One Year Ago Today.....

my dad passed away. I didn't think today was going to be as hard a day emotionally as it has been. I have been missing my dad every day (many times a day) since his passing but today was just tough. In lots of ways its seems longer than a year since he has passed away. There have been some big changes in my family, a brother moved to SLC, another brother had a very large crisis and lost his job and is starting a company on his own, we are expecting to add one more to our family, a little girl....I don't know I guess I feel like my dad has missed so much this year, and there have been so many times that I have wanted to go to him for advise. Everyone says after the year mark things get easier....and I think that is true but in lots of ways I don't want it to get easier because then it is that much longer since I last saw him. I don't know if that makes sense, but I like having him so close in my thoughts and my mind and the longer time goes the less I have of memories a year ago with him. To help me get through these days of sadness I turn to my belief that we have a loving Heavenly Father who has designed a way for us to be with our loved ones again after this life. I will see my dad again and we will live as a family again. As my dad was going through this ordeal last year my brother Russ said to me, "Kelly, this life is just a blink of an eye, we are on the other side before we even know it." Although this year has seemed long in many ways, I can't believe my little boy is already 2 and is so smart. Time really does fly. It is so important to cherish each day and cherish those we love because as I can see in my life, time moves so swiftly. I love you dad and miss you but there have been several times I know you have been close and watching over Cruz, Shawn, and me.

First Dentist Appointment!

Cruz had a fun filled day with lots of things to do, but among many of those things was his first dentist visit. We went to Borg Pediatric Dentistry which was recommended to us by our Pediatrician. Our dentist is Dr. Boren. The dentist office was painted in very fun colors and had a very warm and inviting feeling to it. Cruz was amazing! He sat up on the chair like a big boy, he let the assistant take x-rays of his teeth without me even in the room, he let the assistant clean his teeth, and he even let the dentist check things out too. Cruz was so fascinated by all the equipment and there was a tv on the ceiling which he thought was pretty cool. I couldn't believe how well he did! He acted like such a big boy! Cruz has all 20 of his baby teeth in! Cruz got to pick out a toy on the way out and he got a bag with a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, and a few stickers. He was a happy camper. The one really funny thing he said as they called us back is, "haircut?". Cruz had just gotten his haircut yesterday and the place or something must have reminded him of the haircut place because that is what he thought he was having done! By the way, since Shawn took Cruz to get his haircut the last time, he LOVES to get his haircut. He was asking me for the last few days if we could go get his haircut. Before the trip with Shawn there were lots of tears and holding down in the haircut chair, whatever you did Shawn, go daddy!!!

We also had more swim lessons today and a trip to the zoo this afternoon. It was not quite so hot out today so I decided to take advantage and go to the zoo, Cruz always has a blast there! See it was a fun filled day!

Teton County Fair

Shawn, Cruz, Grandma Raddon, and I went up to Swan Valley for the weekend. It was nice to get away! Friday ended up being kind of wet and rainy and Shawn decided to ride his road bike up and over Pine Creek Pass and continue on up Jackson Pass. We picked him up at the top of Jackson Pass. I was pretty impressed with my husband. It was cool and rainy and darn STEEP but he made it and in good time....watch out Tour De France!!! We spent some time in Jackson Hole afterwards and even went to the Teton County Fair. Cruz liked checking out all the pigs, cows, goat, rabbits, etc. The kid has no fear though, he was running straight for a cow and luckily Shawn caught him before he got too close. We even hung out long enough for Cruz and Shawn to ride a car ride at the fair. Cruz loved it, he was giggling the entire time.




On Saturday my mom talked at the annual Swan Valley Old Timers Club. It was a bunch of elderly people that all grew up in the valley. I love that kind of stuff...such heritage. My mom and Unlce Bud talked about how and when their dad purchased Conant Valley which is in Swan Valley. I learned more about my grandpa and the valley. That afternoon we took the boat out. Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating, but the rain held out long enough for Cruz and Shawn to go out on the tube. This was Cruz's first time and the kid got in the tube before Shawn could even get in. I actually think he would have been fine without Shawn, but for my piece of mind Shawn went with him. He was laughing and waving the whole time. Granted we weren't going that fast, but when Grandma drove over some bumps Cruz thought that was the best! My little no fear boy!!

