Good-Bye Smokey

Today we mourn the loss of one we count as a member of our family-- our dear Smokey. Smokey has been with us since the very foundation of our family, being the car that I purchased in college. It was my first car, and in the last 12 years we have formed a very special bond.

Smokey may have had a salvage title from being in a flood in St. George, but he always got us from point A to point B-- with only a few repairs being needed between the two. It was Smokey who wisked us away from our wedding reception and off into the sunset, and it was Smokey that Brigham drove into a cement barrier the day after. (I will miss seeing that dent every day.) It was Smokey who brought our first baby home from the hospital. It was Smokey who took Brigham to his first and last day of medical school, and his first and last day of residency. Although the Kelley Blue Book may have said (and I quote) "this car has no value", it's easy to see why to us, he was worth every repair.

Smokey was a very loyal car. Being the amazing machine that he was (a 1994 Ford Escort but with a Japanese engine as we found out during the excrutiating safety inspection in Maryland), he was stolen within a month of our move to Baltimore. We deeply mourned his loss even then, but only a week later, Smokey found his way home-- scarred and smelling like an ashtray.

Smokey has traversed the country a couple of times in his long life. He has sported Utah, Maryland, New Mexico, and Utah plates once again. We can take some measure of comfort in knowing that he expired in his home state.

Thank you, Smokey, for sharing our lives and being there most of the time when we needed you. You will be sorely missed.

Oh, Glorious Day!

Ty turned 18 months old yesterday-- a huge milestone in every LDS family. No longer am I condemned to walk the halls every Sunday with a restless toddler who can think of nothing greater in life than pushing the button on the water fountain and trying to slurp water off of the drain (I know-- so gross!).

As suspected, Ty had no problem with going to nursery. The minute he saw the cars and trucks he raced away without a backward glance. Brigham sat next to a man who'd spent the first hour in nursery, and after mentioning that our son was there, the man said, "Is your last name Dastrup? Oh, yes! Your son seems to know how cute he is and that he can get away with just about anything! He's a troublemaker!" Hmmm...

Dastrup Family Reunion

The first annual Max and Claudia Dastrup Family Reunion was a rockin' party. There were some nail-biting soccer games...


some wicked noodle ball...


wild water events...


the Family Olympic Games...


heavenly music, and many other awesome activities not pictured here
such as a hike to Stewart Falls (which we are proud to claim as our first full successful hike as a family, although Jacob did require a shoulder ride from Brigham nearly the entire 2 miles back and my shoulders were about to fall off from carrying Ty in our Kelty).

Ty survived being pushed into our 6-foot window well and then hosed down by a well-meaning cousin ("I was just trying to help him get down!") with only minor scrapes and bruises, so all in all, the reunion was a huge success!

Fourth Festivities

It's nice to live in a place where the Fourth of July is celebrated as it should be again. (I was always bummed that there was not a parade to be found in Albuquerque except on Cinco de Mayo-- causing Brigham to exclaim, "What country is this, anyways?") We had a couple of days of celebration, thanks to the holiday falling on a Sunday. On the third we got to enjoy Sandy city's celebration-- bouncy castles, police K-9 demonstrations, booths, etc. with Grandma and Grandpa Dastrup and cousins, and that evening we attended the Sandy parade. It was really fun to watch our boys during the whole thing. For Jacob it was definitely a love/hate relationship. All of the firetrucks and vehicles were fascinating, but the loud sirens were just too much. Both he and Ty felt like they needed my lap to be secure, causing somewhat of a commotion since I only have one lap. Monday was Provo's celebration, and we enjoyed the parade with the Dastrups (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa who went at 5:30 am to save us a good spot!) and then a BBQ, kiddie pool, and fireworks with the Gronemans. How fun to be able to celebrate with family once again! Happy birthday, America!

Settling In

I have been chastised for not blogging much in the last couple of months. There just always seems to be something more pressing to do-- laundry(currently there are 4 clean batches getting wrinkled up in the laundry basket), weeds to pull, bathrooms to clean (FOUR of them!), etc. This new home is wonderful, but it does require a lot more work, so the blog falls by the wayside. Here is a quick recap of what's been going on.

First of all, we've been loving having family around and have been doing many fun things with both sides. There have been cousin parties, a trip to the zoo with Uncle Brett and Aunt Katie, Thanksgiving Point farm, Wheeler Farm, the highland splash park, and many other get-togethers with aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. It's been awesome.

Benjamin loves playing with his cousins as often as possible, and he has made a couple of friends in the neighborhood, though he is still too shy to go ask if they can play. He has been reading up a storm and will be starting swimming lessons on Tuesday (wish him luck-- he's been nervous around water all of his life!).

Jacob has started his summer school program and seems to enjoy it from what we can tell. He's started becoming more vocal in the last couple of weeks and is experimenting with sounds such as "na na na". It's very exciting for me to hear his voice, even if he isn't saying words. I pray that maybe this will encourage him to become more verbal!

Ty is still a crazy kid who has no sense of his own mortality. He's almost constantly putting himself in danger-- running down slides, dancing on the table or his high chair, running in front of swings, etc. He's started becoming more verbal, too. He loves calling to me, "Mama!" and when I answer he says "Okay." Then we repeat that exchange about 50 times in a row. He also asks, "Where is it?" and "-K go? (Where did my milk go?)" He LOVES to draw and will tell on himself for drawing somewhere he shouldn't by saying, "Uh-oh!" when he does it. He never walks anywhere-- his little legs always move as fast as they can. He's completely adorable!

Brigham and I went down to Albuquerque one last time last weekend for Brigham's graduation and his last shift as a resident. His graduation was a very kicked-back affair, but it was good to be there and say goodbye to our friends and Brigham's collegues. Brigham has worked several shifts at his new job and was pleased to find that his fear of not having as many patients couldn't be less founded. His shifts are crazy busy, but he is learning the ropes and figuring the new system out.

Although we are not completely unpacked yet, this beautiful house is starting to feel like home to me. Life is good!