Utah Summer 2015

So far, this summer has been a whirlwind of travel, family, and Jackson taking huge steps to opening a new school.

Just days after school got out, Valencia and I got on a plane to travel to Utah. Now a seasoned pro, Vali handled the cross country trip like a champ. In her short lifetime, Valencia has now made FOUR cross country trips - Christmas, my brother Ben's wedding in March, Spring Break in Arizona and this time for my sister Crystal's wedding/summer family time. I'm sure she's due for some sort of frequent flyer bonus by now. :) Jackson did not join us for the flight because he was already out west - but in Colorado taking classes to help prepare him to open his new school - Henderson Collegiate High School (now opening in 34 days!).

Boarding flight #2

Time with the Britt's in Utah was amazing! First, we were fortunate to be a part of Crystal's union to the amazing Charles Andrew Maxwell (he mysteriously goes by about any version of his names... at the wedding he was referred to as Charles, Charlie, Andrew and probably Mad Max). The wedding allowed for us to see friends and family from Utah, Colorado, New York, Canada, Washington and Arizona and was a great excuse to hang out with my favorite high school friends! Both sets of grandparents also came for the wedding, we're at that stage when every opportunity to be with them is a blessing.

 Vali with Steph, one of my best friends 

who travelled from CO 

 Vali and Dixie with my cousin Danielle who travelled from NY

(Notice Dixie - she tried to borrow some of Vali's PJ's, but they didn't quite fit)

 Alicia, one of my best friends who threw Crystal her bachelorette party

Crystal enjoying her party

The only sad part about time with my family is that Jackson was only able to join us for literally 6 hours. Amazing husband, father and brother-in-law that he is, he drove 7 hours in each direction from Denver so he could be with us for the wedding. We cherished every minute.

After the wedding, we got in some awesome family time. Valencia cannot get enough of her cousins! She LOVES the interaction and attention. I loved seeing her with Dixie. These two are only 4 days apart and we can't wait for them to grow up to be best friends.

 Dixie and Valencia 

Shopping with the girls

Vali with her aunt Tippy

While in Utah, Valencia also switched to all solids, all the time. Say goodbye to spoon feeding, she is all about big girl food. Some favorites include hamburger, string cheese, peas, steamed carrots, watermelon and pasta. According to my dad, she is slowest eater in history. I attribute this to her still having no teeth and to being such a great eater - she'll eat anything! On a few occasions she's sat for 40 minutes in her high chair eating, laughing and having a great time. Now that we are home, she enjoys sharing with Merlin. Sometimes it's literally a bite for her, a bite for Merlin. A bite for her, one for Merlin. He's loving life.

 Chowing down on lasagna

Still eating at the changing table several minutes 

after getting down from the high chair

Back at home feeding Merlin breakfast

But I digress, back to our vacation. Let's just say that Papa and Grandma spoiling Valencia is an understatement. This girl was waited on, cuddled with and cooed at... and she loved every second of it.

 Papa is overjoyed to be with his girls

When Jackson's classes in Denver were over, he came over to Utah and we spent the rest of our trip with his family. More cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends! We were fortunate to arrive the day before his parents gave their homecoming remarks from their service mission. Herm and Norma recently returned from the small island country of Palau where they taught the somewhat newly formed government all about jury trials. Herm was the first attorney on the island to have his client be given the verdict of not-guilty by a jury.

 Valencia with her cousin Gideon and Aunt Amber

Jackson and Vali with Grandpa Jack

Valencia with her cousin Estee

Even though most of the family was there for kayaking, 

the only photos we managed to take were of these two...

While in Logan, Jackson was able to golf, play handball and summit Box Elder Peak - the highest mountain on the Wellsville range of Cache Valley. These physical feats are far beyond my abilities, and for a guy who still managed to work 8 hours or more a day while on 'vacation', it was very impressive.

 View from the trail

 Jackson's cousin Jo and a stray dog, his mountain companions

View of the valley from the top of the mountain. It's quite majestic.

We ended the trip with a fantastic 4th of July celebration and fireworks. Jackson's family has a tradition of doing family fireworks in the church parking lot behind their house. Each kid sat mesmerized as brilliant lights and loud pops filled the air. I loved seeing all of the kids' reactions to each firework as they lit up the night sky.

