4th of July Festivities

I know what everyone is thinking...the 4th of July seems like months ago...but alas here I am trying to document the fun we had. It has been a busy month for our family so please bare with us while we try to catch up to speed. We spent the day with the usual morning parade, played at the park, tried to enjoy the festivities at our community's Town Center where they had rides and games for the kids, but lines were too long and the day was way too hot. We managed a pony ride for both the girls and despite protest, headed for the car. Later that day we went back to the Town Center to have dinner and hang out before the fireworks. It was so fun to hang out with some of our favorite people... sit and eat lots of watermelon and junk food while waiting for the sun to set and the fireworks to begin. Taylor could not wait to see fireworks and had talked about it for days prior. As we were waiting on the blanket at the park a stray firework was let off and made a very loud boom and after that Taylor decided she had had enough of the fireworks and wanted to go home. She spent most the night after that sitting on our laps and burying her head in our shoulders because she was so afraid. The next day I asked her what her favorite part about the fireworks were and she simply replied "when they ended." Oh to be 3 and how at times the world around you must seem so big and scary!

The Parade

Pony Rides

Taylor and her butterfly wings

Face painting...a butterfly of courseCrew Bowen waiving his flag
Eating too much candy, but having a blast together

(The girls with friends Crew and Mason)

Taylor finally decided that pretending to sleep was better than seeing fireworks, after a while the boys joined her...although they lost interest very fast.

Kennedy playing at the park before the fireworks

In Memory

I have to take a moment and mark the one year anniversary of the passing of a beloved father, grandfather, husband and friend. I would love to say that dealing with his absence has gotten easier with time, but as I get together with my family and we experience major milestones in our lives it only makes those times together bitter sweet. I long for my father to pick up the phone when I call. I long for my children to be able to remember the fun times they had with their papa and to know how much he loved them. I long for his quiet and powerful presence that made our family complete. I am so thankful for the knowledge I have of eternal families and the peace that comes with knowing that we can be together again. We love and miss you dearly papa.

E. Wayne Ricks

September 10, 1943~June 26, 2007

The Jeppson Family Reunion

Road Trip

After returning home from Utah we packed the car and started our two day road trip to Nauvoo, Illinios to be with Nate's family for a reunion. You gotta love a good road trip. The long hours in the car, the classic questions coming from the backseat of "is this Nauvoo??" and "are we there yet??" Passing the time by eating candy and snacks and then stopping at Wendy's and/or McDonalds (yes I will admit we do let our kids eat at McDonalds). Oh and I can't forget the "quality" hotels along the way. With all sarcasim aside I really did enjoy our road trip. The girls did so well in the car by watching movies and singing songs to keep entertained. We made it to Nauvoo and met up with the rest of the Jeppson gang. It was a lot of fun and with all the cousins to play with Taylor was in heaven. It was good to be with family and to experience the church history of that part of the country. We have had a good month filled with family and lots of fun but it is nice to slow down and be at home and relax for a little while.

Our visit to Utah!

We spent the first week in June in Utah with Grandma Ricks, Uncle Tim and his family, Aunt Christine, Aunt Becky and the rest of the Turk Family. We had so much fun and enjoyed the time we got to spend with counsins and family in general! We are glad we got to spend time with the Turscanski's before the big move to Italy. Thanks Grandma Ricks for letting us visit and letting us all stay at your house! We love you all and miss you already!

Quirky Colorado

This memorial day we spent our free time discovering Colorado's quirky side. On Saturday we went to a place called Tiny Town with Jami and Crew. It is a place up in the mountains filled with tiny houses and buildings with miniature displays inside the windows. There were even some tiny buildings that the kids could go inside and explore. One of the highlights of the day was the tiny steam engine train that we road around Tiny Town. Taylor and Crew loved the little houses and I must admit it was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. Then on Monday we headed south to Colorado Springs to a place called Santa's Workshop at the North Pole. This is an amusement park for young kids at the foot of Pikes Peak. The whole park has a Christmas theme from a spinning Christmas tree to a carousel filled with all of Santa's reindeer, and yes even Santa himself was there to take requests. There were lots of different rides to enjoy that were some kind of variation of spinning around in a circle. Nate and I took turns going on the rides so we both weren't completely motion sick at the end of the day. We all had a great time, even Kennedy who because of the laid back attitude of the park went on almost every ride!

Tiny Town

Santa's Workshop

Any day now!

I am so happy that Kennedy has started to take steps. For months she has been walking holding on to anything that will move and hold her weight. Now in the past week she has actually attempted to take steps...but only to her favorite people. I can't wait when she decides that she can do it on her own! No more brown knees!!