Lake Blanche

My long time girlfriend was in town last weekend and I was lucky enough to hook up with her. Bobbi and I met when we were like 10 years old and we have stayed friends ever since. In the past 20 years we have not lived in the same state very often but she is one of those lifelong friends. Shawn and I met Bobbi and Daren up Big Cottonwood Canyon to hike Lake Blanche. I thought I was in decent shape until I started hiking, it kicked my rear end! It was nice to do an adult day hike and luckily my mom was available to watch Cruz.

Sleepy Head!

I was at a meeting last night so Shawn put Cruz to bed. Cruz can climb out of his crib very easily but if we time it right he usually goes right to sleep or gets out maybe once. We listen for a few minutes and if we don't hear anything assume he is out! Shawn didn't hear much so he went on doing some of his things around the house. Shawn went to check on Cruz a little later last night and this is how he found them. Shawn said some of the toys in the room were rearranged and the book they read for bedtime was on the floor in front of Cruz. Cruz just wanted some time to read to himself!! I had a good laugh from this picture.

Lazy Days of Summer

Saturday night was a steamy night here in SLC. Mia, Sasha, and Naomi were still in town so we all met at the Gateway Center. They have these fountains that shoot out to music. The kids had fun running in the water. Actually, Mia had fun running through the water and Cruz and Sasha played on this bar. They had a good time nonetheless!!



Cruz practicing for the Tour De France, which by the way, he loves to watch!! Our future biker!

Park Silly Market

Cruz and I drove home yesterday afternoon/early evening from Swan Valley. It was a miracle, Cruz basically slept from Swan Valley to Bountiful, for those of you who don't know that is 3 out of the 4 hour drive. He had played so hard during the week and my mom had kept him up for the drive home yesterday. My mom was nice enough to babysit Cruz while I went out on the boat in the morning/afternoon with my brothers Russ and Ryan. We have been learning to surf behind the boat and we had a blast doing it. By the time we made the exchange at the boat it was about 2:00 and Cruz and I got on the road about 2:45. It was my little miracle that he just slept and slept on the ride home!

Cruz was so happy to see his daddy and all of his toys. Although I am sure he misses his cousins I think he has really enjoyed playing with his toys without having to share!

The 3 of us drove up to the Park "Silly" market today. They had lots of booths with fun things to see and there were lots of dogs being walked around. I think Cruz liked that part the best. They had this little kid area where they were doing face painting. Cruz got his face painted like a tiger. I don't know if he totally got it but every once in a while he would go "roar"! I love the pictures below!

Fun photos from today!

Cruz on the 4 wheeler!


Hug with Mia!

Another Fun Day In Swan Valley

We had a more mellow day today, but it was still fun! Cruz and I went for our daily 4 wheeler ride. We drive over to this pasture and feed the horses. He loves to see the horses but more than that Cruz LOVES the 4-wheeler. He likes to just sit on it in the garage and make truck sounds. He is perfectly happy doing that most of the day until one of his cousins tries to take his spot, Cruz gets pretty territorial over the 4 wheeler. We are definitely needing to work on our sharing abilities. We packed up a cooler with hot dogs and other yummy picnic food and went over to Palisades Camp Ground. We made a fire and had a little cook out for lunch. Cruz had a great time exploring the campground and we even went on a little hike. Georgia, Macy, Grant, Walt, and Russ perfected their s'more making ability today and Ryan had fun with Sasha and Mia. My mom, the greatest hostess ever, took some of the kids on a hike after lunch. Cruz and I headed back to the cabin for his nap time. I was bummed because I got my camera out to take pictures at our picnic and my batteries had run low, too bad! After nap Cruz played with all the kids on the trampoline and swing set. Sometimes they play very well together and sometimes they don't, it just depends on the mood. I was telling Mia and Sasha to be careful when they jumped around Cruz because he is little and Cruz kept saying, "I'm Big!" and holding his hands up in the air. I captured a picture of him doing that and the girls copying. The day wouldn't be complete without a trip to the square ice cream store. My mom and I were watching 7 kids because Russ is still up fishing (from the hike) and Ryan had to leave for a show tonight. We used the square Ice cream as bribery for good behavior and dinners finished. It worked pretty well. It was a little chaotic at the ice cream store at first, but we survived and everyone enjoyed what they got...and more importantly there were no tears! :)

