Multitasking

Taiden was asked to hold Shaw while I got dinner ready. He didn't skip a beat and was able to do two important tasks at once. Amazing isn't he? Wish he could multitask when he was doing his jobs. (Look at Shaw's attentiveness to the Crash Nitro Cart game that was being played. All boy, huh?!?)

4 for 4; Perfect Score

I have 4 kids. I have gone through (and am right in the middle of) 4 baby phases and I can say (with quite a bit of confidence) that I have extraordinarily good babies. Babies that are very mellow, content, happy and sleep through the night at an early age. I can't say that I have extraordinarily good toddlers, but I will stand by my claim that my babies are dang near perfect. Shaw is no exception. As his G'ma Ehman said, we've hit the "mother load" of goodness with this little guy. He is so happy and hardly ever fusses. If he does fuss, it's more of a series of whimpers and whines. He rarely out and out cries. He is getting into such a fun stage. He will be 3 months on August 2nd, and he is cooing and gurgling, smiling and laughing (especially when his ribs are tickled). He is blowing spitty bubbles and loves to carry on a conversation with anyone who will listen to the important things he has to say. He is our little charmer and we are all so in love with him. I just want to eat him up! He has also started rolling over onto his tummy (at 11 weeks). I think the kids will go through with drawl when they have to go back to school next month. Who knows what Taiden will do when he can't kiss him, oh, every 10 minutes! Shaw seems to be able to sleep at all the convenient times...through 3 hours of church, through movies at the theater, errands at the store, etc... We went up to Snowbasin today and Jeff and the kids did mountain biking while I relaxed at the base and he slept the entire time. We got home and then he was ready to play. I keep pinching myself. He is a dream baby. Then I remember that he too, like the other 3, will become a toddler and, as previously confessed, our toddlers are a handful. Our time will come...

Here are some updated pictures of him. These were taken at Lagoon on Pioneer Day. Isn't he sweet? Melt my heart!

Get Mulder and Scully

Take a look at this light fixture that hangs in our front room. Do you see anything unusual? Anything abnormal or questionable? We have decided that this is a portal to another dimension for Shaw. He smiles, laughs, coos, and gets all excited when he looks up at it. There is something weird going on on our ceiling because he gets great enjoyment out of interacting with someone or something up there. Jeff thinks he's just laughing because it's an ugly light but I think it's old, outdated and just right for our pioneer home. My theory is that it's either Joseph Lee Robinson (the builder of our home back in 1854) or G'pa Earl, G'pa Mack, and Papa G making faces at him. Maybe it's a future sibling playing "peek-a-boo"? (GULP!) We even wave at the light and say a friendly "hello" to whoever might be there. It is the strangest thing. He doesn't do it anywhere else or with any other object. Just this light. Creepy...

(Mom, and anyone else who is wondering about this particular blog title, Mulder and Scully are from the X-files T.V. show that used to be on. They investigated paranormal activity while trying to stay out of trouble and not fall in love. New movie comes out Friday! Gotta love it!)

Backfired Birthday

(If you haven't read "Happy Birthday, Jeffrey Jay" yet, do so before reading this). OK, some women do balloon bouquets. Others do singing telegrams. Quite often a wife might revert back to her younger years and do a candy bar poster complete with cute tributes to her "Big Hunk" or "SweetHart" (the T in tart being covered up with a paper H to make sense because who wants to be married to a Tart?) I chose to do a cute handled box of delicious, homemade chocolate chip cookies with a cute ribbon (mind you it was a blue ribbon) and a cute little Happy Birthday sign tied to it. Well, the ribbon and sign were off in the car before he even got to work. Jeff said it would make him feel "light in the loafers" if he went skipping into work with it that way. Fine. So here's my question. If he had taken the "cutesified" box into work and told everyone that his loving wife had sent it with him and had some cookies to share, wouldn't that have made sense to everyone? Wouldn't they have sighed, said "Happy Birthday, Jeff" had a cookie and gone about their business? It wouldn't have been too painful for Jeff, right? But, instead, he removed the questionable, dangerous ribbon and sign and walked (very masculinely) into work and, still with his cute handled box, started passing out cookies at his staff meeting. Am I missing something here? HE DIDN'T TELL ANYONE IT WAS HIS BIRTHDAY! I guess it's normal for men to bring boxes of cookies into work and pass them around? It wasn't until people made comments about the cool/cute box and started to enjoy their yummy cookies that they asked what the special occasion was. He finally fessed up that it was his b-day. I'll tell ya...

He was quickly forgiven though and we had an enjoyable evening. I made Indian food (as a good friend says, "the dot not the feather") and African Cream Pie (also known as "Better than %$#" dessert...this blog is PG rated) and we had our own fireworks display. When your birthday is right before Pioneer Day, you get to have things like Mach III Firestorm fountains ignited in your honor!

