Random pictures...

Me, taking a picture of Mom taking a picture.
This was my initial reaction to the two pink lines....just kidding, we just thought it was funny!!

Backyard fun!

On Saturday, we ordered some pizza, swam, jumped on the trampoline and chatted! This picture is of Mom and Jenn in front of the constantly used spiderweb....okay, I think Dalin MIGHT have climbed on it once....
Dalinbaby!! He has been practicing his diving off of the board, which Bryce helped him with!
Grandpa and Scott are so handsome, huh?
Thanks, Grant, for making this picture memorable! Bryce, you look really good! You guys are growing up too fast!!
This is Elle eating an onion ring or french fry or something like that....on a Sonic run!

Oklahoma in May '08

My favorite 16 year old--Bryce E. Boy!!!!
This is Elle's typical response to me....
My big sister and Scottypie!!
Grant, Elle, Scott and me!

I love going home to see my family! The time always flies because we have so much fun! I never feel like I've captured enough pictures, either! Some of my favorite restaurants in Oklahoma are El Chico (chips/salsa, chicken strips and honey mustard!), Whataburger (sausage biscuits and chocolate shakes) and Braum's ice cream shop (cherries, pecans and cream). I also really like Peeps' ice....it's the really small cubes.....Bryce and I always stop there on our dirt bike (or manual bike) rides! Of course, we visit the lock and dam, catch a dollar movie and stroll through the mall at least once!

Grant's graduation

Ecstatic parents! Cute, too!
Proud of my little bro!
"Finally!" That was a quote from....well, the whole fam!
Yes, those are binoculars around Dad's neck, which came in quite handy!
Grant and Amanda

For Mother's Day and Grant's graduation (yea!!), I was able to fly home! The graduation ceremony lasted entirely too long, but it was exciting to see Grantypoo walk across the stage! I thought for sure we would indulge ourselves in some Braum's ice cream afterwards, but that did not happen....good thing Bryce and I stopped at Q.T. for some goodies before the event!

Utah camping '07

Last, these pictures are from camping up in Utah! Yes, Choco can fetch a stick! What a pup! It is so pretty in the mountains!

Lake Powell '07

Okay, the last of the disposable pictures are from our Lake Powell trip last summer! This was another pre-planned camping trip that turned into renting a house boat! It was so much fun! There was a small group of us and Steve (once again) provided the watercraft machine....wait, we did bring Dave and Eloise's jet skis!! This small act persuaded Steve to purchase two of his own brand new jet skis the following week--he's the 'ultimate consumer!' We found a perfect little cove to dock in--it was at the end of a valley, all tucked away and isolated, and there was enough room to tool around in it on our skis! Also, there was a perfect little spot to cliff jump! Just outside of our designated location, Ricky and I found a sweet little beach that was only accessible by jet ski (pictured)! Okay, so there are only two pictures...lame.

Lake Mead '08

Still using the disposable camera, we captured a few pics from Lake Mead! Even though I can't participate in wake boarding, cliff jumping or wake surfing (pregnancy doesn't condone such activities), I had a great time being on the water! Steve has an awesome MasterCraft X30, which we loved lounging around on! We planned to camp the entire weekend, but after spending an entire sleepless night baking under the stars--it must have been 110 degrees ALL night--we quickly decided to fork over any amount of money to have air conditioning! The hotel was so refreshing, even if it was built in the 50's and never updated or repaired for modern standards! How's Ricky's beard!? He is truly a mountain man! (p.s. I obviously didn't know how to rotate the pictures, so just double-click them and rotate the images yourself, please!)

Coachella '07

On the same disposable camera were pictures of Rick and me from our Coachella concert weekend!! Last summer, Ricky hooked up with tickets (miraculously) to attend a three day concert event in Palm Springs! Coachella happens each year in the California desert and brings in an array of bands to entertain. Some of our favorite bands were Muse, Damian Marley, Red Hot Chili Peppers and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE!!! There were like six stages, so we could always find a good band! Rick and I brought a futon mattress, which fit perfectly into the bed of my truck, to sleep on each night! Each night, we would just park under a tree, roll out our mattress and sleep under the stars! In the mornings, we would put on deodorant, use wet wipes on our faces (and other important body parts) and head back to the party!! One of the best parts of Coachella was the people-watching potential. There were all sorts of random folks! It was a grand weekend!

Disposable Camera

In February, Dustin went to Germany and took my digital camera, which came back less than usable. For 4th of July weekend, we were going to meet up with Ricky and Steve Johnson at Lake Mead. I really wanted to document our adventures, but couldn't afford to run out and buy a new digital camera! While driving to Mead, I found an old disposable camera in Dustin's glove box! These photos are kind of grainy, but still fun! There is one of Dustin after surfing (spiked hair, one of me "turning Japanese," one of my friend Melody and me and another of Dust and Choco! More to come...

