Flight home

I was so excited to be able to travel with Ethan on the way home.  Ethan has become such a good helper.  He is good company too!  Our flight was delayed and we got to the airport pretty early so the wait was long.  By the time we got on the plane Talan had had it!  Shortly after take off Talan fell asleep and so the flight was peaceful.

Ethan took pictures from the sky!  It's pretty cool to be above the clouds!

Talan's first swim

After the funeral we went to Julie Roth's house so that the kids could have a little swim.  I didn't have a swimsuit and Talan just seemed to get hotter and hotter so finally we decided it was time for Talan to have a little swim.  Jenny's sister Michelle was so kind to take him in!  He loved it!  He wasn't so sure about it but soon enough he was smacking the water with his hand and loving it!  Poor little guy I think that he experienced a little heat stroke that day.

Kanon's funeral

July 25, 2008

Kanon Lavel Mehlberg 

Jenny's sister Michelle decorated the table for Kanon.  I think that she did a wonderful job!  Everything was in green because of Kanon's cute froggy blanket that Jenny and Brian love so much!  

The service was good.  A friend of Jenny's sang, Where can I turn for peace.  Jenny spoke about Konon's life and bore her testimony telling everyone that she knows she will get to raise both Kanon and Kohen after this life.  Then the bishop spoke about the Plan of Salvation.  He did a good job too!

After the service we went to The Mesa City Cemetery.  I must say that it was pretty hot outside that day.

  

At the graveside service the bishop said a few words, there was a instrumental number played by a few of Jenny's friends.  One played a chelo and the other played the flute.  It was beautiful and the spirit was so strong!  After the music, Jenny's dad Dean dedicated the grave.

And so there they are, right next to each other!  What a blessing!

Dressing day

On Thursday the 24th we picked up some of Jenny's sisters, went to the airport to pick up another sister and then went to lunch. It was a lot of fun! We went to Oragano's. Oragano's is one of my favorite places to eat. They make the best pazzookie! After lunch we met Jenny's mom, Jenny's husband and another sister at the funeral home to dress Kanon.

This is Jenny and I just before going in to dress Kanon.

Dressing Kanon wasn't the easiest thing to do but it was definately well worth it.

What an amazing act of love and service! I took pictures for Jenny so that she can always remember that special day.

That night we had a sisters night at Jenny's sister Heidi's house. Jenny has a lot of sisters! A great support group! There are 10 girls and 1 boy in her family. The sisters get together every now and then for a sisters night. Fun times! It was like a little reunion before the funeral!

Sisters visit

On Tuesday my mom and Ethan came and got me and took me to my sister's homes (they live a few doors down from each other). We just hung out and visited for awhile and let the kids play.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned that Ethan flew to Arizona 3 days before me. My mom flew him to Arizona for a visit. It was kind of like a Christmas present I think. He flew all by himself. He hung out with Grandma Haws for a week and then with Grandma Adair for 4 days. They had all sorts of activities planned. I think that he had a great time! My mom made sure that he got to spend time with all the cousins that he never gets to see.

The day after I sent Ethan off at the airport Kanon passed away. David got me a flight out ASAP and a return flight with Ethan. I didn't want to intrude on Ethan's special little vacation and wanted him to be able to do everything he would have done had I not been there. It was wonderful to see him and he got to spend some time with Kaler (Jenny's oldest son).

So this is Kristen's baby Clark. I hadn't seen him before. He looks like his daddy! Cute little guy. He seems to be a good baby too! What a blessing!

So this year all three of us sisters have had babies. Talan and Abraham are just 18 hours apart and Clark is 4 months younger. We just had to have a little baby photo shoot! I love how Talan is so happy and Clark is laying on him. Aren't babies so cute?

Here we are. I don't think that we have ever taken a picture of the 3 of us. Aren't we cute?

