M. Jarom s. Beatty Starts School!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My handsome guy in his new back to school outfit that his daddy picked out. Jaroms biggest challenge will be to keep his shoes on. Anyone who knows Jarom, knows he does not wear shoes, only flip flops.

A bus picked him up for pre-school last year and he did not like that, he was so excited to ride his bike to school. His is the only one without a lock but it does have a clown horn.

What will these two do without their ring leader?

inside his class

fun

Jarom with his class


Jarom was already saying good bye to me before we even got to his classroom door. His teacher was kind enough to let us join him for the first ten minutes of class. I can't believe this is my life! So insane, I'm not prepared to give up my first born for two and half hours a day. And next year it will be Bella. She would have loved to stay there with Jarom. I am so ready to start working in his class. I have a friend, and we are going to trade off watching each others kids so we can be totally involved in our kids class rooms.

Jarom, I miss you and I love you and all your spunk like mad!!! xoxo Good luck my love!

To Carrie and Brandon

Don't worry about missing that hike! We didn't end up going either! Instead we came home from church to get your message that you couldn't make it up to Provo. Matt calls you, Brandon, maybe trying to re-plan it for another day. In the meantime, Jarom wants pumpkin cookies. He digs out a can of pumpkin and the can opener and while Matt is on the phone with you, he explains that the can opener is very sharp. Guides Jarom through it all and leaves Jarom, and continues talking on the phone and does one lap in the house. Out of the kitchen that leads to the bathroom, to the bed room and into the living room back to the kitchen right in time to see Jarom scream with blood gushing from his hand. I run back to the church (which is in our back yard) to see if the bishop is still there, and if he can look at Jarom's hand. Our bishop is also a doctor. Of course he is more than willing to check it out. It wouldn't be the first time he has been called to look at one of Jarom's wounds. Hopefully maybe the last though. Knock on wood. So Matt runs Jarom back to the church, and it stopped gushing right in time for the bishop to look at it. Thanks to Matt's expertises and making jarom hold his hand over his head. Bishop says take him to rapid care. Jarom really didn't want to hear that. So in the end Matt and Jarom were gone all afternoon and even ran into a fellow neighbor there with his son who had a burn. We were all too glad when Jarom came bounding in the door with a snowman thumb and NO stitches! Happy Day!! So, yes. Lets re-plan our hike. We sure did have fun with you on Thursday though. Some pictures to remind you how beautiful this world is and let's try to live outside as much as possible to really enjoy it. Especially while the weather is still perfect. Love you. Sorry you had to work at the last minute Carrie. Till next time!


The happy lad with the snowman thumb

Just realized that I didn't actually tell you what cut him. It was the lid. ouch!

Our hike to Cecret Lake.

The family

Our new friends

Of course out of all of Jaroms shoes he wears his cheap old navy flip flops that break within the first few steps of the hike and Matt has to carry him the whole way.

Bye Carrie, keep it real. Sorry I don't have any pictures of you and Matt, Brandon.

Stewart Falls

Amy and I had barely made it back from our Havasupai adventure (and that blog will be next) when we decided to venture out on a short night hike. Grandma was still here, and we all went up to Aspen Grove to hike out to Stewart Falls--something we've been meaning to do for a while now. The only problem was we started around 7:45 pm, and the hike is 2 miles each way.

We made it there just before dark, and our entire hike back was lit by the waxing gibbous moon, or it was completely pitchblack in the shadows of aspens. It was amazing fun; we made our way slowly and savored the sounds and beauty of the dark forest. Jarom was worried at times that we were lost, and Bella got a blister from her shoes so I carried her on my shoulders. Grandma kept saying "this is the best family home evening ever!" The falls were beautiful and we'll have to hike it again soon to spend a little bit more time there. But the hike alone was worth it. The saddest part was that we lost Oey's nicey, but today I plan to run up the trail and try and find it.

We made it back to the car at 10:20.


just starting out; practically running to try and get there at a good time

posing atop a forest

Jarom requested this one. I asked him why he put his hands up. He said, "Like I'm in trouble." As in, put your hands up! Pretty funny. I don't know where he got that from, but he tried to do it again before the night was over.

dusk and the moon

this was Bella hurrying down the trail

At Stewart Falls! Jarom was the first one there (notice the dirt mustache--he had just fallen). The falls are 200 feet high.

Amy and Oey

crossing the creek

Oey throwing rocks (of course) and Bella watching

caught in the dark

my backpack

Grandma's backpack

Amy's backpack

odds and ends of the Beattys summer

Summer reading club

yoga

bella

We most definitely don't get enough of these, we bathe at the water park.

get plenty of these, jarom loves to wash the windows whenever we get gas

jarom looking up a spider he caught in our house!

