fun to have a date out on the town and do something Seattle-ish.

Easton at his first baseball game.

Bo, Melanie, and Ronan enjoying the game. Thanks for all the treats Melanie!

The field.....it made Soren really homesick to play ball. :(

My Baking Buddy

Easton helped me bake bread today. Needless to say, after starting over three times we were both exhausted.

We're Home At Last

Its been a long time since my last post, but we've been out of town again. Easton and Soren and I were gone for another 2 weeks and I think I may have finally vacationed myself out. Its been a great last month of traveling, but it is nice to be home and relax a little. Here's a little about what we've been up to.


On July 18th Easton and I flew out to Salt Lake. Seidi Bennett picked us up and we stayed at their house for the night. Easton got to meet Charlie, Seidi's little guy and we took adorable pictures of them together. It was great to see them and just catch up.

Charlie and Easton before church.

Seidi and I.

The next day we went to stay at my mom's mom's house and met my family there. My brothers were really excited to see Easton again. We stayed with them for a few days and did a lot of things together. We were able to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House, barbeque, go ice blocking, and slip and slide.

Soren joined us on Thursday night because he stayed home to work Monday-Wednesday. He was a real trooper because he drove the car 13 hours down to us so we could have a car to get around. We then stayed at my dad's parents house for a few days and had a great time with them. One of the highlights was going boating on Utah Lake. Soren waterskiied and I even did some tubing. Its was a blast. I was also able to meet up with some of my college friends for lunch and meet Kelli Duthrie and Kristin Draper's new babies. It was so much fun to spend time with them all.

Brinley Duthrie and Easton. These two are 9 weeks apart and have been betrothed since we found out Brinley was a girl. :) This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip.

Dallas Draper and Easton. These two buds are a week apart almost to the minute.

Easton learned to suck on his hand while we've been gone. He also loves to snuggle his blankie. Its adorable!

My mom and I at the barbeque in the canyon.

Baby on the boat. He loved it.

Soren and Mike chillin' with the kids.

Kelli and I with Brinley and Easton.

Tuesday morning of the next week we drove down to St. George to visit Soren's side of the family. We attended a day and a half of his family reunion where Easton met his other two great-grandmas. We also took Easton swimming and had a lot of fun with him. That week we also went down to Las Vegas and stayed the night with Soren's best friend from high school Lucas Abbott and his family. Their kids were hilarious and so much fun to spend time with. We wish we would have had more time everywhere we went! The next day we were able to visit another of Soren's old friends Amber and her family and then we were back up to St. George. Easton was such a trooper with all of our driving and hauling him around. He's a really good baby and adjusted pretty well under the circumstances.

It was fun to spend time with Soren's family and friends. Soren had bought his Dad a tent so he spent time setting it up with him, bike riding and hiking. I was able to spend time with his Grandma Dorothy and learn about all the family history that she has kept and put together. His Aunt Denise also treated us to a five-star dinner where we tried new dishes like quail, risotto, italian sodas, and French cheeses. We really enjoyed it.

So after spending the week in southern Utah we drove back up to Salt Lake for one more night with Soren's brother Reagan and Mike and Kelli. I flew out the next day and Soren drove home.

Grandma Dorothy with her only great grandson Easton.

Dad and son at the pool.

Dallas and Easton again.

Poor Easton spent a lot of time in that dang carseat. Luckily we brought toys and blankie along.

So now we are back and finally starting this new part of our lives with a new job, no more tests, and just the three of us. I start back to work next week and am kinda looking forward to it. Wish us luck. :)

Yay! We Are DONE!!!!

Soren took his last section of the CPA exam today! He said it went awesome and that this one may be his best score yet, which is pretty incredible because he has passed all previous sections with flying colors! I'm so proud of all his hard work. It has been a long year and a half of studying, but we made it. Its hard for both of us to believe what life will be like without a test hanging over our heads but we can't wait to find out!

Pictures

Quick Update

It feels like its been forever since I have been able to post any updates. Easton just feel asleep so I have a few minutes to update everyone. On Wednesday night Easton and I got back from a two week trip to visit my family in Liberty, Missouri. My mom had already seen him, but my dad and brothers hadn't yet so I took the baby home to the family. Soren stayed here to study and continue interviewing for jobs. We missed him, but had a great time with the family. My family had so much fun with Easton. My brothers just adored him and were so helpful. It was really cute to see them bust up laughing at all of Easton's tricks (poop explosions, sneezes, hiccups, leg and arm flailing...). Logan (11) was great at holding Easton and bouncing him. He did a lot of babysitting for me so I could exercise. Thompson (6) was also such a great helper. He loved kissing Easton and talking to him. They were great at entertaining him. We took him to the pool for the first time and Easton loved it. He is such a water baby. He loves his baths, showers, and now the pool. Its so cute to see him splash. It was hard to leave, but we will see them all in Utah in 10 days so we are looking forward to more time with Grandma and Grandpa.

While we were gone Soren studied and interviewed like I said. The great news is HE GOT A JOB!!! He started work a week and a half ago and has really enjoyed it. It is actually at Eddie Bauer, but not the same position he originally interviewed for. They e-mailed him a few weeks ago about a new position that had opened up and asked if he was interested. It was such a blessing and its a better job than the other one. He is a tax analyst and supposedly thrilled about everything he is doing. The only hard part is starting a new job and still trying to study and get time off for our vacation we had already planned. But he is doing his best. He has the last part of the CPA exam on the 16th and we REALLY hope he can be ready enough to pass. I am so done with those tests and I'm not even the one who has had to study for them. Keep him in your prayers please.

I took Easton to the pediatrician yesterday and that went great. (Thanks Natalie for the great doctor you recommended) Easton is 12 lbs 7 oz. and 23 1/2 in. long. He is growing fast. He put on 2 lbs and 2 in. in the last 3 weeks. I love it though. He is so fun.

Well thats all the news for now. I'll try to post some pics from our trip soon.