Update through pictures.

These pictures are not in any order. We just wanted to get them up so people can see our wonderful Jasmin and how things are going around the house.

Here she is just being awake. This is not something we saw for the first few days. It is getting more common now though!
Just hanging out around the house. Gotta love Lois's "new mommy" look.
This was one morning when Kenya came into our bedroom and asked to hold the baby. She just sat there and held her for at least 20 minutes as Jasmin slept.
Aunt Amy and our girls! She is such a big help with Kenya. Kenya gets the extra attention she needs because Amy loves to play and dance with her! Thanks Amy!
More just hanging out.
My brother Josh came up from Utah and brought his daughter Aly. It was so fun to have them for a few hours and let the girls play together. Aly was excited to hold the baby and play with Kenya! Thanks for the visit! Kenya is getting so spoiled with all these extra visitors I am a little nervous to see what will happen when it is just boring mom again.
This has already taken the same opportunities as she did when Kenya was born. Always trying to sit on or next to the nursing baby. I think the cat gets more jealous than Kenya does.
This is just as we are getting ready to leave the hospital.
Proud big sister!
Cousin Aly visiting. What a warm sunny summer Sunday.
Jasmin Elena.
Kenya helping the nurse take my vitals. She sure gets spoiled by people. All the nurses fell in love with Kenya and wanted to make her as happy as possible.

What a sweet tender moment.

Jasmin Elena Draper

It all started one day in China when I was thinking about....
Okay sorry to scare you this is not the story of how she began but how we started to think we wanted to name our new child. So back to the story.
how I wanted to honor my father. This was before I thought he was going to die before the baby was born. I was thinking if it was a boy we could use some or all of his name and then it came to me that we already have the D of his initials and and we just use his initials, but just mix them up a bit. I brought it up to Robert and he liked the idea. So we decided that it was a possibility to try and do so. Then as time went on we went with the idea.

Jasmin Elena Draper has a very special significance in her initials. It is not the names, but the initials. These initials are the same as my father. His initials were DJE. We mixed up the initials. We struggled to find a name. We liked several different names, but nothing seemed to stick. Robert finally said Jasmin Elena and I loved it. The name seemed to elegant to me and so we kept searching. Finally we decided that that is what it was going to be.
So, here is to you Grandpa! Jasmin Elena Draper, JED
I wish she could have had her grandpa here on this earth, but we know that we will see him again through the power of the temple sealing and Jasmin and Grandpa will be able to play and have as much joy as Kenya and Grandpa did here on earth!

Labor and Delivery the entire story.

NOTE: This is the whole lengthy story, so the beginning is stuff I have already blogged, but I wanted it all in one post from start to finish. There is plenty of details and it wont be gross at all, but there are plenty of details, so beware.