Funeral arrangements

On monday we went around making the funeral arrangements.  We started by going to Allen's Funeral Home.  Everything went good except the only infant caskets they had to choose from were extremely hideous!  Jenny was not happy with the choices they gave her and really wanted Kanon to have a nice wood casket like his brother Kohen's.  The caskets that Allen's had were cloth covered caskets that resembled bassinets.  They were baby blue, pink or white.  We told Allen's that we would be finding our own casket and they said that that would be fine.

We then went to The Mesa City Cemetery.  Jenny was hoping that Kanon could be buried by Kohen if not stacked on top of him.  They told us that they don't bunk infant plots so we would just have to look in the book and see what was available.  They pulled out the book and there was one plot left around Kohen.  It was the plot just under Kohen.  We were thrilled that they could be by each other.  Then we drove out to the plot and it really wasn't the plot under Kohen but the plot right next to him.  Kohen and Kanon are going to be buried side by side.  What a tender mercy!  I told Jenny that that was just one of those tender mercies to show us that Heavenly Father loves us.  What are the chances that in 3 years nobody picked that plot right next to Kohen?  What a blessing!

So then we were on a quest to find a casket.  We went to Bunkers Mortuary because that's where they got Kohen's casket.  They told us that the manufacture who made the nice wood casket had quit manufacturing them and that they couldn't order one.  But he thought that they had one at the other funeral home.  He called for us and came back to say that they had sold it earlier that morning.  We were so sad!  We joked around about making our own casket.  

Then we went to a place called "Caskets and More".  It was a store in a strip mall.  Very weird!   It was an appointment only store so we called and the lady told us that she would meet us there but she had to get dressed first.  She finally came in this old van that had vinyl lettering on it that said in really big letters, CASKETS AND MORE.  She got out of the van and she was a heavy set lady wearing a sleeveless floor length moo moo with her hair in a bun.  Her son got out and he was also heavy set and he was caring 2 chihuahuas.  The whole experience was out of the twilight zone.  Anyways she was very nice and tried hard to help us find what Jenny wanted but couldn't seem to find anything.  

On the way back home Jenny got really serious about making her own casket.  She called her brother in law, Jason and asked him if he would make one for her.  He said that he would.  She then went home and got on the internet looking for building your own casket instructions.  I told Jenny that her casket was out there it was just a matter of finding it.  We needed to call all the mortuaries that we could think of and see if we couldn't find it.  Finally Brian told her the same thing and she agreed that she would call around.  The first place she called said that they had something and she could come look at it.  Her and Brian went to see it and came home saying that it was the exact same casket they buried Kohen in.  Another blessing!  They sold it to them for only $300.00.  They said that they had talked about a price before Brian and Jenny showed up to look at it and they wanted to give it to them for that price because they wanted to give it to someone who really wanted it.  And want it they did!  

So a day of arranging turned out to be a day of success.  Kanon will be buried right next to his big brother in the same kind of casket.  Oh how our Heavenly Father loves us!

 

Airplane trip to Arizona

Talan and I got to the airport in plenty of time so I wasn't stressed or in a mad dash hurry like I was the last time we traveled to Arizona.

We calmly and orderly got everything ready to go through security and then stood waiting for the okay to walk through the scanner.  We got the okay and, BEEP!  What?  Why would we be beeping?  The lady looked at me with a puzzles look and asked if there were anything in my pockets.  I was wearing draw string pants, a tee shirt and my hair was in a pony tail.  Talan had overalls on and so I suggested that maybe it was the buttons on the overalls and I took them off.  So we went back and tried it again, BEEP!  What!  Someone else from security came over and asked what the problem was.  The security ladies felt a little embarrassed for me and my 6 month old baby however not too embarrassed to pat us down.  Yes, Talan and I both got the pat down!  Talan thought that it was fun and smiled big for the ladies!  Needless to say they didn't find anything and we were released to go on our merry way! 

Our flight was good.  Talan fell asleep, what a good baby!