 Waiting for the fireworks

In the church parking lot with the Olsen family

It's always tough to say goodbye to family when they live so far away. We returned home with amazing memories and a new challenge ahead. I am so proud of Jackson and I know big things are happening as he and his team prepare for HCHS to open it's doors in 34 short days.

Because we had to share a cute little butt in the air 

The Top 10 of 2014

It's that time of year again. Time for resolutions and reflections. For the latter, look no further than this here blog post, which encapsulates one of the greatest years of our lives. Without further delay, we present to you, in chronological order...

The Top 10 of 2014:

1. Pregnancy

Seemingly a strange addition to the top ten, it has to be said that I had one of the best pregnancies in womanhood. Aside from frequent bathroom stops and the normal waddling towards the end, I was blessed to be active, agile, and mostly unencumbered. I don't know if any other earthly experience can top the feeling of a baby's kicks and turns in the womb. To top it all off, the labor and delivery both were textbook and within a few (painful) hours our sweet Valencia was in my arms. 

2. Motherly Visits

Jackson and I were both blessed with wonderful mothers. Both of my moms were more than willing to take a break from their busy lives to spend time helping us as we transitioned to parenthood. My sweet mother came in March with hopes of seeing my pregnant belly and helping us prepare for Vali's arrival. Despite the unseasonably cold rain, we were able to do some major baby prep work and enjoy some down time together.

Mom came again for the arrival of Valencia. Little did she know she'd have to wait 6 extra days for her birth. In the end it was worth it as she literally helped me push Vali into the world. She then tended to us as we recovered and adjusted to life with an infant. Norma came a few weeks later to help out in similar ways. We owe both of these women more than we can say. I'm blessed to have two wonderful mothers who have my back, even from the other side of the country.

3. Wilmington with the Bushes

Gabe and Ellen Bush are two of our closest friends. Each time we get together its like a convergence of peanut butter and jelly, thunder and lightning, or Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Some things just fit. We've loved having them as our East Coast neighbors in DC. During Spring Break, we took advantage of the good weather and proximity to North Carolina's beaches for a swinging' good time in Wilmington, one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the South.

4. Teacher of the Year

Celeste is a gifted teacher with the ability to not only teach content, but touch hearts. Her gift was made manifest last year when 94% of her students passed the rigorous end-of-year 5^th grade science exam (this compared to the state average of about 45%). At the staff retreat at the end of the year, Henderson Collegiate bestowed its highest honor upon Celeste, naming her the recipient of the Excellence in Education Award. If only all children could have teachers like Celeste.

5. Summer in Utah

Because of work schedules and other circumstances, Celeste and I traveled to Utah for the summer at different times. Celeste made it out in late June in time for two beautiful baby showers thrown by her Orem and Logan families. As a special treat, her two best friends from Grand Junction - Stephanie and Alicia surprised her and stayed for the festivities. She also got to spend some quality time with her sister Bonnie, who was due just a week after Celeste, but delivered 4 days before her. 

Jackson made it out in late July in time for the annual Kidd Family Campout and some fishing on the Green River with his Uncle Terry.

6. "Babymoon" at the Beach

We were married for seven years before Valencia came along. In addition to the year we dated, that’s 8 years of being Jack and Les, a whimsical and hopelessly romantic couple. “Jaleste” had a lot of fun in its hey-day, and while we were both eager to have a baby (that’s a mild way to put it), we were also sad to say goodbye to one of the greatest power couples Western Civilization has ever known.

We therefore endeavored to experience one final fling at the beach. I guess this is what the kids are calling a “Babymoon”. Well whatever you call it, we had a great time forgetting the troubles of the world for a week at the beach. I golfed, Celeste got a massage, and we survived a hurricane in the comfort of our oceanview suite.

