When you serve others...You Serve God.

My friend Jamie came over on Thursday, May 22nd. She brought a"Mary Poppins" bag full of surprises. She made me "Cliff's Chicken" --it was delicious. As you can see, she surprised me not only with lunch, but held Cai. It was so nice to eat a hot meal, with both hands too! Usually, when Jarad's at work, I eat left-overs cold with Cai on my lap. What an unexpected treat! She knows me well! She brought a blender, pots and pans to cook me lunch...ha ha ha! (I don't have a lot of cooking things that are usually found in a kitchen). Thanks Jamie! I love ya! Memorial Day 2008. Cai, Jarad and I playing after a nice rib BBQ. Jarad made them for us--super tasty for his first time!

One of my favorite little bibs for Cai. I love the interaction--the laughter, the mimicing my facial expressions... He loves "talking" to us. He's so sweet.

First Mother's Day 2008!!!!

Happy Mother's Day! Jarad and Cai were so sweet to plan a wonderful day. Jarad spoke in church and we really enjoyed listening to him. One thing he said, I'll never forget. He said, "My mother was never too busy to play with her children. She was her children's best friend."

So amazing that almost three months ago this little guy was even littler. He's been growing so much lately. He's reading the Book of Mormon now, even in Chinese. On the side, he enjoys studying Physics and learning all about electricity. As well as taking baths and playing Hide 'n Seek!

Jarad and I are so happy together. After a nice mother's day meal on Saturday night, which we got to enjoy all over again on Sunday night, we just looked at each other, hugged, and at the same time said, "I'm just so happy!" I love you guys! Thanks for a fabulous Mother's Day!

Day Four of Family Trip--hasta la vista!

The final day of our Family Trip. By far our most favorite day. We had 600 miles left to drive, 9 miles to hike, and a rainy/windy day ahead of us. So, with all the odds against us, we pulled into the parking lot just wondering if we should even get out. We looked at each other and said, "Let's just go on a little walk together and see how it is." That is the greatest part of being a family.

Four miles later, at the top of Mt. Rogers in the Grayson Highlands State Park. The wild ponies that roam up there are so amazing. They are not shy and let us approach them. The weather turned sunny and gorgeous. And the 600 mile drive home went great! With a stop at our romantic Little restaurant, where we first ate the day Jarad and I met. Wendy's-Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe never tasted so good.

Day Three of the Family Trip

April 25th- Whitewater Falls, in Southwest North Carolina. One of the largest waterfalls East of the Mississippi River.
View from the falls. We really lucked out on beautiful weather the whole trip. From there, the drive to Georgia was really short and we were hoping to hike Brasstown Bald--the clouds were moving in and the park was closed because the Tour de Georgia bike race was being held the next morning. They had to truck in all the Johnny on the Spots...and didn't want people in the way. There was a nice forest ranger who told us we could go and showed us where the trailhead was. It was a good 6 mile hike. Compared to out West, these mountains...well, they probably wouldn't call them that in the first place, but when you've been out at sea level, living on a beach, it sure is a good exercise.

After the hike, we drove a little ways up to the Great Smokey National Park. It was so so beautiful! There were tons of professional photographers, with all their nice gear, taking shots. We feel pretty lucky with our little camera that we could catch the breathtaking sunset as we said goodnight to another great day. We see why they call them the "smokies" ...these clouds move in fast. At the top of Clingman's Dome, it was windy and a little chilly. Cai and I bundled up (you can see the sockies on his hands) to get a better look at the sunset, by the time we got to the top, it was completely clouded in.

Day Two of The First Family Trip

Blue Ridge Mountains in the background, right outside of Little Switzerland...North Carolina. We were trying to find Mt. Mitchell State Park. We got a little lost, but, hey, at least we found Switzerland along the way~it was a beautiful drive. I love this shot of Cai and Jarad, best little buddies. Especially hiking buddies... Jarad carried him up and down the mountains. What great guys they are!
Hiking Mt. Mitchell--it was steep, but the views were worth it! Family trips are definately worth the time, effort, planning and money. Jarad and I always thought, "We couldn't do that if we had kids..." Well, for now, with one, we found out we can and it's totally better having him along with us!

First Family Trip

Jewel's favorite color~ purple combined with Jarad's~green! What a beautiful comination.

Wednesday, April 23rd, Duke University's Botanical Gardens.












The Chapel at Duke, with beautiful stone work, stained glass windows and a humongous organ.

We enjoyed a picnic at the Terrace Gardens. Cai does love the outdoors. His best night yet, waking up the most happy we have ever seen yet, was that night's first family camping trip at Lake Norman State Park, NC.