Summer is almost gone!

Summer is nearly gone. It's really quite amazing how fast time travels the older you get. Bryce (pictured at left) turned 9 weeks old on Saturday, eclipsing his 2 month old birthday. He's growing larger and in charger every day. He is so big now we had move him out of the bassinet in our room to a crib with his brother on Saturday.

Heather received as a gift a bunch of crib items (mobile, skirt, bumper) for Bryce's new sleeping quarters. We brushed the dust off of the crib that Caleb slept in until about 18 months ago and assembled it. We had to purchase a second mattress because Caleb is still using the old one.

We also have plans of putting crown molding in the kid's room and needed to paint closer to the ceiling to cover all the old white paint. Being 6' 5", I was assigned that duty. A couple of hours later, Caleb had his first roommate. He was excited about it for sure.

Saturday afternoon, we received an email from my mother, indicating that my younger brother Stefan, who was serving in Columbus, Ohio on his mission, will be coming home on Sunday. He had been dealing with some major depression issues while serving out there, so the stake president and the mission president decided it was best for him to come home and see how he does in a few months to see if he wants to go back. I sure hope he decides to go back. A mission is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you won't get back. It would be good for him to finish strong.

Sunday was a great day. I enjoyed church a lot. Caleb has a bag with all his coloring books, stencils and markers to keep him occupied during sacrament meeting. Well, I forgot it as we were heading out the door on Sunday morning. I had nothing to keep him entertained with except my cell phone. He discovered the picture taking feature pretty quickly and would look through the screen to see around him. He decided to take some pictures along the way. Here are a few selections.


I don't know what his deal was with the last one, but it made me think of my nephew Liam and his camera escapades.

Sunday afternoon, we went over to the hospital to visit with my dad. It was the first time I've seen him without tubes and devices plugged into him in months. He sound completely normal, his hair is growing back, and he is gaining use of his hands again. He is supposed to leave for a long-term care facility sometime this week. There is a possibility he could be staying at a place near St Luke's that is much closer to my house than Wheat Ridge. If that is the case, I will have to take on more of the support load in visiting my Dad. He is doing well emotionally as well. We had a nice chat with him and visited for over an hour. Caleb was initially scared of him but warmed up and even gave him a hug before he left. While we were there, a picture of my dad from my cousin's wedding was on the wall. Caleb would point to it exclaiming, "It's you Poppy! It's you!" My dad thought that was really cute.

We visited Heather's parents' house for dinner afterward. Caleb and I played dump trucks in the sand pile by Grandpa's shed. Caleb had a great time. Bryce was his usual self, eating and sleeping. He is getting cuter every day (as if the picture above wasn't enough of an indication).

Anyway, pretty good weekend. This next weekend, we are traveling to Nebraska to visit Allie and Jonathan for Labor Day weekend. I am ecstatic to be leaving the state for a few days. I think I need a trip like this about every year. We will be leaving Thursday afternoon and coming home on Monday. Allie is excited as well. I have never spent more than a day in the state, so it will be interesting spending the whole weekend there. I'm looking forward to it.