Kate's Blessing

Sweet little Kate was blessed on Sunday and so many family members came out to help celebrate her special day.  I was so busy taking photos, that I forgot to get one of me holding Kate, but I did get some of her darling little dress (Amy's blessing dress), and a few of her all ready to go.

Amy fixed us a delicious brunch before the blessing, and it was nice to eat and visit before heading over to the church.  Thanks to all the family who supported them!

Tyler gave a beautiful blessing....

• He blessed her that she would have the knowledge and assurance of her divine nature.
• He blessed her that she would grow and develop a testimony of Jesus Christ.
• He blessed her that her physical body would grow strong and healthy.
• He blessed her mind to learn all things, both temporal and physical.
• He blessed her that she would make good choices and live according to gospel principles.
• He blessed her that she would always have the Holy Ghost to follow.
• He blessed her that she would always be sure of her family's love for her.

Happy Birthday Little Angel

Our little Angel, Claire, turned one year old!  How did that happen!   Claire is a happy, smiling, and very bright baby. She is walking, starting to say a few words, mimic animal sounds, and loves "performing" when she has an audience.  She watches people very carefully, and studies what they are doing.  She loves to hold little toys in her hands, and has recently become more generous in giving "loves" and kisses when asked.  She is full of personality and is delightful to play with, read to, and snuggle with.  We love our little Claire!

Claire at her "Minnie Mouse" birthday party, enjoying a bit of cake.

Claire hesitated at first, but once she got eating that cake, she had no qualms about making a bit of a mess!

Mom, dad and Claire...

Lily is eyeing the Minnie cookies and balloons, hoping for one of each.

Even the veggies had a Minnie theme.....

Lauren prepared an adorable party, hosted by her MIL, Becky.

Microfluidic, Thermoelectric and Photonic Energy.

While we were at Lake Powell, we celebrated Landon's 24th birthday.  After he came home, he went back to Southern Utah to run the Red Rock Relay with some friends.  He returned only for a few days to pack up his little car, hook his bike on the back, and head to Palo Alto, California, where he'll be attending Stanford University to pursue a graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Landon is living on campus, enjoying graduate school, and is excited that the classes are challenging.

He is working on selecting a lab to work in, but seems to be interested in the Nano Heat Lab.  What is that, you say?  Well, he explained it to me:  the  lab studies heat transfer in electronic nanostructures and packaging, microfluidic heat sinks, and thermoelectric and photonic energy conversion devices.  they also focus on fundamental transport physics and interact extensively with semiconductor and energy companies.

Had to look up "microfluidic?"    Yeah.  Me too.

But, he's having a great time, is excited to be back in a school envionment and feels that the caliber of education he'll be getting there is very exciting.  It doesn't hurt that Jim and Kathie's apartment is 16 minutes away from his.  I'm guessing he'll be getting fed some pretty nice Sunday dinners.

Good luck, Landon!

Lake Powell

In spite of having three babies under a year old, our kids collectively chose Lake Powell as our family vacation destination this year.  We sandwiched the trip in between Landon's return from his BP internship in Houston, and his departure to California for graduate school.   We were so excited when everyone (even brand new momma and baby Kate, and teachers Richie and Lauren) were able to go.  We had three nursing mothers/babies...six kids 4 and under.  But I love how my kids help one another, tending for a few hours here and there so another could go for a ski run without kids.  We had two trailer/housekeeping units, so evenings we played card games, Settlers of Catan, football, and Octonauts.  We had treasure hunts, movie night and a lot of just being together.  It was perfect.