As posted before my water broke around 8:30 the morning of July 15 while I was in the shower. When I got out Kenya and Grandma had gone outside to play and so the first thing I did was call Robert and tell him that my water had broken. I had a doctors appointment for 10:00 so I just got ready and headed to the Dr office. It took a little longer getting ready than planned because I had to make sure that I was not leaking all over the house when I was getting ready. I asked my mom what I should do until I got to the office because I was still leaking water and her first suggestion was to put a towel there to catch everything, which is what I had done and already soaked through 2 hand towels. Then as we were leaving she suggested a diaper. Yep, you got it I got a diaper and laid it in my underwear. It worked great!! Then off to the doctor we went. As we were just a ways down the road from my house I had to turn around because This was left outside. Knowing that this was probably my water that broke I did not want to leave her outside all day in the heat and possibly all night and the next day because I was thinking we would not be coming back to Rexburg, I turned around to go find her and put her in the house. Robert left from work and met us all at the doctors for our appointment.
My doctors appointment went well and sure enough confirmed that my water had broken. The doctor had a kit he was going to collect some of the fluid to test and see if it was my water and as he began to check it gushed out. Knowing there was nothing I could do I just apologized and he said, "Yep, that is the water." The nurse Karen asked if he wanted to have slide made to check and he said no. So, the doctor called the hospital and told them I would be coming in. He relayed the message to me that they already have 5 women in labor and that it might be a few hours before they start me on Pitocin. I asked about going to get lunch because I knew from experience with Kenya that when on Pitocin you can only have clear liquids. So as shown before we went to Pizza Pie Cafe. Then we ran to Wal-Mart and stopped by a friends house to talk to them about possibly staying the night, or at least Kenya and Grandma.
I checked into the hospital at about 1:00pm. It took them a little while to get me hooked up to the IV and get going on Pitocin. Toni who was doing my IV had a really hard time getting it into the vein on the back of my left hand. It didn't hurt much then, but she really dug around and then the vein shriveled up and she had to do it a different one anyway. She got one on the outside part of my wrist on my right hand (about the worse spot to put one, I think). I had a hard time bending my wrist and such and it was my right hand too. The back on my left had still has a HUGE bruise and is more sore now than any other day. She got me good! I think it was probably after 2:00pm when they started the medicine. So, then it was just waiting. The monitor began to show contractions, but I really didn't feel anything. Kenya and Robert went to our friends house at about 5:00pm so I could get some rest and Kenya could play with friends and get out of the hospital. Grandma was amazing and had taken her on some walks through the hospital to keep her entertained as well. It was about the same time Robert and Kenya left that I began to feel the contractions and was able to recognize them when they were coming. So, needless to say the rest I was wanting I was not really getting. I was able to get up and walk around with a portable monitor and I think that really might have hurried to contractions along.
Just after 6:00pm I was feeling the steady contractions and Robert and Kenya were going to be coming back for dinner. I decided to get the epidural because I didn't want Kenya to be there when I got it and I did not want her to see me go through the contractions. I think it might have scared her because she is sensitive to when other people get hurt. It breaks her heart to see other get hurt. Kenya and Robert got back just after 6pm and then Grandma took Kenya down to the cafeteria to get some dinner. The anesthesiologist came at about 6:30pm and we went through all the legal garbage and risks. Then away she went. Well, the first time she tried she hit a blood vessel and so she had to take it out and try again. (Of course we all know that I was having contractions through this whole process.) It took her nearly 30 minutes to get it done. At the end of it all she explained that she is the 2nd in line on the the on call list and that the man who usually does them was in a different case. Well, that makes sense now! Everything went fine though and it worked great! (Yep, I am going to do it again with the next.)
So, here we are at about 7:00 and I asked the nurse to check me. She finished up a few things and then did. I was dilated to a 6. When I asked her when she would check me again she said about 2 hours. I was fine with that I did not know how long it was going to take to dilate or how fast I would go. So, then around 8:00pm Kenya and Grandma went to go to bed. Grandma said that if it was after 10 or 11 not to call when the baby came. So, Robert ate dinner in the hospital room with me and I just waited in bed until time to be checked. Well, the nurse came in just before 9:00pm and said that Dr Hopkin had called and asked that I be checked because he was getting ready to leave town. The nurse checked and in a matter of just starting to check she said, "Your complete." Then she went and called the Dr and came back to tell me that he would be there in 10 minutes. I called Grandma and she said that they were just starting to get to get into bed and so she came back up. So, now in the room was Grandma, Kenya, 2 nurses, Robert, me and Pascal via Skype. Robert had been chatting with him for a while and so he just stayed on the computer. He lives and was in Shenzhen, China. I am not really sure what all he saw or what angle he got of the whole thing, but he was there. He like most others was just SUPER curious about the gender of then Baby Inside.
