Puppy Love

I've kind of been having thoughts of getting a puppy lately. My house will sure be quite all day once Keaton, Kennedy, and Klayson head back to school. I think Olivia will get bored when it's just the two of us. I'm sure a puppy would entertain her and be lots of fun for the whole family. But, my brother-in-law, Craig, pointed out that in a way Olivia is a lot like a puppy. Now, most people would be offended by this, but when I gave it some thought I had to agree.

If a door is left open, Livie is outside playing before I know it. When a drink or food is left on the bar, she climbs right up to help herself. She loves to play in the water, she'll steal anyone's shoes the minute you take them off, she DOESN'T drink out of the toilet but she will go in the bathroom and turn on the tub to get a drink, and she's even been known to bite a person or two. I hate to say it but when I start to potty train her next month I'm sure we'll even have our share of pee and poop on the carpet. But you don't have to worry, I won't hit her on the head with rolled up newspaper or rub her nose in it!

She's a very busy little girl, but we love her so much and wouldn't have it any other way! Now we just need to teach her to come running when we whistle!

Andrew (or maybe Andrea)

My little sister, Adri, is visiting from Virginia. Her husband, Craig, was here but had to go home Sunday night for work. Without Craig here to keep on eye on things, I thought I'd have a little bit of fun. I know when he sees this he'll be shaking his head and saying to himself, "Where was Adri when all this was going on?" I'll tell you. She was holding him up so he wouldn't tip over on the bed!

Like a Bug in a Rug

I'm always up for a challenge, but I think I'm losing this one to an almost-two-year-old! I was in a bit of a cleaning mood (I know--RARE) and thought I'd do some organizing in Olivia's room . . . so I took down the crib. Initially she was really excited to have a big girl bed like Kennedy, but she has since changed her mind. Crazy thing is - naptime is great. She goes in, lays down, and falls asleep. Bedtime is a whole different story. There's a whole lot of crying and "NO W-A-Y", followed by me putting her back in bed 10 to 20 times. I thought it would be good because now when she wakes up she will come to me and I won't have to get out of bed during the night. Now I find that CJ and I are sharing our bed every night with an octopus. Whose bright idea was it to take down the stinkin' crib?!

Let the Good Times Roll

When we come to Cannon Beach we always stay at the same place. It's a quaint little 13 room inn. It's only about a block from the beach, right down from Haystack Rock. The kids have been dying to spend some time at the beach, even though it's really too cold to even get in the water. Yesterday morning, while I was getting myself and Livie ready, CJ and Kennedy head down to check out beach activities. What a great day they planned for us! We all rented beach bikes that look like adult sized Big Wheels. They look easy, but it takes a minute or two to really get the hang of balancing on them. We rode all up and down the beach on them and had a BLAST!

Later we bought the three older kids skim-boards. It took a bit of help from some other kids on the beach, but they had so much fun. We decided they'd also be great to use at Bear Lake.

Today we went to church in Seaside. I was amazed at how many vacationers were in attendance. There were at least three other families, plus an Elder all from Utah. One lady, who is a member of the Seaside ward, heard that we were from Tremonton and asked if we knew any "Ballards". When I asked specifically which Ballard family she said it was Denzel and Beth. She was sure surprised when I told her that we had lived right next door to Beth for seven years and that now we live next door to her daughter, Tina. Beth's son served a mission and taught this lady the discussions. Wow, Small World!

Oregon or Bust!

It's time for our annual vacation to the Oregon coast. A couple of years ago CJ came home from work and said that we were going on a road trip. We packed our bags and loaded up in the Suburban. We really had no destination in mind, but we ended up on the Oregon coast. We loved it, and have come back for the past three years. One year we take the kids and the next it's just CJ and I. This is the kids year.
We headed out Wednesday around 2:00. We stopped for dinner in Baker City, then went a bit further and spent the night in Pendleton. I think the best invention in the world was to put DVD players in vehicles. The second best, McDonalds Red Box.
Usually CJ and I tend to get lost and circle the streets of Portland, but this trip we're quite proud of ourselves because we made it right through. We didn't even have a map! Wow! Those green road signs really do work!!
After lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and a bit of shopping at the Lego store we reached Cannon Beach.
On Friday it was a rainy day so we decided to drive to Astoria. As we headed there we drove along the beach to find the shipwreck. The kids thought is was great that we could drive right on the sand. They couldn't believe there was a real shipwreck!
When we got to Astoria we drove up to the Astoria Column, but to our disappointment the column was closed so we couldn't climb to the top. Last year I climbed to the top where there was a breathtaking view of the whole area. The kids still thought it was pretty cool, anyway.
We crossed the Astoria bridge and headed over to Washington. It was kind of funny that all the kids were so scared to cross over the bridge. It definitely is a massive bridge. It is almost four miles across. There were huge ships and barges all along the Columbia River. It was great fun for the kids to see just how big they really were.
Once we got into Washington we had fun driving around and looking at all the cool beach houses. We decided that the brighter the color, the better the house. You name the color--we saw it. It reminded me of the story "The Big Orange Splot".
We had a small taste of the beach when we saw the shipwreck, but the kids can't wait to go and have some fun. Too bad it's not warm. The temperature has been about 68. Oh well, I don't think it will bother the kids at all.

All Grown Up

He was due on the Fourth of July and no matter how much castor oil I drank he didn't come on his due date. I woke up on Sunday morning not feeling to great, with some pretty bad contractions, so CJ called over to Logan Regional to find out what we should expect if indeed this was real labor. My contractions were five minutes apart, but I told CJ we weren't leaving the house until the kitchen was clean. So we quickly washed the dishes, straightened up the rest of the house, and headed to Logan.

At 4:29 pm Sunday, July 7, Keaton James Roberts entered our lives! Grandma and Grandpa Firth were so excited because he was their first grandchild. Grandma and Grandpa Roberts were excited because he was the first grandchild to carry on the Roberts name.

He was such a good baby, but at the young age of two weeks he ended up at Primary Children's for emergency surgery because he was not gaining weight. As it turned out he had pyloricstenosis and a duodenal web. After a two week stay in the hospital (my worst nightmare) he came home and has grown like a weed ever since!

Keaton has always been such a big kid. When he was about two, he was wearing a Jerry Rice jersey that my brother, Nate, gave him and my uncle Mike commented that he had "NFL written all over him" not because of the jersey, but because of his size. My sisters friends referred to him as "Little Rock". Now I think Keaton often gets the short end of the stick because he looks like a sixteen year old, but still acts like a typical twelve year oldboy.

I loved teaching at North Park while my kids were going to school there because I got to see them all the time. Keaton would pop in my room and Mr. Firth's (Grandpa Lloyd) room to say "hi" and steal a treat at breaks and lunch time. Keaton's teachers have always enjoyed having him in class because he tries hard and is a good kid. He earned the Mayor's Award as a fifth grader at Century. This past year, as a sixth grader, he got to have Grandma Firth as his language arts teacher. I only hope Grandma enjoyed the year as much as I know Keaton did.

Keaton takes after his dad A LOT! He will strike up a conversation with anyone and before you know it he's your new best friend. I don't think he's got a shy bone in his body. He's also pretty tenderhearted, like his dad. On Sunday, when we were spotlighting him in primary, CJ started to get a bit teary-eyed and so did Keaton. I think it was good for him to hear his dad praise him for being such a good boy. . . young man.

I'm so glad Keaton has made good choices and I sure hope that continues as he gets older. I'm excited about what the future holds for him, but I'm also sad to see my baby boy growing up. We love you Keaton!! Happy Birthday!

Willard Bay