Christie's Wedding

We were so lucky to go to Utah a week ago for Christie & Brian's wedding. It was a crazy busy trip, but we had a wonderful time. Christie and Brian are so happy together and they complement each other so well. We loved being there with all the family and friends who came for the wedding.

Fresh out of the temple.

Sarah & Grandpa had a wonderful time hanging out on Temple Square.
He was so cute to follow her wherever she wanted to go....wish we had him closer to us.

The whole family....we haven't all been together for over two years!
Grant really enjoyed the reception...
taking apart/putting back the centerpieces kept him quite busy.

Sarah spent her time enjoying her beautiful dress
(the night before the wedding she told Shayne "I'll see you tomorrow.
I'll be the one in the beautiful dress."),
dancing with Scott, and standing next to Christie in the reception line.
I hope people didn't think that she was Christie's daughter!

All the "Originals" the night before the wedding.

Sarah & Grant with their Great Grandpa Regehr.
Seeing him was truly a highlight of the trip.

Grant is TWO!

Grant turned two today....where has the time gone? I can hardly believe he's two. I'm absolutely loving the stage that Grant is in right now. He's discovering so much and learning how capable he is (and isn't). He has a winning smile (as Mom says) and knows how to work it to his advantage. Right now Grant loves anything that moves (including cars, trucks, airplanes, babies, horses, and dogs), he loves anything that Sarah is doing, racing (he says "ready, guh, go"), watching shows, anything having to do with guitars, eating popcorn, and talking (finally!!! he is getting really good at talking, I'm so relieved). I love my little guy and I'm so glad he's ours. He is truly a joy.


We went to the Scarecrow Festival to celebrate Grant's birthday. Grant was completely enthralled with the Battle of the Bands that he couldn't even turn around for a picture.
The Carousel


The Ferris Wheel, or "Fairest Wheel" as Sarah calls it.Riding the ponies....Grant calls all horses "Bucky" (he always gets to ride Bucky at the park)
Is this our official entrance to the "terrible two's?" Is it wrong that I still think he's adorable when he throws a tantrum?

Le Tour de Vermont

Fun to have visitors!

Collete came to visit for a week and we just said good-bye yesterday. It was so much fun to have her visit. We can't wait for her to come again! Here are some of our favorite highlights:

• taking her to Greenfield Village
• building two benches for the living room (I love that Collette not only puts up with, but willingly helps me with all my crazy ideas)
  
• eating a delicious dinner in Mexican Town
• eating "Custees" (frozen custard around the corner)
• going on pony rides at Elizabeth Park (Sarah rode Chili and Grant rode Bucky and they both were absolutely thrilled...I was a little nervous for Grant, but he did great)
  
• making 5 posies for Christie's wedding
  
• seeing Sherri & Shayne
• eating the best hamburger in my life at Thurman's in Columbus
  
• raspberry picking with Sherri & Collette
  
• birthday cake #2 for Steve
• 

On the Model T ride at Greenfield Village...always a favorite for Grant.

Sarah & Collette tried on lots of hat at Greenfield Village.
We had at least three "tea parties," full of small sandwiches, cut up fruit, juice, and of course dress-ups!
Making the posies for Christie's wedding...hope she likes them!
Birthday cake #2...Sarah is dying to blow out the candles.


Raspberry picking in Ohio, near Sherri's home.
Lunch at Thurman's....best hamburger ever!
Grant loves petting horses. Every time he goes on a ride he gets to go on Bucky, the smallest horse I've ever seen.



"Are you sure this is safe?"

Trip to Utah

Every time we go to Utah I make a long list of everyone I want to see and all the projects I want to do. This last trip was no different and I feel like I need a serious vacation to recover from the trip.

Because of all the busy-ness I didn't take as many pictures as I should have. Sometimes I feel more like enjoying the moment rather than taking pictures of the enjoyed moment. I guess this last trip falls into the latter category.

Some highlights of the trip:

• getting a much needed haircut from Nabby--she also introduced me to my newest favorite hair product, a powder that makes my hair look thick and luscious (yea right, will that ever happen?)
  
• hanging out a lot with Christie working on wedding plans
• having a surprise party for Steve....some of his closest friends from the good ole' days came and hung out for hours
• going to the Oquirrh Temple Dedication
• having a bbq with Jill and her family. They are all such great kids and Sarah adores "Big Sam"--he's 12 and she thinks he's the best! She talks about him all the time and always asks when we're going to see him again. I think she has a thing for older men, and especially her older cousins!
  