Batter up!

This year Bradon and Carsten played Lehi baseball.

Carsten played coach pitch and really enjoyed it!  His coach was good at getting the pitch over the plate consistently and so Carsten had some really good hits.  It's fun to see your children blossom and grow!  Carsten is becoming a good little athlete and a pretty tough kid.

Bradon played kid pitch this year.  This is where they would have a kid pitch 5 pitches and if the batter didn't get a hit then they would bring out the Tee.  He had the opportunity to pitch in several games and he was really quite good at it!  I was impressed!  He struck out several batters!  Bradon is also a good little hitter too!  Bradon loves sports so much and works hard at trying to be the best.  It was a lot of fun seeing him play!

Kanon Mehlberg

Kanon Mehlberg

March 3, 2008 - July 17, 2008

Sweet baby Kanon has passed away. 

 My heart is heavy with sadness for Jenny and Brian's loss.  He gave it a good fight but like Jenny says, "He's just not suppose to be here."  Our Heavenly Father needs him on the other side.

Jenny is one of the strongest people I have ever met.  She is an awesome example to me and I have learned a lot from her.  I know that she will be okay.  If there is one thing that Jenny has, it's a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a great understanding of the Plan of Salvation and a love for her Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ.

I will be flying out tomorrow to be with Jenny for the next week.  

Emily is married!

Yesterday, July 17th Emily Haws and Ben Gutierrez were sealed in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.  The reception was in Jay and Vicky's back yard and it turned out beautiful!

  Congratulations Emily and Ben!

Summer time fun???

So I was looking at past pictures we have taken on our camera and came across this!  This is our neighbor Max.  What in the heck!  What were they doing?  No wonder I never seem to be able to find any tape around here!  But really, what were they doing?  Just having a little summer time fun I guess!  

They took turns taping each other up and then throwing water balloons at each other!  A game of torture?  Or could it be fun?  So I guess that Ethan ran to the house, grabbed the camera and snapped this priceless beauty!  Thanks boys for the constant entertainment around here, we love you!  

The JC Slade family reunion

July 11th-13th we were in Cedar City Utah 

for the JC Slade family reunion.

David and I were in charge of the reunion along with Robert and Jenny Slade.  We were in charge of the activities and they were in charge of everything else (Thank heavens!).

We had all the activities at Park Discovery.  It was a really nice park and we totally lucked out on the weather.  It wasn't blazing hot!  

The first day we all met together at the park for a BBQ or whatever we brought.  Most of us just went to KFC.  The kids were thrilled to see their Grandma and Grandpa Adair.

The theme was BE ALL YOU CAN BE so we started the reunion off Saturday morning with the national guard doing a flag ceremony.  Jim Slade is the shortest of the four.  Jim is David's first cousin.  It was awesome to watch!

 

The whole reunion long Reagan hung out with Grandpa Adair.  She snuggled with him, played on his walker and got an occasional ride on it as well! 

We had plenty of games and activities for people of all ages to enjoy.  We just hope that they really did enjoy them!  This is a picture of Carsten being in charge of the duck pond.

We played kick ball with the baby pools as bases.  Ethan even had fun playing this!

  

This is the paint-ball sling shot game.  This was a total hit!  In the picture is Joe Slade shooting and his mom Pam in the red shirt observing.   

We took the back side of Ethan's clown from the primary carnival and made Target Boy for our paint-ball target!

This was the obstacle course.  Jake and his older sister had fun competing against each other.  Jake is a cool kid!  He has down syndrome and is extremely sweet and fun too!  At one point at the reunion he was chasing Carsten and if he caught him he would try to tackle him to the ground.  Carsten was running for his life and Jake was loving it.  It was then that I wish I had a video camera!

We did a water bucket relay race against families.  Virgil's family won it but then they were a team made up of all adults.  Not exactly fair but we didn't care!  It was all about the fun!  And fun it was!

