Summer Photo Contest ...

I randomly entered a "summer picture" into a Natalie Norton-sponsored photo contest. There really were no criteria--just that it was a summer picture.

There were 269 entries and 5 were chosen by local artists ... I was one of the 5, but I won't tell you which photo is mine. Check it out and vote for your favorite by adding a comment.

For those of you who are learning about photography, "Pics and Kicks" is a great source for information/ education--she does a much better job of explaining things than I could ever do.

N.A.D.S. in Training for H2C '08



You might remember this post from a few months back. We are now getting some footage for the Hood to Coast documentary ... With less than two weeks away from H2C '08, the N.A.D.S are in full force training hard ... well, most of the team is.

I know, I know ... look at my shorts--yes, they are short, yes, they are the Texas flag. To me, it is a small price to be part of the North American Distance Sprinters.

Also, check out the production team for the documentary here. Cool stuff.

Brian

The "Smallest" Announcement We've Ever Made...

I know most of you already know this, but I thought I'd make it official and let you know that our little family will be growing by one in January (19th, to be exact). I'm still trying to wrap my head around having 3 kids!!! But, we are really looking forward to it. In 4 weeks, we can even find out whether it is a boy or girl- yep, we are NOT waiting on that one!

I wish I had a cute picture of it...but, I wanted to include the specs, just so you know how "small" it really is:

4 1/2 inches
3 1/2 ounces
and...cute as can be (coming from the mommy!)

Local COLOR ...

For some great custard with an old town feel, the girls recommend Double Dip Frozen Custard in Frisco ...




Today was a long one...it started out with me taking Kate to her ENT appointment up at Medical City. I walked away from there with an appointment for ANOTHER surgery for Kate- removal of her ear tubes, including cutting away at the the excess fat in her ear to patch up the hole left by the tubes (Sorry if thats TMI). Simple enough, compared to what we've seen, so I can't complain. It was hard for me to see her so nervous today though. She must have asked me a million times (as we waited for an hour and a half to be seen!), "Mommy, do you promise that I won't get a shot today?". She cried off and on once the doctor entered the room, still refusing to believe that a shot was not on the docket for today's appointment.

When Brian got home from work, we decided to take the girls out to lighten the mood. :) We ate a yummy dinner and then got some even yummier custard at a new place (as mentioned above). A fun night!

Is it just me....

or is Kate getting so tall all of the sudden? When did she turn into a big girl? Every single day, Kate will wake up and say, "Mom, look how much bigger I am today".

Our lives have been so busy lately- I got a new calling in our new ward- YW secretary and its kept me busier than I thought possible- a good busy. I've never worked in Young Women before and its been alot of fun so far. Brian has been busy at work as well as with his new photography business on the weekends. Its so fun to see how much he really LOVES photography.

My little brother, Jake, came into town last weekend and it was so much fun to have him around. Kate would not let him out of her sight and he was asked to do everything from play "house" with her, to catching her on the slide at the pool (at least 30 times), to sitting by her at dinner. We miss you Jake!

Taylor is entering a new [wonderful] stage of life- potty training! Mom could not be more excited to be done with diapers. I hope she keeps up her good work.

We spend most of our days at the pool lately- thanks to the 100 degree plus weather we've been having. You really cannot step outside unless you are in the pool. We've also been going to lots of birthday parties and lunches with the girls. We're so grateful to have so many good friends here. Life is good right now!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY AMERICA!


4th of July ... has to be one of my favorite holidays. This year we stayed in town and kept it pretty simple. We were able to get in all the 4th's activities; a parade, hot dogs, playing in water, and of course, fireworks.

For the parade, we went to my parents' neighborhood. The town of Fairview Police & Fire department put on a great show--at the end of the parade, the fire truck extended out it's ladder and made it "rain"... and the kids loved it--it reminded me of New York where the firemen in Harlem would turn on all the fire hydrants to let the kids play & cool down. It was hot when we started the parade at 10:00, it had already reached 90. While the kids played in the water, we sat in the shade & enjoyed food & stuff.



Taylor opted to just watch the kids and keep dry ... although impossible in this humidity :)

Rachel & Taylor represented on the scooter ...



Kate and I watched the local fireworks from our house ... I set up my camera and tripod to try and get some good shots--I learned how to shoot fireworks at my latest photography class. I set it up, but Kate took all the pictures ... she had a ton of fun--she took dozens of shots, and after each one she would say, "oh dad, this is beautiful ..." Here are a couple that turned out pretty good.



Oh, question to the Jewkes family ... does this count as my "journal writing" for the week??

BC

GARY JEWKES FAMILY REUNION

Breckenridge, CO
To see more pics, CLICK HERE (Flickr Photostream)







This semi-annual Family Reunion brought all 42 of us to Breckenridge, Colorado for a few days this past week. My parents have eleven children and 19 grandchildren and we all stayed in one 10-bedroom house! Needless to say, there was ALWAYS something going on. We managed to squeeze in some structured activities- and this is no small thing when you are dealing with such a huge crowd- Whitewater Rafting, Family Bike Rides down Vail Summit, Family Olympics, Kickball, Breckenridge Shopping, Family Hikes, and tons of fishing (note the river about 10 feet from the cabin). The scenery was amazing and so was the company- especially after the kids went to bed! Thanks Mom and Dad for making it happen and giving us such a great reason to get together.