The quest begins . . .

Sam's famous one eye squint.

Found Mine!

The quest for the perfect pumpkin . . .

Who knew pumpkins could be this much fun!

Little Man Khai

Khai and I had some time alone this week so we had a little photo shoot.  My favorite thing do to with little ones.  

Our Elly Bean Turns 3!

We can't believe she's 3 . . . and she can't either.  She's been holding up 3 fingers but saying,"I'm 2!"  Mom think she's grown a foot this year.  She and Gracie are only a size apart.  She is still the biggest laugh in our family.  We were sitting in Church this Sunday when Dave looked over at me with big eyes.  Yes, under her beautiful layers of organza and rose petals our little princess was commando, under-less, free as a jay bird.  Dave ran her home before Nursery so that she wouldn't be the half-time show between singing and snacks.  Elly, we're so glad you are ours.  Happy 3rd birthday!   

First Day of School!

Oh it was a big deal this year!  They were so excited for different reasons.  Gracie has her best friend Annie in her class.  Samuel gets to ride the bus with his friends and Elly is thrilled to be going ON THE BUS to preschool Monday and Wednesday mornings.  Mom is excited to have some alone time to snuggle Khi.  It's quite a walk to the end of the lane so Dad drives them down every morning.  

Zions National Park, 2008

Our dear friend Anh Thoai is the reason we took our summer vacation to Zions National Park.  Anh was Gracie's teacher in Vietnam and took a year to travel and work in Canada and the U.S.  This summer, after visiting us in Idaho, she set out to work at Zion's Park.  We originally planned the trip just to see her and ended up experiencing sights and wonders that would impress even seasoned travelers.  When I say "sights and wonders", that doesn't include the travel time there and back.  Two hours into the trip we passed the turn off to the SLC airport.  Sammy said, "Hey, aren't we flying on this vacation?"  We said, "are you kidding and miss all this fighting, crying, whining, and spilling . . . not for a million Sam!"

The Narrows

We ate like kings!  We were so spoiled by Anh and her managers.

We got a great tip on an area that was away from tourists.  We hung out in this area for two days without seeing anyone else.  It was a good thing too because I when I saw that we could jump off a rock into the deep water, I stripped down to my bra and shorts.  I was of course the first one to jump in (I always feel a need to show my children that their mother is braver than their big strong dad).  As I came out of the water with thumbs up, other things had been forced out of position.  What a show!   Previous to this expose' we had found a natural slide off of a rock into a pool of water.  I had also jumped at the chance to show up Dave by going first (had a swim suit this time).  As I walked down the slide Dave yelled, "better sit down before you . . ."  I hit a patch of moss, did something that resembled the road runner and landed on my bottom, legs spread from here to breakfast.  The look on their faces wasn't what I expected when I'd just done something heroic.  It wasn't the first or the last time I'd see that look.  On the way home we pulled off at a scenic lookout.  Dave h ad been collecting interesting bugs and insects in a cup.  As we were exiting the vehicle I bumped the cup and knocked the lid off.  This huge, hairy, flying bug from the crustaceous period flew out and landed on my shoulder.  I jumped out of the car and stripped my shirt off in the parking lot while screaming.  One day I hope to be Super Hero Mom, until then I'll just be the mom 

that's married to Super Hero Dad.  

Sticks & Bricks!