He is on to you little buddy. he thinks you are a very poisonous spider

Jarom and one of the games he makes up. I believe this is one where you had to throw a bouncy ball at our house and then the kids will run inside and gift you with one of their toys

floating down the river

buddies

lots of time getting all dolled up

Our humble pool

oey loves the street and the gutter.

picking time

We have got the best apricot tree in our back yard.

Jarom and Matt picking them all. Jarom was very into it and would call them beauties. And he kept saying "we hit the jackpot."

poor fella climbed the tree not knowing how to get down. Matt told him to jump and said he would catch him. He jumped without letting go, the bark ate him up. He is a brave kid though. We have been running our dehydrator for a week straight. The apricots make the best fruit leather. We are in heaven.

The best 4 days

We left the house at 4:55 am Thursday morning to meet up with our friends the Andersons. They are very prompt. We caravaned to beautiful Wyoming. We got to the snake river at about 10 am just in time for the first run of the day. Matt and Jarom went down in a little ducky the first time. A little frightening to watch them.

Here they come to Lunch Counter. It was the biggest rapid this year. The river was way higher than last year. So it was also a lot quicker.

Matt just pushing through it all. I know he was loving it.

Us girls and Oey left after we saw them at lunch counter and went to go find the perfect camping spot. Which we did. So insanely beautiful and amazing.

Oey in the bear box. You can see Granite Creek down the hill.

We had hours before the guys came back so Michelle our tour guide led us on a lovely walk to a rushing waterfall. I couldn't help but ooh and ahh at everything my little eyes were taking in.

Michelle, my greatest friend! She just found out she is having her third BOY!!!

This view was the best. I couldn't stop looking, and wanting to go climb those mountains and sing the hills are alive, and the flowers are on steroids. I have never seen Indian paintbrushes so big. I was just wishing I could bring my family here. They would totally love it and agree they had never seen Indian paintbrushes so big, they are near and dear to my heart because they are a flower that grows around my parents' house, and there are not many of them. We would have never dared to pick one for we knew of their importance to my dad, who taught us to love them.

Bella picking her buckwheat that grew everywhere.

Oey had the best time throwing rocks in the water. He could have done it all day.

Guys are finally back. Making dinner. i love my men.

Shoving their faces.

Bright and early the next day. Bella and I get to go!!! It was Bella's first time ever. It was really fun to go down with my two big kids. they cracked me up and everyone else.

Michelle was kind enough to watch oey and do the hike down with him to get these pictures of us at lunch counter. I love these pictures. I think our faces say it all.

Bella kept her eyes closed tight during the whole rapid.

Still closed.

We left the group after that run to go explore Granite Creek and our campground some more. this is Matt crossing the river.

He got to a HOT spring on the other side. That water you see coming down the rocks he couldn't touch because it was so burning hot. He said that someone had made a little sitting area in the water where it mixed with the river and it was nice and warm. After this we packed up our stuff and went to set up camp in the Grand Tetons.

Bella and her jazz hands.

The cutest bison herd right off the side of the road.

Jarom worked long and hard trying to make a tepee fire, he eventually got the wood to stand up just for Matt and I to say we are not going to burn all the wood tonight.

After setting up camp we went to Jackson Hole and met back up with the Andersons for dinner. Just to say goodbye one last time. We had fun by ourselves though. At our new campground we could walk to the amphitheater and caught a great show where the kids could get their material to do their junior ranger work.

Next morning back to Jackson for the farmers market and a little shopping.

This is one you need to click on to get the full beauty of. Bison with the Tetons in the background.

Matt took this picture inside a old cabin, I believe it was called the Cunningham cabin. One of my favorite photos of the trip.

Yellowstone. old faithful.

posers, and my new 9 dollar belt. It was like .50 cents or a dollar. We went to a cute thrift store and got the best handmade rug and cute clothes for the kids and my belt. I put this awesome belt on right after we bought it. It was a lucky move because we lost the bag with everything else.

I had never been to Yellowstone and didn't really care. I just thought it was old faithful, don't ask me why. So I was totally surprised by it all. There is this little wooden boardwalk that mazes around a million little hot springs and geysers. So we got to see a lot of action. The kids loved it and kept on running on to the next one. They couldn't wait to see them all.

Little coyote just walking next to the road

Kids exploring Mormon Row.

The bison have taken over. There is one house still up and running and you can rent it. I really want to look into it.

This was the cutest little store. It had huckleberry and sarsaparilla soda. home brewed.

It had little homemade fresh samples of ginger cookies and we were the only ones there lucky enough to partake of its goodness.

Kids and a moose

This is the top of our Death Canyon hike in the Tetons. Last thing the kids had to do to earn their jr ranger badge.

The view at the top--Phelps Lake.