Hill Air Force Base Air Show

Hill Air Force Base sponsored an Air Show featuring "The Thunderbirds". It was a huge event with thousands of people attending. Mason and I went to the demo the day before. It was so loud Mason cried and Jared ended up sitting in the car with him. Jared had to work at the air show which was on Saturday and Sunday so he got to see all the other planes as well.

These are the Thunderbirds - all six flying together
The Thunderbirds do this awesome trick where they each come

from different directions and then cross in the middle.

Timing has to be perfect!

West Yellowstone & Mesa Falls

For Memorial Day weekend Jared and I decided, spur of the moment, to go to West Yellowstone. We called my parents and Jenny to see if they wanted to come with us. We had so much fun. There was so much wildlife in the park this year. We all agreed that that was the most wildlife we had seen in one place. And, of course, there are always those tourists who think they can stand 30 feet from a buffalo. They are crazy! We went on a little walk around some hot springs and then went to Old Faithful. That geyser really is amazing. On our way home we decided to stop at Mesa Falls. Those falls are so beautiful. Jared had actually never been there so that made it more fun. After dinner we headed back home. Mason did awesome considering he had been in and out of the car about 14 hours that day. Our first family vacation was really fun!

There were herds of buffalo with their young all throughout the park.

This was one of the hot springs - I think this one was called Turquoise Pool but then again I thought they all looked turquoise!

Jared didn't know there were holes to put Mason's arms through!

Mason cried for most of our walk and by the end he was just putting up with us.

Jared, Me & Mason, Dad, & Jenny at Old Faithful

We were all kind of dozing off when my dad suddenly slowed down. We all woke up to see a buffalo walking in front of us. It finally moved off the road and as we were passing it I rolled down my window to take a picture but those huge beady eyes were staring me down and I got scared and didn't get my picture!

Mesa Falls

Me and Jenny - we didn't plan to fix our hair the same way I promise!

Mason loves to be carried around in the sling!

On Being A Mom

This past Mother's Day gave me a chance to reflect on how lucky I am to be a mom. This has been one of the most challenging yet rewarding jobs I have ever had. Mason makes everyday worth living with his big smiles and big bright eyes. We can't imagine our lives now without him.

I usually have no clue what I am doing and everyday is different even though we try to have some sort of a schedule. Mason is so patient and tries to just go with the flow.

I have never talked so much baby talk before and I have to concentrate on talking normal when I am around other people. All of a sudden all words have an -ie added to the end. For example: it's not just a blanket it is now a blankie, it's not just a sock, it is now a sockie, etc. You get the idea!

Jared made Mother's Day very special. He didn't have any meetings so he got up and made pancakes for breakfast - my favorite. We ate dinner at a friend's house and tried to watch a movie. We both fell asleep - as usual!

This was definitely the best Mother's Day I have ever had!

Mason's Blessing Day

Mason was blessed this past Sunday, April 19th. This just happened to be my birthday also. It was a very special treat to have him blessed on this day. Mason looked so handsome in his blessing outfit. Jared insisted on getting one with a tie and now I want him to wear a tie every week because he looked so cute.

I got to church early and fed him and he was asleep before the meeting started. That never happens! Jared did an awesome job on the blessing. The spirit was so strong and I am so grateful for the priesthood. Afterward we took lots of pictures. He was screaming through most of them but we were still able to get some good ones. The weather was actually really great so we were able to go to the park down the street to eat lunch. We had chicken and turkey salad sandwiches. I think everything turned out really well, but Mason and I were ready for a really long nap!

All Smiles

Mason was about 6 weeks old when he started smiling. In the beginning whenever I would get my camera out to take a picture he would stop smiling. This was the first picture I was able to get. I had set him down so I could grab something when he started smiling like crazy. I hurried and grabbed the camera and to my amazement he just sat there and smiled. He is definitely a keeper.

8 weeks old

Happy Easter

This was our first Easter with Mason. I almost forgot that we needed to do something for him. We weren't sure what to get a 2 month old so we got him a book. "Here Comes Peter Cottontail". As you can see he was very happy to get it!

While You Were Sleeping

I love taking pictures of Mason when he is asleep. He looks so peaceful and satisfied.