Happy Birthday, Jeffrey Jay!

Yep, Jeff is celebrating his 3#th birthday today. I won't be rude and tell you exactly how old he is , but I will tell you that he was baptized 30 years ago. I'm sending him out the door with a load of cookies to share at work with everyone. He's fine with that idea (with a summer birthday he never got to take a birthday treat to school :( How sad is that?) but he is not thrilled with the fact that I put it in a cute handled box with a cute ribbon and a little cute Happy Birthday sign tied to it. The cuteness is what he's having the problem with. Happy Birthday, honey!

Team Edward. United We Stand.

The line is drawn in the sand. You're either with us or against us. Do you wear the jersey for Edward or Jacob? There's no waffling, ladies. The clock is winding down and I for one can not wait! How is this going to resolve itself? Will and can it resolve itself? I have a bad feeling that it is not going to end happily ever after. It's not going to have a pretty little bow wrapped around it so we walk away content and satisfied. I might be wrong but I don't think Stephanie Meyer would do that. Who? How? When? Why? It should be interesting.


I've just pre-ordered Breaking Dawn today. We are heading up to Echo Lake, Montana on August 1. We will be stopping for the night in Idaho Falls and then will continue on the rest of the way Saturday. I've pre-ordered the book at the Barnes and Nobles in Idaho and will go to their midnight book release to get it. Jeff keeps scratching his head and wondering why I'm going to such an effort. Doesn't he remember last summer when I walked around in an "Edward fog" and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning reading these books? Doesn't he remember that was all I would talk to my friends about and that we had to have a party just to get together to talk about it some more? Doesn't he remember the comparisons I would make when he did something nonromantic or humanly ordinary? So, why is he surprised that I will make a major effort to get it hot off the press and into my hands the minute I can? How quickly he forgets! (Edward would have remembered :)

And Now a Word From our Sponsors

OK people, can we get personal? Since you are viewing my blog and taking the time to read about my family and myself, I think we're "tight" enough that I can share a little bit of personal info. See, it's my feet. I have dry, calloused heels. Yucky, old lady, dry calloused heels. Maybe it's because I'm so youthful and carefree and love to skip around outside in my bare footsies. Or maybe it's because I just have gross, "you shouldn't be wearing sandals" or "put some dang socks on" heels that are not kept up by my one pedicure a year (given at Mother's Day when I plead for it). Anyway, I wanted to pass on a bit of advise. My sister-in-law, Amy, gave my mother-in-law a Pedegg. Ann told me it really worked so I ordered one for myself and it arrived a couple of days ago. It is awesome! It works like a charm! I still want my pampering annual pedicure, but this is a great way to maintain in the meantime. My boys were so excited when I opened the box and tried it out (I had really talked it up and the suspense was killing them). They were SO grossed out by the sound effects involved but were very impressed by the results. Kids are so easily entertained. Taiden kept saying, "Mom it really works!" You can buy them for around $10 at several stores. Don't order online...they hit you with major shipping fees.

{This is not a paid advertisement for Pedegg. This is just one satisfied customer passing on the good news: happy heels are here again!}

Also, another great find. If you're looking for a birthday present for a 9 year old boy/girl (give or take a few years) the Powerwing by Razor is a really cool gift. It's a cross between a scooter and a RipStik. It's really fun because it drifts and can do gliding turns and circles. Taiden has had so much fun with it this summer. He gives it 2 thumbs up! We've succumbed to the fact that when you don't have a garage and you have 3 older kids who love to do outdoor stuff, the yard is going to get a little cluttered. It's all good.

"This is sweet!"

Taiden

Slow down summer!

As is usually the case, summer is blazing by way too fast for our liking. We've enjoyed having lots of opportunities to have time with cousins and friends who are visiting from out of town. Cousin time means everything to my kids and we've loved having the time with the Gregsons and Hamblins from Arizona, the Mackintosh Clan from Idaho, and Cody from North Carolina. We look forward to our next cousin get together in August when we'll meet in Montana with the Crowells from Washington and the Gregsons from Canada.

Luckily for my sons, there are lots of boy cousins who love to engage in wrestling and wars!

Brock is loaded and ready for combat.

Grandpa Ehman and Brittan on the Alpine Coaster in Park City. This may be one of the funnest rides I've been on in a long time. Worth every penny. What a cool Grandpa!


The gang with G'ma and G'pa Ehman, Cody and Brock in Park City anxiously waiting their turns for the Alpine Slide and the Alpine Coaster.

Miss Farmington probably thought she was being stalked during Farmington Festival Days with the amount of pictures she was requested to be in with these boys. Cody was in love.

Do you think Shaw likes Beau (a cousin of a cousin)?

Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum with the Arizona Gregsons. Aren't they cute? I think Dylan may think the shark is real.

One of our favorite places to take family and friends who are visiting...Sweets Candy Factory! Who doesn't like fresh taffy and orange sticks straight off the line? The best part though are these amazingly fashionable hairnets that you get to keep! Lucky us!

Even Shaw had to follow the OSHA rules and wear a hairnet. How cute is that! He slept through the entire tour but you can see by the grin on his sleeping face that he was dreaming of cinnamon bears and jelly beans.

Sweets Candy Factory tour #2 with Brent and his fam. Can I tell you how much I love this guy? He literally was a kid in a candy factory and made the tour very entertaining. He continually clapped his hands and would say, "I like candy. I like candy." I think our tour guide thought he was a kid who "rides the short bus" (meaning he is a "special" Brent).

The 4th of July at G'ma and G'pa Mackintosh's house. Gracey Hamblin and Shaw got cozy for a Kodak moment. Shaw seems a little nervous to be in such close proximity to a girl. We had a yummy BBQ and major fireworks show. G'pa Mack never does anything in a small way. You know those insanely large firework packages at Costco? G'pa bought 2 of them! G'ma stuck to tradition and was a one lady parade complete with thrown taffy. Good times!

You can always count on a few belly laughs when Jeff and Brent get together. He's not heavy, he's my brother.

My childhood friends got together for dinner at the Mandarin. Lynette Helmer (first on left) was in town from California and orchestrated the reunion. These gals were all in my ward growing up. There's Lynette, Holly, Trisha, Me, Janis, and Kristine. It was so fun to catch up. We even relived our teenage years when we drove around after dinner trying to find someplace that was still open so we could get ice cream. Most things were closed so we ended up at Wendy's drive through. We couldn't get our orders straight and the lady got very annoyed with us. It was like we were 16 again!

Where's our GeeGee?

Kennedy turned 12 in April, finished up elementary school in May, went to Girls' Camp in June, took her first week long trip without mom and dad (to Idaho with the Mackintosh cousins) in July, and will start Jr. High in August. Where has our little girl gone? While the pigtails and princess dresses are no longer a way of life for her, she is still our "sunshine girl" who can light up our days with her beautiful smile and cheery disposition. She has remained so true to herself and her standards. She is one to look out for others and is genuinely concerned about the well being of those around her. She is full of goodness and is an amazing example to us all. She will miss the ease and carefree atmosphere of elementary school (and recess!) but she is up for the challenges that Farmington Jr. High will bring. We're grateful for teachers like Mrs. Schwab who helped instill a love of learning in her. She's had amazing friends throughout the years which will be a great support in the years to come.

Kat, Amy, and Lizzy

Jared and Ryan (AKA - THE Biggest Ute Fan EVER!)

Kennedy with Grey Christensen (a best friend since 1st grade)

Kennedy and Kat Smith

Lizzy Welch (and Ryan again)

Our New Addition

With the birth of Shaw, some things have been put on hold for awhile. To me, that is one of the greatest blessings of having a newborn...it makes you slow down (way down), prioritize your life, and offers a chance to really take inventory of all of your blessings. And I have been greatly blessed. Shaw is an amazing baby. He hardly ever cries (it's more of a whimper) and is so patient to wait his turn. It's been incredible to see the love that has come from his brothers and sister. He is hardly ever left alone and if he ever starts to fuss the kids rush to him in panic. They are spoiling him for sure!

Shaw Ehman Gregson

I'm a Blogger! (that doesn't sound very flattering)

Well, the ol' girl is finally up with the times. I've heard for quite some time that blogging was all the rage but haven't dared venture into the unknown blogging world. I've loved reading the blogs of others and am amazed at what some of you are doing out there! So, with the encouragement of Randee (a good friend) and Amy (a sister-in-law) I am tiptoeing into this new endeavor and I think that I'm going to really like it. It's been a great experience for me and my trial and error way of putting this blog together has provided a wonderful chance to shake the cobwebs out of my "2 month postpartum" mind. It's been a great learning opportunity for me (see my gratitude list for the week). I must be a little slow because it's taken me a good chunk of time to get this up and going. Jeff asked me if he and the kids were going to be "blog orphans" for much longer. I assured him that no, that wasn't the case, but reminded him that there is a certain book coming out on August 2 and at that point, yes, they will be orphans again for just a few days!

I hope to post something new at least every other day. Please check in often and let me know what you think. I'D LOVE COMMENTS!! Please leave them if you have a minute. That way I don't feel like I'm talking to myself. :) It's also a great way to stay connected. If you have a blog that I don't know about, please let me know. I'd love to see it.

Wish me luck and enjoy a glimpse into the lives of the Gregson family!!