A Beautiful Fall

Everything is falling in Minnesota. The leaves, Marshall's socks, our schedules, but not our lives. We are keeping very busy with school, work, applying for jobs, and keeping up with Marshall. Marshall is learning to crawl, one crawl at a time. He will only crawl for the things that he really wants and only when he has sufficient energy. We are working hard to "stretch" his crawling abilities by putting the cell phone a few feet away and then watch him work at it. Almost all the time he gets the cell phone and places mysterious phone calls mostly to one of his Grandmas! It's a lot of fun.

This is a featured picture from our visit to Lake Superior - just 3 hours away from our house! It's a beautiful area. The lake looks like it is an ocean because it is so big.

Marshall is also enjoying sitting on my shoulders. He mostly pulls on my hair when he loses his balance, maybe I shouldn't have grown it out...then he wouldn't be able to hold on to it! Marshall is incredibly talented at pulling off his left sock - that's right his left sock, but not his right sock. This picture captures his ability to sit on my shoulders and pull of his left sock.

I thought it was terrible 2 - not terrible 7 and 1/2 months.

If you look close, you can see two or Marshall's three teeth. The other one is falling down on his uppers.

The month of August!

August was an incredible month of picture taking. We have sorted through our 400+ pictures and narrowed them these select few. We visited Oregon and did many things while we were there. Grandpa gave Marshall a bouncer which he is greatly enjoying. Chrissy made a glass float in a very hot oven at the coast. It is a beautiful piece of art - Chrissy is artistic!




Uncle Cameron and Grandpa enjoyed bathing Marshall..


We also went to the Oregon State Fair and let the Grandparents take their turn holding Marshall. They didn't seem to mind. The weather at the beach was incredible the whole time we were there. Chrissy was amazed!

Trip to Nauvoo

We visited Nauvoo, Illinois last weekend for a few days. Nauvoo was home to many of the early Latter-Day Saints from about 1839 until 1846. After being driven out of Nauvoo, the Saints finally found a home in the deserts of the Utah valley. These pioneers gave up so much during these years, and we felt of their sacrifice during our visit. Although we took approximately 3,643 pictures, here are a few for your viewing pleasure.
The pictures of the Temple do not adequately portray it's beauty, but here they are.









We also visited the Carthage Jail where the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred by a mob with his brother Hyrum in 1844. The Church has done well in preserving this site. The first picture shows Chrissy and Marshall standing in front of the door that was shot through a couple of times by the mob. The hole in the door that is at Marshall's level is the shot that killed Hyrum. You can tell Marshall is pretty upset about the whole situation. The first picture shows me in one of the jail cells.











The picture shown with all of us with the building in the background is from our tour of Carthage Jail, which views the upper window that Joseph Smith fell from as he was shot four times. After the mob confirmed Joseph was dead, they fled in fear of being pursued by Mormons and left Chrissy's ancestor, John Taylor, with Willard Richards in the Jail. They both survived the attack even though John Taylor was shot several times. Chrissy had a great photo opportunity in front of a monument for her ancestor.










Marshall was a very happy young man during our trip. The car ride was about seven hours of driving time, and Mom kept him well entertained anytime he felt bored.

I think every parent has a picture like this one...

This is one of those pictures that all parents adore. There is something about a cute little baby bottom sticking up in the air that is cute and funny. We were lucky to catch this one while Marshall was sleeping.

Fun at the Zoo

We had a great time at the Zoo last weekend. Marshall didn't seem to know that there was much happening around us, but we had lots of fun. The picture of Marshall and Chrissy is Dad's new favorite picture!

More Marshall

Here a couple of other enjoyable pics. Everybody loves to see partially nude babies!

Visiting Amy in Kentucky

Chrissy and Marshall took advantage of the long Independence Day weekend and visited Amy in Kentucky. They obviously had a good time evidenced by the following pictures. Either Amy's haircut or Amy's persuasion convinced Chrissy to cut her own hair nice and short. Thank you to Amy, Chrissy's hubby loves it!














Here is a picture of Amy...barely showing her pregnant stomach! Don't worry, I think it will get a little bigger with time.