Easterners don't pick up sticks.

We had just finished our mushroom hunt and were heading back to our room when a nice gentleman waited to keep the door open for us. I helped the girls say their "thank you's" and instructed Rissie to leave her stick. I quickly moved it from the entrance to the stick filled garden and got up to see the man with a big smile on his face.

"Are you from the Midwest?" He asked.

"Actually, we're from the west West." I replied.

Then he explained with a friendly smile, "Easterners don't pick up sticks like that."

By this point the girls were on their way up stairs and he was heading his way down the hall, so I didn't get a chance to ask, "For heaven's sake, why not?" Are eastern sticks full of bugs or disease? Is it just too uncivilized? He made quite a distinction by referring to his "Easterners". What made him think there was a difference? What is the difference? Anybody know?? He has peaked my curiosity - how silly. If I run into him again you can bet I'll be asking him! :)

Celebrating the 4th of July at Bear Lake

These entries are a bit out of order...oh well. The extended Jenkins family joins every summer at The Ideal Beach Resort in Bear Lake. This year fell on the 4th and just in time for big hooraw before we left the West. We biked, skied, swam, played tennis, and participated in the resorts activities like, three legged races, sidewalk art, and a great volleyball tournament. Andrea made a darling cake and Ideal Beach even had their own fireworks show. We all loved it, but Rissie was especially thrilled about the show. She would giggle and squeal and clap her hands with excitement after each explosion. She was easily just as entertaining as the actual fireworks.

We missed Great Grandma Jenkins. This is the first year at Bear Lake without her. Grandpa has had a tough seven months, but I think it was good for him to be with the family. He seems to be doing better and better.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARISSA JANE 3 yrs old

Here we are in New Jersey with nobody to celebrate her actual birthday with but us. So last night Jon picked up this crown for her and I made the little sign. You can't tell from the picture, but she was just BEAMING when we went down for breakfast. She LOVED holding up her three little fingers when ever somebody asked how old she was. One of the sweet little breakfast helpers even made her a special waffle with whipped cream and strawberries and a candle in the middle that she blew out after the duet/solo of the Happy Birthday song. I so wish I'd brought my camera! I mostly didn't want her special day to go unnoticed and we succeeded. What a great excuse to talk to this adorable little princess! Lauren loved being a part of it too, of course.

We got back to our room and the girls wanted to play dress ups with my swimsuit dresses, which Anna insisted on being a part of too. She is wanting to be a part of the action more and more so I had get a picture, but I couldn't keep Anna still. See how it unfolds.

Maybe you have to be the mom to find the humor in it,
but I had a good laugh...and had to share!

CASCADE SPRINGS

Our last Sunday in North Salt LakeCASCADE SPRINGS
WITH GRANDMA AND PAPA LEE

GRANDMA LEE is showing the girls how to chew the end of the straw.

I couldn't resist adding this one of Rissie, she is SO into making it up that hill - check out those little arms. She reminds me of those women on Bountiful Blvd.

All that effort calls for some refreshment.

New Jersey and Chicago

The verdict is out. Jon starts his first rotation in Paramus, New Jersey on July 13th. It's a six week psych rotation at Bergen Regional Hospital. Paramus is a ten minute drive to Manhattan, where we've never been. Needless to say we are pretty stoked about that.
Chicago is our next and final destination for the duration of Jon's rotations. This is great for us so we don't have to move our family around too much. As fun as that might be it's expensive. We have been doing a lot of research on the neighboring areas of Chicago and are looking forward to seeing them in person. Gary Indiana was top competitor initially to lower our rent until we learned that it's the second highest for crime in the NATION!! Yikes! Crossing that off our list.

So any of you who've been to either of these places and can tell us what we should see or visit let us know!! We will miss being close to our families and friends but we are collecting some great adventures in this process to make up for it.
I might still get a chance to get some fun pictures up before we go, but no promises! :)

What's new??

Time for an update...I wish we had more to declare. The good news is that we learned at the end of April that after two years of hard work, Jon passed his big test. Congratulations Babe!!
So, in the mean time, we have been living in Provo with my parents, visiting Jon's family at the end of the week and teaching our sweet nine-year-old's in primary in North Salt Lake. We are ready to move forward, but it's taking a lot longer than either of us expected. Medical school seems long enough without having to sit and wait for the paperwork and logistics to go through. Week after week.
Jon's computer is officially dead - another reason for the delay in updates. So I am posting what I can today and will try and do better at keeping things posted. Coming soon...Anna's 1st Birthday, Park Valley for Memorial Day, and Bear Lake with the Pettingills.
My mom's dad, Grandpa Duncan, turned 90 a couple of weeks ago and we had a big celebration for him. Each member of the (ginormous) family made a page for his birthday book. These are the pages from our little family.

We've been enjoying the beautiful weather with bike rides and trips to the park. My parent's house is right at the mouth of the Provo Canyon. So we've taken several drives and enjoyed some picnics in the months that we've been here. Jon and I even spent a couple of nights in Midway to celebrate being done with the step one exam and fell in love with the area - SO beautiful.
We've spent a couple of fun weekends at DeAnna and Andrew's house in Benson where the girls had great fun playing with the animals and watching the cows and horses. During one of the visits Alishia did a photo shoot for Lauren's birthday pictures, then DeAnna doctored them a little. I'll post their website for anyone interested ;)

On the Ice at the Gallivan Center

Here are some fun pictures of Lauren's skating with the Jenkins' family at the Gallivan Center in Salt Lake City. It was a great night and as you can see it was beautiful too.

Braden Rissie and Mikell - above

This handsome guy kept looking at me.

Lauren and Mikell checkin' out the Zamboni.

Anna with Grandma Jane above
and Lauren with Aunt Missy below

UPDATE

First - Jon passed the comp exam! This means he is ready for the step one and the next phase of our lives. We are mere weeks away. YAY!

Rissie's knee is seemingly back to normal. Her demeanor is so much happier - we hardly see that little scowl of hers anymore! :)

Lauren turned four! She has been declaring at every opportunity what a big girl she is now.

Gma Lee and A. DeAnna made her this cute cake.

Later U. Andrew lifted the girls up high with his leg. They loved it. (This is the same uncle that L. calls Mr. Incredible! :)
***
Yesterday we finally took her to the ice to try out her new skates. By the end of the session, she was off on her own.

Rissie's little boots were so cutte. She hardly used them though, most of the time she was pushed around on the big cone...and who can blame her?

Her hair was coming undone. Here is Rissie with A. Carillisa.

And this is the cone ride for Rissie - thanks to Alli and Aunt C.

What a fun day!

Check the sidebar for more fun updates that aren't going to be posted.