Tuesday, August 14, 2018

WELCOME BABY KENZIE!

August 10, 2018

There is no greater JOY than holding a brand new BABY! I am so excited to welcome BABY KENZIE to our FAMILY!

I was so happy that she waited until August 10th to be born so her birthday would be 8-10-18. Get it? 8 +10=18. So easy to remember! And I am so happy that she didn't come while I was in Yellowstone!

So here is the plan we had of her BIRTH: Ashley and Lytton had to be at the hospital by 6:00 am and it's over an hour away, so they had to leave early!  So, me and my mom slept over at Ashley's house Thursday night (the night before) so we could get the kids breakfast and head down to Logan where the baby would be born. Ashley loves it when her kids come to the hospital to meet the new BABY. She also wanted me in the room to video and take pics. That of course is my highlight. I love seeing those GRANDBABIES be born! So the plan was to take the kids to a nearby park and when it gets close, I'd bring the kids to the hospital and my mom would play with them there until the baby was born and then I would come out there and help out. Then when it was time, the kids could go in and meet the baby. We would stay in a hotel that night and Lytton would come help me put the kiddos to sleep and then he would sleep at the hospital with Ashley. And we would all go to Ashley's the next day.

Here's what really happened: We spent the night and got up early to get the kids ready to head to Logan. Lytton drove my car and ran over a nail and we got a flat tire. I drove their car and the air conditioning went out and it was 100 degrees...Then we took them to the park and they played in the hot sun (Sadie burned her arm really good on the hot slide!) and Lytton called me and gave me an update and said I will call you when she starts moving along. About a half hour later I really felt to call her. I did and he said she is only at a 6. I will let you know when it's closer. I had a feeling to get the kids packed up and head to the hospital but I waited. About 20 minutes later Lytt calls and said you better start heading here now she is at a 8! So I packed the kids up and the hospital is a few blocks away. I got there and ran in to the room just as they were cleaning off the baby! I had missed it by about 5 minutes! I was devastated! I had missed her birth and her being weighed, her first cry, etc... Ashley said she missed me being there and felt horrible for my having missed it! She went from a 6 to a 10 in a few minutes and then she was ready to go and she pushed through 2 contractions and she was here! Lytton did video and did take photos...thank goodness!

So Kenzie Christie Bastian made her big entrance at 11:51 am weighing a whopping 8 lbs. 13 oz. and 20 inches long! She has lots of dark curly hair with a ton of red in it. Ashley just knew she would have a red head. It's more auburn and it's beautiful! She had chubby cheeks and we all think she looks just like her big brother, Remington, and even her Grandpa Billy.

Ashley and Lytton had the hardest time naming her and finally settled on a name we all love, KENZIE! Her middle name, CHRISTIE, is after Lytton's Grandmother.

I went and got Grandma Shirley and the kiddo's when they were ready for us and brought the kiddo's in to meet their new BABY SISTER! They all LOVED her so much instantly!

I love her too! I love looking at these new babies coming straight from HEAVEN and wonder what their farewell in Heaven was like and if they said goodbye to our lost loved ones, I wonder if she talked to Skylee (Zach and Kell's baby due next month) and said, I'll see you soon! I hope they'll be the best, and closest cousins! And I wonder what her future will hold. I love this baby and I am so thankful she is healthy and that Ashley is fine and doing so well.  These are moments that make my life so full.

First, here is a picture of Ashley and Lytton when they arrived at the HOSPITAL:

Now lets take a look at this little LOVE BUG!



 I love this little GIRL so much!
 Tender love between Mom and Baby!

 Proud Daddy!
 That scale says 40.08 grams which= 8 lbs 13 oz.  Just shy of 9 lbs!


 Remi was thrilled to meet his baby sister. He loves babies! The kids were kind of obsessed with seeing her umbilical cord. They'd say, can we see her belly again?
 The girls were so excited to see the baby and they had lots of questions.
 Grandma Suzie is so in love with this sweetie!

 Grandma Suzie with big brother, Remington
                                            Great Grandma Shirley
Lytton's Dad, Lynn
Love this pic of Ashley and Sadie Bug!





 We love our precious BABY GIRL!

Later we went back to the hotel and went swimming. When my mom was walking down the stairs into the pool, it was so slippery she slipped and really hurt her leg. But the kids had a ball in the pool and then Lytton brought us the best Thai food for dinner and I thought it was going to be hard but I got all the kiddo's to sleep pretty easy! Score!

This was an amazing day! Amazingly glorious, Amazingly hard, but one we will never forget!

