Great Grandpa's and Big Dogs

While we were heading back from selling Blue we stopped at Great Grandpa Cross'. It's so fun to see Emma with different family members. She is super gentle with her Great Grandpa Cross. I'm glad that she has had the chance to meet him. He served in the Second World war, came back and found that his wife left him and there daughter, served a mission in England while being a single father, and later met my Grandma. They then had 13 children together, but only 11 lived. He raised his family of 12 children and wife on a school teacher's salary. He has so many stories, and is a great person.

Also in the picture, is his sister Laurel. They have been taking care of each other since my Grandma died. Laurel is currently serving a mission from home doing family history, and answering church phone calls. Great lady. She also owns a big stuffed dog. Emma loved Buffy.

No More Blue

Another change in life. Blue (our car) has become old. So naturally, Justin has taken it upon himself to look for a new (new to us) car. Of course this was a painful task for him. :) After a couple weeks of looking and praying we came up with our options. In the end we decided to go with another Saturn. Its silver, 2002, sl series with only 36,000 miles on it. To pay for it we had to sell Blue. :(

We'll miss you Blue!

4th of July

What a wonderful holiday. We are so grateful for our freedom and liberties. On this 4th of July we spent the day at the West Point days. I had a booth where I sold books, Justin studied, and Emma spent time with Grandma and Grandpa. The booth was really successful, and pretty fun to do. I love being around booths to get different craft ideas. Emma seemed to have fun. She danced with her Grandpa to the oldies band there, and had fun with snakes.

After West Point days we went to Nana and Papa's to have fun. We had dinner, roasted s-mores, and lit fireworks. It was fun. On the way home there were this the big fireworks going, and we watched them at the top of a hill going into Layton. It was a good ending to a good day.

Changes

New things seem to be a way of life lately. In May, Justin graduated undergraduate school. The next week, we moved into my parents home to help take care of my mom. Then the next week Justin started graduate school at the U of U. :) Emma keeps changing, and learning so many new things. Learning to walk without holding on to things at 10 months isn't normal. Crawling really was much easier to chase.

June has been a good month. Justin is at school all the time. Emma and I had a chance to go to the zoo several times (since we have a pass). Our first time to the zoo was with Blaine, Eli, Aunt Jenny, Nana, and Grandma N. (I don't have pictures, but Nana does). Emma at that zoo trip seemed to like the giraffes. Our second trip was with Emma's cousins Mikayla and Natalia before they move to New Hampshire. That time she loved the monkey's and the giraffes.

We also got pictures taken this month of Emma. (11 months)

Book Party

Hey All,

I'm throwing a book party on June 6th at 7:00 pm. It will be at our home (1135 Meadow Way Drive, Layton, UT 84041). Don't feel like you need to buy anything, I'm just trying to break in the apartment and have fun. The books are way cute though. Here is the official invite.

You've been invited to an Usborne Books e-show!
Just go to: http://www.coraliesbooks.com and click on my name!
Give the children in your life the best gift of all...
* THE BELIEF THAT READING IS FUN! *
Fill your shopping cart with all of your favorite books and they will get shipped to your door in a week!
While you're shopping, make sure to enter to win $50 in FREE books from Usborne!
Don't miss these great titles! Note that these books work great for younger and older children as well.
Newborn to 1-year-old: Touchy Feely Set; Animal Hide and Seek; Baby's Very First series
2-year-old: Super Saver Combo Set 1 (including First Picture Nursery Rhymes, First Colors); There's a Mouse About the House
3-year-old: Animals baby jigsaw; Stories for Little Boys (or Little Girls); Picture Book Sets
4-year-old: Big Book of Things to Spot; Why?; Guji, Guji
5-year-old: Super Saver Combo Set 2; Easy Words to Read Set
6-year-old: Beginners Sets (internet-referenced); Fox and the Stork
7-year-old: Jack Russell: Dog Detective Series; The Team series
8-year-old: Around the World in Eighty Days, King Arthur, Robin Hood; Illustrated Animal Stories
9-year-old: Moonrunner; Illustrated Stories for Boys (or Girls); Story of Inventions
10-year-old: Wickit Chronicles; Children's Encyclopedia; Illustrated Dictionary of Math
11-year-old: Big Book of Fantasy Quests; True Adventure Collection
12-year-old and up: World Wars; Internet-Linked Reference Set; See Inside Your Body
*These books are also great for children with sensory-needs and autism! Check out our Touchy Feely 1, 2, 3 and Touchy Feely ABC or There's a Mouse About the House.

Graduation Day

Yeah!!!!! Justin Graduated!!!!!!!! Yep, on May 1st Justin walked the walk of the graduate. It was busy, and parking horrible. Luckily, everyone got there to celebrate this special day. For Emma's sake the talks weren't too terribly long, and we made it through. It was a really fun day. Thank you everyone that has helped us get to this day. We couldn't have made it without your love, support, and prayers. In two weeks Justin will be starting PT school. So don't stop praying. We will also be moving on May 9th into Emily's parents house. It's so strange the path the Lord takes us.

Easter

So, it takes us forever to blog. Easter was a lot of fun. We didn't know how Emma would like it but she began to get the concept after awhile. We had to show her the first couple of eggs but then she found them by herself. The tricky part was getting her to let go of the egg she found so she could go get another one.

For Easter Emma got her favorite snack (Graduate Puffs) and a stuffed animal lamb. She really seemed to like the lamb.

After church we went to spend the day with Nana and Papa. It was a lot of fun to see everybody, and to do another egg hunt. Emma was a pro. The best part for Justin was getting the daddy tax on all of the goodies! Thank you Nana and Papa for such a fun day.

The Saturday after Easter was the Jones/Cross family Easter party. It was also Grandma's 50th birthday party. It was a beautiful day. The egg hunt was a lot of fun. Things seem a lot more fun when you get to see the joy that someone (like your kid) is having.

So Emma didn't really like the grass the first time that she was introduced to it at Nana's, but Daddy got her over her fears.

This was an awesome Easter season!