After playing games and activities all day, we had a family auction that was a lot of fun and then ended the night with watching family videos that each family brought.  It was fun and I think that everyone really enjoyed themselves.

This is Uncle Virgil sharing his opinions at the family business meeting.

The last and final day of the reunion we had a church meeting and then a family business meeting.  This is a tradition that never changes.  I think that it is a good tradition.  I think that it ends the reunion on a good note and if you have anything that you want to say or suggest then you can.  Every year they discuss weather or not the JC Slade family reunion should continue on or not.  Every year we end up deciding that it should continue.  So in two years we will do it all again!  I really like the Slade family, I love the reunions and I'm happy to continue. 

Talan's Tongue & Thighs

While my parents were here Talan spent a lot of his time sticking his tongue out at everyone!  We laughed and laughed at him!  Too cute!  I love to see a baby learn all the little tricks he can do with his body and then practice until he can do it perfectly!

  

Another thing that I'm loving about our sweet little or 'NOT SO LITTLE' Talan is his big chubber thighs!  I love them!  Talan is a big healthy happy baby and I couldn't be luckier to have him!

Tuesday, July 8th

Day 5 of the Haws family reunion.

So for the last and final day of the Haws family reunion we went to THIS IS THE PLACE in Salt Lake City.  We went with my mom, dad and Emma.  And we met Heidi and her kids there and also Jay, Vicky and Kelli.  We all had a real good time.  The kids loved every bit of it and can't wait to go back!  

Vanessa, Luke, Ellise, Bradon, Carsten, Ethan, Emma and Reagan.

This is a picture of the kids out in front of a replica of BYA (Brigham Young Academy).  Which later became BYU.

They have a little train ride that you can take around the village.

Carsten, Emma, Reagan and Ellise rode with Grandma Haws on the front row.  FULL STEAM AHEAD!  TOOT TOOT!

The kids got to see what it was like for the pioneers to do their own laundry by hand.  They loved it!  You know these kids are so more capable than I give them credit.  I need to put them to work more!

 

We went to a printing press and saw how they use to make the newspaper.  Each one of the kids got to press their own paper.

We saw all kinds of animals while we were there.  This is Talan checking out his first baby goat!

The kids all got the ride on a horse too.  This is Bradon just horsing around!

We got to pull real handcart replicas.  They are kind of heavy!  I can't imagine what it would have been like for the pioneers to pull those things full of all their possessions. 

We also took a covered wagon ride pulled by two old horses that were hot and tired.  It was kind of funny because they didn't walk straight.  They were so tired that they swayed from one side of the road to the other.  They could have totally been pulled over for driving under the influence!

So it was fun!  We got a yearly pass while we were there so we need to make sure and go back and use it.  By the time we left Ethan was so excited about going back.  They had a blacksmith and Ethan can't wait to someday be able to work as a blacksmith volunteer.  They had volunteer pioneer children  all over the village dressed as pioneers and helping out.  I think that it was a good learning experience for the kids.  Well actually it was a good learning experience for everyone!  I know that I learned a few new things about the life of a pioneer.  They had it hard!  I couldn't help but to think about those pioneer women walking across the plains while holding their babies.  I walked through the village with Talan on my hip and it was tiring.  I can't imagine how hard it must have been for them!  I am so blessed and I owe so much to those strong pioneers who sacrificed so much.

Monday, July 7th

Day 4 of the Haws family reunion.

We went on a family history tour that Jay planned and prepared for us.

  It was a lot of fun!  

We first started over at Jay and Vicky's house where we watched old videos that Grandma and Grandpa Haws took 38 years ago.  It was fun to see everyone so young!  All their personalities and mannerisms are all the same, just younger!

