Tradition! Utah State Fair with our grandboys.

Bailey, Grammy and Jaxson

Grandpa always spoils them and today was no exception!  He bought them these "cool" sunglasses and they thought they were pretty hot stuff!  The fair always sets us back at least $100 and sometimes I wonder if it's worth it, but then I start eating the kettlecorn and think "yep, it's worth it!"  Just kidding, we LOVE having this tradition with our cute grandboys and will do it as long as they'll go with us!  They weren't interested in seeing the animals this year for the first time, but we have fun seeing the magic and comedy shows, riding the rides and eating all the junk food we can.  It's great fun to be with Jax and Bay.

Bailey rode this ride about 5 times & LOVED it, but it took some convincing to get Jax to go on it - then he liked it too.  It looked pretty fun to me but I didn't have a wrist band to go - dang it!

Jax took our photo at the Elvis impersonator concert (which by the way, you can be

 glad you didn't have to sit through - we lasted less than 5 minutes there!)

Sunday afternoon ride

Here we are - motorcycle & windblown hair and all!

Guess this is why it took so long, there are some "awesome" birds there the environmentalists had to protect!

All the overpasses & bridges were made with rocks like those used on the sign behind Jeff, very impressive indeed - and my man is too!

Jeff and I decided to check out the newly opened Legacy Parkway on the motorcycle and had a blast.  It was a great ride on a beautiful day.  They did a good job building the 685 million dollar road - we just wish it wouldn't have taken them so long!  It's a great stretch of road - check it out when you can.  We didn't actually take a picture of the parkway and these photos aren't the greatest, but it's hard to take a picture of yourselves with an Iphone and the sun in your eyes! 

Bella Abbie & Papa

Too cute for words!

Bella, Bella, Bella (for those of you who don't know Italian - that means beautiful!)

Like I said in an earlier post, you gotta start 'em out young!

Easy riders!  Check out the belly on that girl - so cute!

We are blessed!

Spencer, Melissa and our sweet Gram

During our fun vacation to Oregon and Washington, we got terrible news about our sweet Grandma Barr.  She had a G.I. bleed - losing half of her blood.  Luckily she was at my brother Jeff's house or we may not have her with us now.  We've been taking turns spending time with her and are happy to report that she is slowly getting better.  She is weak and uses oxygen almost full time now, but that's to be expected after having to have six blood transfusions!  She is a beautiful lady, inside and out and we are so glad to have her still with us.

Labor Day Weekend - Enumclaw, WA

Rosie, Andrew, Jeff, Bonnie & Rebekah at Sunrise Trail

The bikers - Brad & Jake

Adorable (sorry guys, but you are!) Jake and Paul

Goodbyes are hard on moms!

Bonnie, Jeff, Rosie and Brad

Next we went to visit Jeff's sister Rosie's family in Enumclaw.  Her son Paul is getting ready to leave on a mission to Ft. Lauderdale (Spanish speaking) and we wanted to be there for his farewell.  We had a great time with them and enjoyed being able to spend a little time in that beautiful part of the world.  

Jake and Brad (Rosie's husband) rode 10.5 miles UP a mountain and were happy it only took them 62 minutes.  Jake was thrilled to be able to ride Brad's $8,000 (plus) bike!  Brad told him to sacrifice his head, limbs, whatever, just protect the bike!  Luckily no sacrifice was necessary and they enjoyed their workout.

We met them at the top of the road and said our goodbyes to Jacob.  He had to head back to Portland for school.  After he left, we did a little easy hiking and enjoyed the breathtakingly beautiful views.

Another of the highlights of our trip was going through the Seattle Temple with Paul, Brad and Rosie.  What a great experience and we were so happy to be able to share that with them.  They are an awesome family and we are glad to claim them as part of ours!  

Visiting Jacob in Portland

Jacob and Jeff at Lewis & Clark

Jake's "bed" - how does he do it?  I wouldn't even be able to walk in the morning, let alone sleep at night!  He's slept like this for several years now and won't let us buy him a bed.  He says he sleeps fine and doesn't want to get used to being comfortable so when he rock climbs, he can sleep anywhere!  Oh, to be young huh?

The only furniture Jake had in his whole apartment when we got there.  We added a chair and dining room table with 4 chairs from Ikea.  It was fun to shop (well, for me anyway!) and then put the furniture together.  Hopefully it will make his 3 years there a little more comfortable.

Me & a map of his law school

Jeff & I drove north to see Jake at his new school, Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland. We had a great weekend with him and feel great about his decision to go there.  It fits him perfectly and he will have a great three years there.  He has a nice apartment and bikes 25 minutes (uphill) to school - course that means it's downhill home!  He carries about 25 pounds of books on his back so that adds to his workout.  Luckily he's in great shape!  The campus is beautiful and so is the city.  We had delicious berries from the local farmer's market and it made me wish we had access to some her in SLC.  They have a definite advantage weather-wise and they can grow beautiful fruits and vegetables.  That also makes it a good place for Jake since he's a vegetarian.  We loved spending time with him (even after spending two nights on an air matress!) and are so proud of him. 

You had to know we'd teach her to play cards!

If you want to teach your kids or grandkids something, it's best to start them at a young age!  We had a fun night playing "Salad" with some of our kids and Abbie had a good time trying to help Grammy - we didn't win - but I was the luckiest cuz I got to hold her.  I love that girl!