We made it!!!!  Moving a family of 5 across the world, starting a new job and school, being pregnant, building a house amidst the worst winter in 17 years is NOT something we would recommend doing all in one year.   JULY 4th we moved into our new house after 8 unbelievable months. Here are some pictures of the final product (there is still some rock to go up on the grey areas of the house) and some of the working moments that went into it.  First of all, Monte and Dona offered some great architectural ideas as well as Ben who drew up the plans and put up with all of our changes.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The ornament of a house is the friend who frequents it."  We wouldn't have made it through without our frequent friends and family.   Mom and Hy were there for the ground breaking and came up every week afterwards to help in anyway possible.  Parker, Tuck and Kevin were on top of the excavating and anything to do with dirt!  Joey, Parker's family, Denver and Seth got our cement in.  Dee came and helped Dave wire.  Scott and Tami helped out with clean up and put our deck in.  Sally gave great paint advice.  From equipment to know-how Jimmy Wise was our man and Mare taught me how to caulk and puddy . . . if I ever go to hell, the devil will hand me a caulking gun and a puddy can, I know it!  Vahe and Leisha did everything . . . tile, landscaping, cleaning, babysitting, and meals.  Lou & Cona helped with the painting.  Den and Parker were back to put in our well.  Bonnie flew out just for my sanity . . . oh and helped paint, babysit, pack, and clean (thanks Monte)!  Abby Dean came and helped me sand molding and baseboards.  She also helped me tremendously after the baby came!!  Kristi came for late night painting, picture hanging and baby sat Elly at the drop of a hat.   Jeri and John Titus were awesome to help out.  Jeri helped with interior decorating while John layed our bamboo flooring.  Corey hooked us up with some gorgeous rock.  Julie was our lifesaver in many ways and so was her hubby Roger who stepped up to help move us when the elder's quorum didn't show.  Mike was great to let Dave has time off work during the slow season and helped out when needed.  Betty, Dave's mom,  almost gained custody of the kids she had them so much.  Tonya, Mike, Lisa and Ben gave up their July 4th party plans to help us move in.  Last but not least, Dave's dad Bryce retired in March and worked on our house sometimes 4 days a week, 10 hours a day.  Pretty nice retirement . . .FOR US!   We'd be moving in around July 2009 if it weren't for these people. We are so grateful for them! 

Khai Lewis Jeppsen

Little Man Khai

Born 12:20 Sunday June 15th, 2008

(Father's Day)

21 inches 7.2 lbs 

(Same as his father, including being post-terrier . . .stinkers)

This labor was unique from my other three children.  Because we were self-insured and because my previous labors were so fast I decided that I was going natural with this baby.  With the busy schedule we didn't have time for a birthing class and the only breathing practice we had done was with Dave in signing the mortgage papers.  Long story short, this was the OPPOSITE of my previous labors.  Being post-terrier made for a very painful labor.  The glowing, warm, wonderful labor I had imagined disappeared and I really had to turn within and focus on getting through it.  (My applause to the rest of you nutty natural women)  I needed Dave's encouragement more than ever.  To my surprise he said this was his favorite labor because of it.  Another reason this labor was unique was that we asked my mother to be with us.  I am her last child.  Khai is my last child and also her last grandchild.  I wanted her to be present when he came into the world.  It meant so much to me that she was there.  I can ever hope that the bond I have with my children is as close as mine and my mother's.   

Family Photo taken by Dad.

Elly was more baby hungry than the rest of the family combined.  She ADORES this little one.  

Sam whispering secrets of piracy and snake hunting.

Gracie the babysitter.  She is so proud to change diapers and hold Khai when Mom is busy.  

 

Priorities.

Dave said this week,"You know, before children I thought it was cool if I could say I'd worked 70 hours in the week.  When we left for Russia with little Gracie, I realized what was important.  We will never get back this time when they are young."

Khai is named after Dave's right hand man and dear friend in Vietnam, Mr. Khai.  He is a kind, strong, smart, hardworking man.  Our hope is that it's in the name!

Elly, the family comedian

These days I find myself running around Lowes and Home Depot, phone pinched between my chin and shoulder, taking orders from the BOSS! I lost Elly last week on one of my 3 hour sprees at Home Depot. The HD worker and I had only looked for her for 20 seconds when she called in a CODE ADAM!!! All of the sudden every orange-aproned person stopped what they were doing and began looking for MY child. As embarrassed as I was, their reaction time was quite impressive. I wasn't really worried about her safety in the abduction sort of way. I knew she had probably found a fork lift and was cruising around the lumber yard. As they were announcing over the scanner, "2 years old, 2 pig tails, purple sweater, answers to the name Elly", I heard a shout, "FOUND HER!" Do I know my child well or what . . . she was testing out the riding lawn mowers! Apparently 5 orange-aproned associates descended on her at once, I'm sure all wanting claim to the million dollar reward I was offering. Her face, as she came around the corner, said it all, "WHAT THE HECK, can't a kid test drive these days?" Anyway, she is now quite well know in that store not only for her disappearance but also for her unique smell that she always seems to produce after long period of time in hardware stores. I think it’s her defense mechanism. Come to think of it, I’d use it too if it got me out of a hardware store!