Monday, August 13, 2018

TOUR OF UTAH BIKE RACE

August 9, 2018

I love that the TOUR OF UTAH BIKE RACE come right around the corner from my work. We are lucky enough to go out and see it each year. It gets my stomach every time they turn that corner going 70 miles per hour! How do they not just all topple over? They are so close together!

Our commission office puts on a fun little party on that corner in Farmington. They hand out COW BELLS to ring as the RIDERS drive by, and they have FACE PAINTING, MUSIC, DANCING, and FOOD TRUCKS. Lots of fun!

Did you know that this BIKE RACE is so huge that it is 2nd to TOUR DE FRANCE. Most of the RIDERS are from different countries. This RACE is a BIG DEAL!

This year we were lucky because they came around our corner from Layton then they rode up to Bountiful and back down and around our other corner so we saw them twice! Lucky us!








On the way back from Bountiful we saw this: They were a little bit further apart than when they went past the first time.



This van had brooms on their bumper and sign saying they would SWEEP THE COMPETITION!

YELLOWSTONE 2018

August 3-7, 2018

*Note...there are tons of pics and this is a long post. 5 days worth of Yellowstone but I want to keep these memories close to my heart and in my mind. I hope you enjoy this beautiful place too!

I look forward to going to YELLOWSTONE with Zach and Kell's family, and with Mikell's family. I usually go every other year because the dang election doesn't allow me to go every year! This year the plan was to have Joyce and Jenny come with us, but with Jenny's radiation, both of them decided not to come. So, at the last minute, I called and asked Ashley to see if she would let me take Remington. She said yes! We were all excited! I was so happy to have this experience with him. I knew he would love it!

So we drove up on Friday morning along with 2 of the Samsky puppies. Ashley was watching them while we were in Yellowstone. They yapped the WHOLE WAY TO Downey! We were going nuts and it was not a good way to start this fun trip!

I have never been so happy to drop those dogs off! We switched Ashley for Remington and boy, that kid was excited!

We drove to Rigby, Idaho and I decided to fill up the tank there and grab a drink. Then I opened the trunk to get some snacks out for the ride. I had my Debit Card in my pocket when I went into the store. At the next stop for gas, there was NO DEBIT CARD! I lost it! I had to call Wells Fargo and cancel it. Not a good way to start this fun trip!

But then...we drove into WEST YELLOWSTONE and we stopped at the MOUNTAIN MAN RENDEZVOUS and we got Remington a new wooden CROSSBOW, SWORD, AND RIFLE. He was set now to have a BLAST playing with all of the other little kids (Mikell's little nephews) and of course Boston, Waylon and Briggs at the campground. This boy was STOKED!






We decided to drive straight to OLD FAITHFUL because we knew that wasn't on the list of things to see for the rest of the group this trip (they've seen it a hundred times!) But I wanted Remi to see it. Well, we barely missed it so we had to wait another hour, on the front row, I might add, to see it go off. There weren't very many people there at all. It was late afternoon and so the big crowds that come in the late morning, early afternoon had all gone home. So it was AWESOME! I'm a little sad because OLD FAITHFUL isn't near as powerful and high as it once was and it is coming every hour instead of every 30 minutes! Who knows how much longer this famous GEYSER will be faithful!

It was a bit windy!


 Remington patiently waited 1 hour for Old Faithful. He was the best kid!




After that we headed over to the LODGE to get our favorite ICE CREAM, that is TRADITION and it did not disappoint!



Then we met up with the Becksteads at CAMP. We ate dinner and she went with us to check us into our CABIN. After dinner though, Remi played with Emmett with the new CROSSBOWS and fun WEAPONS! They played hard! Then we went to bed and were excited for our next day. I'm so glad I brought Remington and my Mom! (We missed Joyce and Jenny though!).
 Watch out for the buffalo! They might show up in your camp! Nick is hilarious!

Cutest Buffalo!


 This sweet guy is just the most loviest kid I know!

 He loved playing with his new CROSSBOW!




I wanted to get a pic of Remi and My Mom in their beds but as soon as I said look at the camera, they both ducked under the covers...Geesh!

We were so excited the next day when Zach, Kell and the boys arrived. We died laughing when we saw them pull up and Waylon is in his skeleton costume, and Briggs is wearing no pants and two different cleats, one from Boston, one Waylons. That kid is funny! He walks around the house all day with one big cleat on. Crazy kid!


 Skeletor came to camp! He refused to take this costume off for days! Silly kid!




 This just cracks me up! Look at those feet!


We drove to see some pretty cool sites today and on the way we saw this:

 I love the beautiful landscape of Yellowstone. The river is absolutely gorgeous!

We stopped here at Nez Perce Ford for a picnic lunch so the kids could play in or throw rocks in this freezing cold river.