Bear World

We went to Yellowstone's Bear World today. It is a great place for kids! You can drive your car through a park and see tons of Black and Brown Bears wandering around. We also saw Elk, Wolves, Deer, Turkeys, and a moose. After we drove through the park we walked through the petting zoo where Cruz was loving the goat.



In the park area they have a little area that they keep small bear cubs. Cruz watched one of the workers bottle feed the bear cub, he loved it!


They have a small amusement park area as well. Cruz loved these little cars that would bump up and down.


All of the kids patiently waiting (or rather pushing) to get in line for the small roller coaster.


We took a tour through the bear park again in one of the vans that you get to feed the bears in. It was awesome! Cruz was loving throwing the food to the bears!

Hair and more....

Shawn left Swan Valley Sunday afternoon along with my brother Rich and his family and Ali. Cruz and I were especially sad to see dad leave, but he had to get back to work. The weekend just seemed too short though! Russ is still here with their 4 kids and a Georgia also brought a friend, so make that 5 kids. Ali went back to Utah for a church girls camp. Ryan, Naomi, Mia, and Sasha are still here but Naomi is out of town right now and Ryan leaves on Thursday. Their schedule is kinda crazy. Rich had to get back to work as well so his family drove out too! Of course, the weather has been amazing here in Swan Valley since some of the family left, but that is the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Yesterday we went back to Heise, a great pool and water slide area that is pretty close to Swan Valley. Cruz and I are still getting over our colds so we took it a little mellow at Heise. Today, we took the boat out on Palisades. Cruz and I ate lunch out on the boat with everyone but then we headed home for a little peace and quiet and nap time!

Tonight Georgia styled Cruz's hair and he was VERY proud of it. At bath tonight he did not want me to wash it out, so I let him keep it. I wonder what it will look like tomorrow? I took these pictures while Cruz was in the bath, he loves to get his hair done. Whenever I am fixing one of the girls hair he wants me to put a bobby pin or rubber band in his hair.

4th of July Weekend

Cruz, myself, and my mom came up to Idaho on Tuesday this week for the upcoming 4th of July weekend. Shawn rode his motorcycle up on Thursday night and the rest of the Raddon family arrived at various times of the evening between Wednesday and Thursday. All 19 of us have been together for Friday, Saturday, and tomorrow. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been too great, but we have made the best of it! Yesterday we tried to get a good family picture. My camera wasn't used for the entire family picture but I did take one of Grandma Raddon and all of her grandkids.


Today we all drove over to Victor, Idaho for a 4th of July parade. Cruz wasn't feeling to great so he basically sat in Shawn's arms or on my lap. Although I was sad he wasn't feeling wonderful, it was kind of nice just to sit and hold him. He would clap for the horses or big trucks but he wasn't running out to pick up the candy with the rest of his cousins. Cruz is such a little mover and shaker most of the time, I really appreciated some quality lap time! Victor had some tents and eating places set up in the park after the parade. We went over and got some lunch afterwards. The parade was nice and hot so we were all getting excited that we might be able to go out on the boat later on, but unfortunately the clouds rolled in and the rain came.

It has been nice to be with the family, a little crazy at times, especially getting meals on (mostly for my mom), but it has been fun. We have missed Grandpa greatly though! The absence of his presence is felt all the time but I know he is getting a kick out of watching his grandkids have fun in the place he enjoyed the most, the cabin in Swan Valley.