• visiting my cousin Joanna and meeting her 10 month old Max. It had been over four years since we'd seen each other
  
• seeing Nate, Amy, Beth, & Sam....they were visiting the at same time; not planned, but a very fun coincidence
• Lesley (Hallmark) took pictures of Sarah, Grant, Beth, & Sam at the Mad-House. It was a morning to remember....I was pretty sure that there wasn't a good shot because the kids were in rare form, but Lesley is so talented that she was able to get a lot of great pictures.
  
• I almost finished Mom & Dad's king quilt....if only I had a few more hours, I could've finished the binding. It will have to wait until our next visit.
• going to the Children's Museum....Sarah loved showing Steve all her favorite things and Grant loved all the cars and the real helicopter.
• going to the fountains at Gateway...Sarah was sort of interested, but Grant was happy to be an observer
• Steve had a great time fishing with his dad and brothers, something he's talked about nonstop since we decided to go to Utah.
• going to Darren's first football game of the season and seeing him score a touchdown.
• Mom has been cleaning out and wanting to get rid of a lot of big items, so I told her I'd help sell as many as possible on Craigslist. It was very interesting to go through the process and meet all the different people.
  
• having dinner and hanging out with Nicole Santiago. It was great to just sit and talk and catch up. Nicole is so positive and she truly acts on all her desires. She is an inspiration to me and it was so great to connect again with her.

Here are a few pictures that I did happen to take of the trip:

Grant taught Max how to jump in his crib.
Max and Joanna....isn't he a beautiful baby and isn't her hair the most incredible color?
Grant, Me, Sarah, Joanna, and Max....Max was pretty much done by the time we started these pictures.Christie and I worked all day painting 5 panels for her wedding reception. They will later be decorated with her engagement and bridal photos. Hopefully it will turn out how we hoped!
Grant was perfectly happy just watching the fountains. I don't think he even got a drop of water on his swimsuit.

Sarah, on the other hand, had a great time at the fountains!

Big Mouth

Sarah had a big mouth today. In Primary, the primary president asked an open-ended question about families. She asked for the children to share something about their families.....Sarah raised her hand and when chosen she blurted out something like this: "sometimes my Mama gets mad at my Daddy she ......and then sometimes she cries.....and....." I couldn't hear all the details she gave over the laughter of the teachers. I know Sarah would have gone on and on if she could have, but luckily the primary president stopped her and moved on. I don't know if I should be embarrassed that everyone now knows that Steve and I don't always get along. Or should I be relieved that now everyone knows that we too have problems and emotions that we can't hide from our little ones? Either way, I had a very good laugh! Kids do say the darndest things.

Quick Trip

The kids and I made a quick trip to southern California last weekend. We went to see Lill & Garr who had just returned from serving as the mission president couple in the Nova Scotia mission. It was a crazy busy five days, but oh so much fun! Annie and I met Mom in San Diego and then headed to Temecula, where Lill & Garr and three of their kids plus all their families live (all within about 1 1/2 blocks of each other). Dad was able to make it for one night, just in time to hear Lill & Garr give their talks. Sarah & Grant loved seeing meeting their cousins. With three of the Jacobsen boys + families in the same neighborhood there were plenty of kids to play with. Sarah took a particular liking to Collin...she still asks to see Collin and pretends to talk to him on the phone. Sometimes he even "visits" and we have to get a chair for him at the dinner table.
Sarah loved meeting and hanging out with her second cousins.
Sarah was dying to get in a picture with the "missionary girls"
Lill & Garr and a bunch of their missionaries.
San Diego Temple....gorgeous.

After the Homecoming, we headed down to Coronado Island for a couple nights. We made it to the beach and Grant hated it. I think he got sand and sunscreen in his eyes. Poor boy. But Sarah absolutely loved it. She couldn't get enough of rolling in the sand...strange, I know. She and Annie also had a great time playing "Jump" in the waves. After lunch and naps we all got pedicures, then followed with a few pictures on the beach at sunset, and finally a pancake dinner. It was a perfect, relaxing day.





Crazy story: they say that everyone has a twin somewhere on the earth....well, we found Dad's twin on Coronado Beach. His book, his hat, his hair, his sitting position, the way he pursed his lips, everything was a spitting image of Dad. At first we thought it was funny, but then it quickly turned to eerie because this guy looked so much like Dad. Annie posed to the side of the picture so I could get proof of Dad's look-a-like. Weird!



The pedicures...Sarah was so thrilled that she got to choose the shiny flowers for her toes. She just kept telling the lady to put more on and the lady kept doing it.