 Zach took Remington in and Remi did the Polar Plunge! He didn't notice the freezing cold...he must be like his Uncle Zach!

 Silly kid with thick skin! This water is freezing!

 These boys were enthralled with some weird bugs they saw.

Then we went to the MUD POTS. Look at this goofy family of mine!







 Waylon would pull the funniest faces in all of our photos but I never noticed them until we got home! Ha! Ha!



 The boys loved Dragons Breath!



 Man, these are 4 of my favorite people! I'm so happy to be with them!

 Trying to get me in the picture with my family behind me.
 Back at CAMP Briggs plays with his wooden pistol

 The kids love riding their bikes through the woods. Remi doesn't like bikes so he just ran and had a ball!

 Loved sitting by the fire. One of my favorite parts of the night!

 This night was SO TOUGH! We moved over into the hotel so Zach and Kell could have more room in the cabin. Remi was originally sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor but he got really hot, and had a bad dream and at 1:30 am I put him in this very small Queen Bed with me and my Mom. He was sideways, upside down, and for some reason me and mom couldn't sleep. Finally at 3:30 am I said Mom, I can't sleep. She said me neither! Then we started LAUGHING SO HARD we almost peed our pants! We were laughing hysterical at all the funny things that had happened on this trip. Then we started laughing that we had to be up in a few hours to make breakfast for everyone...it was our turn. We were totally SLAP HAPPY and kept laughing over and over until our stomachs were killing us!
This photo is of Remi sleeping sideways on our beds! I love that he has his legs crossed. Several times they were crossed over my face!

The next day:

 Remi and Waylon showed me the cool BEAR TRAP Zach made with them. Zach spent hours playing with them in the WOODS building this BEAR TRAP, making a cool sword for Waylon and having fun with them. He is so awesome!

 Zach got to play around with Carter's real CROSSBOW.
 I loved it when Briggs let me hold him for a long time...that's rare!
 I love this boy of mine. Boston is in his element in Yellowstone. He loves it SO MUCH!

I loved this amazing view: THE BRINK OF THE LOWER FALLS

 I love these little people!
 Look way down and you'll see the raging river below. This was SO STEEP!
 I could NOT get enough of these FALLS. My pics do not do it justice. It is just stunning!



                                                               Cutest Cousins!
 After this, Zach and his family decided to do the hike down to the LOWER FALLS but then it POURED RAIN! They are such troopers!

I love my Mom so much and I am so glad she came on this trip with me!

Later that day, after the rain stopped we went on the coolest HIKE. It was only 2 miles but it took us around the LAKE and deep into the WOODS. It was beautiful and everyone loved it. I was SO IMPRESSED with my Mom who is 81 years old, for doing this HIKE. She loved it!






 We had so much fun with BECKSTEADS and were so happy that they always let us tag along!



 The boys loved seeing the bones of this animal devoured by a BEAR.


 Love this amazing lady!

 Zach was so cute with Grandma Shirley. He walked with her and helped her over every hard part and what was fun about hiking with the Beckstead family is the pace is as slow as you need it and your break when you need to without feeling pressure to hurry it up.
 This whole trip Zach was so cute with Remington. He is such a great Uncle. I was so proud of him!




 After the HIKE we headed to this beautiful drive around the LAKE and ended up at LAKE LODGE where we always sit on the ROCKING CHAIRS and look out at the LAKE. It's tradition!




   


 Zach and Kell went home early the next day but we stayed because I wanted to show Remi lots of cool stuff. Especially my favorite part of Yellowstone...The BRINK OF THE UPPER FALLS.

 The top of this WATERFALL is so awesome and powerful. I could stare at it all day. I really can't get enough. I love it so much!








A ladybug landed on Remi and he was so happy about it!

Then we went with Becksteads to TOWER,  and then we drove to LAMAR VALLEY to see tons of BUFFALO! Then we drove on to COOKE CITY, MONTANA. We love that little street of a city! We had the best PIZZA in this cool bar. This trip took all day and it was the best!


 We stopped at this beautiful area for lunch so the kids could throw rocks in the river.


We saw a lot of these buffy's!

On the last day of our trip Remi just wanted to see Dragon's Breath one more time. So we saw it and then he said, "Gee, I never even saw a BEAR." I told him I felt bad that we didn't see one either. Then 2 minutes later I look over and low and behold....THERE WAS A BEAR! It was walking down the hill and right down to the road. We couldn't believe it! 


It was the perfect ending for this perfect trip!

I was so happy that Ashley let me take Remington for so long and I know he had a blast! I am so glad Becksteads let us join them, and I am so happy that my Mom went with me. 
I LOVE YELLOWSTONE and look forward to going back next year!