Jay told us about some of our ancestors that lived here in Utah.  Some of the early pioneers.  We drove to Springville and saw the land where William J Roylance use to live.  It was right next to a creek and there is now a fish hatchery there.  We then drove a little bit down the road and saw John Roylance's home.  John is Williams brother and his house still stands today.  He first built a very small log house and then later he built a larger home next to the log house. They are both still there!  The log house has siding all around the outside of it and someone actually lives in it!  Amazing!

We then drove to the Prove Cemetery where we found many of our ancestors headstones.  My dad Milan, and Jay are standing next to Gilbreth Haws' headstone in the picture shown above.  Aren't they cute? 

Gilbreth is my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather (I think?)

Gilbreth was the father of George Washington Haws

George Washington Haws was the father of Charles Henry Haws

Charles Henry Haws was the father of Spencer Charles Haws

Spencer Charles Haws was the father of Spencer Russell Haws

Spencer Russell Haws was the father of Milan Russell Haws

And

Milan Russell Haws is my father.

Anyways it was really neat to see where these ancestors of mine lived and now rest.  I feel blessed to be apart of a family with such strong testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ and this Gospel that has been restored to the earth through Joseph Smith. What a marvelous blessing!

Sunday, July 6th

Day 3 of the Haws family reunion.

On Sunday everyone just did their own thing until dessert.  For dessert we all went to Jay and Vicky's house.

After church Reagan and Emma had fun playing on the swing set.  All of my kids had a lot of fun with their cousin Emma here.  And I think that Emma had a good time being here.  She doesn't show a lot of emotion so it's kind of hard to tell but I think she liked us and had a good time!

Dad enjoyed watching a little NASCAR after church.  We tease him about being a member of The Church of NASCAR!  But what can I say, I like to watch a little NASCAR myself!

I think that Grandma must be torturing Talan here!  That or he's protesting, "No more Nascar!"  What a fun kid!  I know that he doesn't look all that fun in this picture but trust me this is a rare sight for Talan.  He is the happiest baby!  He finds everything to be so funny!  He spends most of his time smiling and laughing at people.  

I'm so behind!

I am starting to feel bloggers anxiety!  I am so behind!  My last post was about the 5th of July and here it is already the 16th.  So much has happened but I want to post it in the order of which it happened.  I feel like we have been going and going with very little time to just sit and relax and make a little post.   Not to mention that my computer has been extremely slow and it frustrates the heck out of me every time I sit down to do ANYTHING at the computer!  I can't count how many times I have started a post and then left it unfinished because of a screaming baby or some child crisis going on only to come back to the computer to find another child playing club penguin or something real important like that.  So this is my quest..... I'm going to get caught up no matter how difficult it may be.  Wish me some 'BLOG ON' good luck!  

Saturday July 5th

Day 2 of the Haws family reunion.

We went up the American Fork Canyon to Mutual Dell for lunch, a family auction, races, baseball and some good old fashioned fun!

My Aunts and Uncles just shooting the breeze!  7 of the 9 were there.  In clockwise order starting at 12 o'clock with my dad Milan, Cindy, Sally, Jay, Nancy, Scot, and Bette.  

Jay did a fabulous job as the auctioneer!  He sold that cowboy hat of Grandpa Haws' to Cindy for $60.00!  

Bradon had a ball (no pun intended) playing with the big boys!  Check out that swing!

Jason and DJ were 2 of the biggest kids out there!  It was a lot of fun watching them go at it!

Doing what we do best, sitting on our butts just hanging out!  I think that we were actually watching a ball game.  Well not really a game, more like an unorganized practice!

I just couldn't wait for a knife to cut into that famous fudge.  It was oh so good and worth ever penny I paid for it at the auction!  Thanks Nancy!

Julie and Jane look like they were having fun!  David was having fun taking pictures.  With our new camera you can take pictures from far enough away that people don't know that you're taking their picture.  This is one of those!

And then the kids always seem to find the water! 

 Water equals fun!

It was a really good day!  I think that everyone had a good time.  The weather wasn't too hot and everyone just seemed to really enjoy one another's company.