Our Little Clay Boy!

I am so thankful for this little boy. He is such a bundle of joy. What a blessing he is and has been to our family. I feel so lucky to be his mom. The girls love him to pieces and help out every chance they get, which I love. Watching his daddy with him is so cute and melts my heart. Dirk has so much love for him and all of us. But now, we are officially outnumbered!

It is amazing how much our life has changed in the past year...all for the better! How fantastic is that?

Clay is so cute and so animated. He already has quite the personality. It amazes me how fast he is growing. At 2 weeks he weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz. and had grown a whole 2 1/2 inches bringing his height to 20 1/2 inches long.

These pictures were taken in hopes of having the perfect picture to put on his announcement, but for some reason I don't really like newborn pictures, don't get me wrong they are priceless but they remind me of skinny little old men. I do however, want them for my book so I am posting them here. (I did finally get the perfect picture, but most of you will have to wait.)

Jauncee is in kindergarten and only goes for half the day so she is home more and seems to be in more pictures than Jeslyn or is taking pictures for me like the one below. I am so glad they both love him so much.

Uncle Judd and Clay. He came up to be a part of Clays special day.

On September 12, 2010, Clay was given a Blessing by his father. Dirk did such a fabulous job. There were a lot of tears. I am so grateful for my husband and for his worthiness to hold the priesthood. It has been such a blessing to have in our home.

Clay and his Daddy!

Our cute little family!

Jeslyn's Birthday

Jeslyn turned 9 on August 26^th. We had a little celebration in her honor. We also sang Happy Birthday to Dirk and Grandma Johnson who had birthdays on the 29^th.

This years celebration was rather small in comparison to what Jeslyn is use to. But with a new baby it seemed appropriate. She invited her BF Wesley for a sleepover and a weenie roast. I think the girls had fun together, they always do!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart, we love you!

The First Day of School

The girls started school on August 18^th, it was a bittersweet day. Jeslyn started the 3^rd grade and Jauncee, my baby, started Kindergarten. I can’t believe how old they both are getting. Jauncee was so excited to go, she could hardly wait. Although I am sad she is so big, I am thankful for the time alone with Clay. We live so far out of town that they aboard the bus at 6:45 am. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage getting them both ready and on the bus in time with a new baby and all. But we have managed well.

I love the summer time but I sure enjoy the routine of school!

Floating the Portneuf River

While my parents were in town helping out after Clay’s debut, my mom and Dirk took the girls floating down the Portneuf River which runs through Lava. I had the pleasure of enjoying my fathers company inside his air conditioned truck.

It looked like a lot of fun. Maybe next year I can go!

I was also very glad my parents came up to help out. They both entertained the girls so well. I was sad for them to leave. I think I actually cried.

Thanks Mom and Dad, I love you both tons!

~SUMMER FUN~

We had a lot of fun this summer! Here is a recap of some of the fun!

Jauncee learned how to ride her bike without training wheels – Hooray!

So of course we went on lots of bike rides, well the girls biked, I walked…okay…maybe waddled! =)

Look at that scowl!

This year Jeslyn participated in the County Fair. She had several different projects, her favorite one was the Beef Breeding Project where she showed her heifer Lindy. She spent many days getting ready. She also had to feed her night and morning. For the project she had to keep a record book, she also had to write a story about her experience. This is her story…

Hi my name is Jeslyn Gillins. I am 8 years old. I was asked if I wanted to do 4-H this year and I said yes. This is my very first year. I am showing a heifer, her name is JBD RH LINDY 11W. I like to call her Lindy for short. I thought showing was going to be easy, but found out that it isn’t easy and is a lot of work. The hardest part is practicing with her everyday. I have to wake up at 8:00 in the morning to feed her. I get to feed her twice a day. She really likes me because every time I feed her she licks me. The best part about her is her big ears. I love her big ears! I love to go and rinse her. I love my heifer so much. I rinse her almost everyday. I think she really enjoys it too. At first I was kind of scared to brush her but now I am not. I like to make her look fancy with shiny hair. I have been taught well to show Lindy and have help if I need it. I love to take care of her and am glad that I have had this opportunity. I can’t wait until the fair.

Jeslyn had a great teacher! Thanks Dirk for all your help and inspiration! We love you!

Lava Hot Springs – we spent many days basking in the sun. Glad we live so close and can’t wait to go back next summer!

Jauncee lost her first tooth after a month of it just hanging there. One day I just grabbed it and out it came, it didn’t even bleed! Lucky girl, the tooth fairy came! She had been trying to earn some money; she sure thought that was an easy way!

THE CARIBOU COUNTY FAIR

Lindy, calm and relaxed in her stall.

Jeslyn and Lindy had a little mishap the night before the show. Dirk was cleaning her stall and Jeslyn was out walking Lindy giving her some exercise, practicing in the ring and Lindy got a little hormonal on her and rammed her into the fence around the ring. It scared Jeslyn. After several minutes of coaxing I finally convinced her that Lindy was feeling her oats and playing a little too rough but meant no harm. So Jeslyn got back out there and after one round Lindy did it again, but this time a lot harder and didn’t stop til Jeslyn was on the ground. Jeslyn cried and cried and of course was now scared. So instead of entering in the showmanship, she entered into the Open and had Dirk help her. She did an awesome job and received a Grand Champion ribbon!

Here are some of her ribbons. – Great Job Jes!

1^st – Record Book

2^nd – Babysitting Bag

3^rd – Tole Painting

Grand Champion – Open Show, Heifer

She also took 1^st in 3 other categories all of which are going to the state fair.

String art, sewing & a rock collection.

My little Clover Bud!

To participate in 4-H you have to be 9 before the end of the year. So we entered Jauncee into the clover buds where she showed her goat Polka Dot! She had a lot of fun and was the only one out there that did it all by herself. Way to go Jauncee!

A beautiful sunset!