7. Valencia

Really, we could have filled the Top 10 this year with Valencia highlights, but instead we're quartering them all here in one place: preparing her nursery, her arrival into the world on August 15th, the way she sighs, her sneezes and hiccups, her obsession with her hands and fingers, her first laugh, tummy time, story time, her acrobatic tricks, her sweet nature and angelic disposition, the way she clings to mom, her baby blessing, the way she looks in hats, her blue eyes that get bluer each day, her soft skin that smells like baby, her focus and attention when watching football games on TV, her busy limbs that only stop when she's feeding, her contagious giggles, her warm hugs. Just, her.

8. New jobs at HC

This was a big year for Jack and I. I was promoted to be an instructional coach (educator-lingo for someone who teaches teachers on best practices) and the Science Department Chair. Jackson, after a really rough year at the local high school, was hired at Henderson Collegiate to start their high school. It opens in August of 2015, so I'm sure you'll be seeing that big piece of news on an upcoming Top 10 list. But the fact that he got hired means that we've been able to see a lot more of each other. We both are working at the middle school while Jackson splits his time with his high school planning efforts.

9. Thanksgiving in CT

It’s a rare occasion for us to spend Thanksgiving with family anymore, but thanks to the recent moves of my sisters Holly and Josie to Connecticut, we were able to make it happen while simultaneously embarking on our first ever road trip with both a dog and baby. Yipee!

Added bonuses this year included my cousin Daniel who joined us from New York City, and my sister Mandy and her two adorable children, who descended on Connecticut from Ireland, where she and her husband live for 6 months out of the year. We also got to spend time with Celeste’s Uncle Dan and Aunt Jeanne in New York with all the Cooper cousins.

10. Christmas in Utah

When you have a child as beautiful and as popular as Baby V, you can’t hide that light under a bushel. Youv’e got to share the goodness, which is exactly what we did when we came home for Christmas this year. Its was Vali’s chance to meet her Papa Britt (pronounced pu-PAH) and all her lovely aunts and uncles on the Britt side of the family. Meanwhile, mom and dad enjoyed flow-ride surfing and colds.

In Logan, Vali met her Grandpa Mack and lots more aunts, uncles, and cousins. She also became acquainted with the birthplace of her nickname, Cache Valley (valley=Vali). We were also hit with some arctic weather and were reminded about how miserably cold Utah can be, and how soft we've grown when it comes to cold weather. However, in our defense, I'm pretty sure even stalwart Utahns will agree that 3 below zero is unacceptable.

Honorable Mention

Honda Fit 2.0 – Remember when we got into that terrible accident that totaled our Honda Fit and the other driver’s van? Well, from that pile of broken glass and crushed metal came a new car, another Honda Fit. It’s a small car for a family like ours, but is deceptively spacious, as was proved during our extended road trip over Thanksgiving.
Merlin turns 2 – We love our clingy, loyal mutt, Merlin Jay Olsen. When he turned two, we celebrated by giving him his all-time favorite gift: cuddle time with mom and dad.

Memorial Day with the Smiths – Our Memorial Day tradition of hanging out with my sister and her family is one that we look forward to all year. It only got put on the “Honorable Mention” list because it was pushed out by our even better weekend with them for Thanksgiving. This Memorial Day weekend was spent in beautiful Henderson, North Carolina, where we ate pizza, played in bumper boats, went to the batting cages, played miniature golf, went roller skating, and swam at the neighborhood pool.
Surprise Visit from Uncle Dave and Grandpa Britt – These two guys were in DC for a WWII Veterans event, but we met them for dinner in Richmond, and it was quite a treat. Sidenote: Uncle Dave, the consummate theme park enthusiast, stopped at King’s Dominion on his way to dinner while Grandpa Britt waited in the car for an hour and a half.

The Doctorate Continues – A year and a half down, lots more to go.
Jackson loses 15 pounds – I credit this to my Jawbone UP bracelet and drinking nothing but water in 2014.

New Babies in the Family – Ours wasn’t the only family that grew in 2014. In February, we welcomed our nephew Crew to the world, the third child of Celeste’s sister Sarah. Then in August, just four days before Vali was born, Celeste’s sister Bonnie gave birth to her second daughter, Dixie. Then, not to be left out of the 2014 baby cycle, little Estee Bright Smith was born just two days ago to my sister Holly and her husband Adam.

USU Football Team Wins 3^rd Straight Bowl Game – Word.