Baby time!

Dustin and I are so excited to welcome our first baby!! While in Vegas with Colleen and Chris, I felt a series of "earthquakes." The room kept swaying and nobody else was feeling it. I must have asked Beanie like 10 times if we were having an earthquake. A week later, on our drive home, I was still feeling dizzy and finally thought pregnancy was the culprit! Sure enough, two pregnancy tests confirmed that our little baby was growing! Those tests were followed by other weekly tests...just to be sure! I was so excited to tell my family! Coincidentally, I was visiting Oklahoma the very next week! (I will post those pictures later--out of order--because I don't want to get on the Mac right now...)
First, I asked my parents to go to dinner (just the three of us) where I was going to spill the beans. Maw began telling me how parenthood is an eighteen year commitment of complete responsibility. She was explaining how challenging and rewarding this commitment can be, and a commitment that cannot be broken. I told her that I was already three weeks into the job! Then came the convincing. Mother stared at me and said something to the effect of, "What? Are you serious? Are you pregnant," while Dad quickly began dialing Dustin....my family believes anything Dustin says..."I am calling your husband right now, Kelly! You better not be tricking us!" Would I do something like that? I had to admit that Dr. Roskamp (dentist) knew before she did, but ONLY because he wanted to do X-rays that morning! Dustin confirmed and we ate our celebratory dinner, both of my parents tickled pink!
Next, we wanted to tell the younger kids. As Grant and Bryce sat down to devour our leftover ribs, I gave Colleen a call and put her on speaker phone. I asked her if she remembered those earthquakes, which she did, and I told her it was because I was growing a baby! Both the boys shot a stare of disbelief toward me for confirmation. I think they were surprised!
We called Ricky and Shane (who didn't pick up) on speaker phone, who were both excited. I was saving the best for last....Jennifer has been on the receiving end of a series of "I think I'm pregnant" scenarios, so I knew she would be the hardest to convince. The next morning, we had a gyno appointment at the same time. I wanted to ask Dr. Splane for a pregnancy test and have him come into the room like, "Congratulations, you're pregnant!" I expected Jenn to be blown away, thus fulfilling my announcement desires!! Unfortunately, things did not work out that way....he made me do a blood test. He promised the staff would call with the results in "about an hour." Okay, so I would have Jenn answer my phone and pretend to be me (not unusual for us). Mom was with Scott and Elle at therapy, so we met up with her after our appointments. I told Mom they would be calling my phone in about an hour--we had to stall. We went to Old Navy--no call--and we went to Sam's club--still no call....I called the office, who informed me that they would be calling me back shortly. Lunch anyone? We all trekked off to Monterey's Tex Mex for lunch, still anticipating the call. Mind you, Jennifer thinks that I am just overreacting about a pregnancy scare...she has no idea that I was already sure! We finished lunch and STILL no call. My plan was failing. Stall some more....so, we went to Jenn's to hang out for a bit before the boys had to be picked up from school! Nothing looks suspicious, right? I must have called the office another 4 times. Finally, it was time to go...I couldn't just tell her I was pregnant NOW! I knew she would never believe me! As we left, I frantically text messaged the boys to find alternative rides home, which worked! Fifteen minutes after we left Jenn's house, we returned to hang out a little more. "Oh, we're back! Just wanted to hang out a little more.." I knew my phone would ring at any moment! It didn't. Instead, we left for good when Grant HAD to have the car to go to dinner with his friend Jake. Now what?
Arriving home, my phone begins to vibrate....thanks a lot, Dr. Splane, for the confirmation pregnancy test. Now, I had to just call and tell Jenn. I got Dalin on speaker phone. "Are you in the same room as your Mother," I asked. "No, she's in the living room," he replied. "Okay, well I want you to go into the living room," I instructed him. His cheery reply, "Okay!" Then came the news..."Dalin, you're going to have a new little cousin!" I said. Knowing right away what that meant, he said, "You're pregnant? How wonderful!!" Hearing no reaction in the background, I asked him if his Mom had heard the news......"Nope! She went into the kitchen!" AAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!! I give up!! In the end, Jenn didn't believe that I was pregnant either, so she called Dustin. She probably still doesn't believe;), so maybe these ultrasound photos will help!! We are so excited!

More Zion's Park pictures

Here are a few more pictures (I can add more when Dustin downloads them onto the computer) and a couple of Bean/Chris flying...

Zion's National Park

After church on Sunday, we decided to take a scenic drive through Zion's National Park. It was a gorgeous drive, the full beauty of which could not be captured on film. Instead, enjoy a few pictures of us!