Apple Picking

A little break for our adventures out West.  On Monday, we picked some apples at McQueen's on last time. 

We have done this every year that we have lived in Toledo. 

It was lots of fun! 

James and Robby enjoyed eating the apples. 



James last year.

James this year.


Daddy helping James pick apples. 

James loved running around this year. 

We will miss McQueen's!

Yellowstone Park

Since I grew up only about 2 hours away, we went to Yellowstone Park at least once a summer.  We would take sandwich makings and spend the day there.  Shortly after Jon and I were married, we went on a "picnic" to Yellowstone.  Jon was in awe, because he had only been one time before and it was a long trip.  He has gotten used to the fact that my family goes to Yellowstone a lot.

So while we were visiting my family, we had to go to Yellowstone Park.  The high light of the trip was when Old Faithful went off.  We got to the geyser basin with Old Faithful and checked to see when it would go off again.  We had about an hour, so we walked around first to see some of the other geysers.  James walked a little bit of it.  Then he got in the stroller and slept for a while. 

We came up behind Old Faithful (opposite where all the benches are) and realized it was going to go off soon.  We checked the wind to make sure we were in a good spot and hopefully would not get wet.  It seemed fine at the time.  Other people started to gather around us, unsuspecting.  James woke up just in time.  When Old Faithful went, the wind direction changed.  We knew we would likely get wet, but no one else standing around us had any idea, so when the water came, everyone but our group ran away screaming.  James thought it was pretty funny and was laughing.  I do not know if he was laughing at the people screaming, or that he was getting wet.  How many people, of all the millions that see Old Faithful, can say they had been soaked by it?

Here are some pictures of our adventure. 

James had fun running around the picnic area we stopped at for lunch. 

Inside the Yellowstone Lodge. 

Yum!  Hot Tamales. 

James love Yellowstone Lake. 

For anyone who has felt it, you know how cold it it.  It has a glacier underneath it.  The temperature of it did not stop James from wanting to run out into it.  He did not like that we would not let him go swimming. 

Some buffalo (or American Bison to be more correct). 

James enjoying the ride home. 

Mom's jacket tastes great!

Grand Parents

James loved spending time with his grandparents.  He really misses them now that we are home.  I am really glad my parents were able to come to Jon's parents house and send some more time with us as well.  Here are some pictures of James enjoying time with all of his grandparents.

Brower Barbecue

All of my siblings and families got together for a barbecue at my parents house in Idaho Falls.  Since all the Browers were together outside, of coarse, it rained.  Here are pictures of everyone after running inside the small kitchen. 

James loved my brother's dog! 

It was fun to be with my family again and remember what it is like to have a barbecue in the rain!

Cousins

James met all of his cousins while we were out West.  Here are a few pictures.  I did not get everyone, sorry.

Ben enjoying his food!

Isaac, Gideon, George, Sara, and Claire.

James and Ben playing.

Ethan and his dad at Katie's baptism.

James and Carson playing and watching TV.

James and Aaron.

Provo

We spent a day in the Provo area to visit some of our friends there.  We started with an early breakfast at our bishop's house (the bishop of our married student ward).  He is a food scientist who travels all over the world helping people make their products better.  Needless to say, breakfast was amazing!  We were able to visit for a little while before they had to go to work (his wife works in the Travel Department at the MTC).

Next stop was the Provo Temple.  We went to the back door to visit some of my friends that I worked with there.  It was great to see them all again!  We drove by our old house and it still looks mostly the same on the outside except for a tree missing that was mostly dead when we were there.

Our last stop was BYU campus.  James loved the freedom we let him have of walking around. 

He even decided this looked like a good place to sit. 

How many can say they sat in a bush on the BYU campus?  We visited a few of our professors.  James loved Brother Freeman's office. 

Jon worked with Brother Freeman.  We had lunch at the Cougar Eat, and stopped in to look at the bookstore.  We got James his first football.  He seems to like it.

Lastly, we decided to stop at the Alumni Building.  It was a last minute thing but we felt like we needed to go in there.  Jon had a question from a Doctor in Toledo who had gone to BYU.  The doctor had been a diver at BYU and wanted to donate his Letterman jacket, but whenever he had tried to talk to someone about it, he never got a clear answer.  He asked Jon to see if he could find out what he could do about this.  Jon tried contacting the coach at BYU, but did not have any better luck.  So when we walked into the Alumni Building, we walked up to the Information desk and asked about it.  The director of something (I cannot remember what exactly) just happened to be there, and they just happened to be putting together a display of memorabilia from Alumni.  She was really excited at the prospects of adding this to the display.  She gave us her card and told us to have him contact her.  I guess we were guided there on purpose!