So, he goes the delivery. (With Kenya I got a slight tightening in my lower back with each contraction and so I knew when to push.) As soon as the doctor was there and ready I pushed on the next contraction. I did 4 pushed with that contraction. They said there was black hair. The next contraction 1 push and than another. With that second push a hand and the head. The third push, a baby! 9:20 pm IT A GIRL! She screamed and I smiled! (Kenya did not scream. In fact I did not hear her make an noise until later in the NICU.) I was able to hold her right away and love her. Then the placenta delivery actually took longer than the baby. No tearing, woo hoo!! Then the clean up of course. 9:35ish, the doctor left. What a job he was there for less than 30 minutes. I bet he is thankful for the quick easy delivery as well. He mentioned at his office that he does his best work before dark and it was twilight when Jasmin was born. What a great team we all make! I nursed her right away and it only took one try for her to latch on. She has been a great/strong nurser ever since.
Kenya was in the room the entire time. She did not have a direct view of what was going on, but she did see everything. She just sat on a chair and excitedly waited for Baby Inside to become Baby Outside. I was worried about having her in there at first, but she handled it so well as they were prepping that I told her as long as she stayed on the chair she was able to stay in the room, but if she wanted to her and Grandma could leave and wait outside. She did ask a few times what was going on and we would just tell her. When the baby came out she came right over to see. She was able to see all the aftermath and just asked me things like, "Mom, you got blood on your "bingo"?" (This is the word she uses for vagina.) I would just tell her that I was okay, but yes I do. I would tell her that it was just part of having the baby come out. Crazy thing is I am fairly sure she understood and felt comfortable with it. She went over when they were cleaning the baby and watched her get weight and cleaned. All, she kept saying was "I want hold her! Please, may I hold her!" It was instant love from Kenya! This was a very sweet part of the experience that I never would have wanted to have, but it was amazing!! I am so glad Kenya was there and I think it made it a little more special for all of us!
The baby never left our room or sight really and that was great! Kenya and Grandma left just after 10:00pm to go to bed. That girl was tired! So, we were getting ready to move rooms and it had been about an hour and a half (11:15pm). The nurse said that I could shower if I could stand and support myself. Well, my left leg buckled ever time I tried to stand on it. It was the weirdest feeling trying to move it and stand on it and then all of the sudden it would buckle. So, I was wheeled to the "mom and baby" unit for recovery. Baby Outside nursed great through the night and slept with mommy most of the night. She had her first BM at about 4:00am.
The next morning at about 8:00am Kenya and Grandma came back. Kenya shared breakfast with me and then Robert Grandma and Kenya went down to get there own breakfast. After everyone ate breakfast everyone left Baby Outside and me to get my sister Amy from the airport. While they were gone Dr Hopkin came and check on us and gave us the go ahead to leave at dinner time.
Everyone got back to the hospital at 1:00pm. Around 2:00pm our friends the Hunts came to see the new baby. Amy and Grandma left at about 5:00pm to go home and get a little rest or whatever and we stayed for our dinner and to try and name this baby. It took us 2 and half hours to finally give into the name Jasmin Elena Draper. We left the hospital at 7:30pm and drove our new family home!
It was wonderful!

The Drapers have landed!

So we are all home and doing well. We were supposed to stay one more night, but the Doctor okayed Lois and the baby, finally named Jasmin Elena Draper, to leave anytime after dinner. We could have left the hospital by 6:30pm, but it took us over 2 hours to choose a name! There is no more deliberation. Jasmin Elena Draper is the new edition to our eternal family and we thank our Father in Heaven for blessing us so greatly!

Update from Mommy!

So, I will hopefully be able to write out the details of the labor and delivery process soon, but to keep everyone updated better now that the baby is here here are a few updates.
The baby has picked up nursing well, although she has been sleeping and has not fed every 2-3 hours like "normal" but I am sure that will change. She has been doing a great job at it too! She has had to bowl movements (this is important for new babies!). And the doc checked on her this morning and said that we can most likely go home this evening around dinner time.
Now, the only problem is.... She does not have a name.
Kenya's suggestions: Baby Sister, Baby Outside, Baby Inside Draper, Sister, and K E N Y A (she spells out her name)

Thank you to all who have congratulated us and given us support. We enjoy seeing your comments and reading your input or feedback!

PS I am doing very well with no pain meds (I only used those for the delivery) and am up moving around and feel great!

Here is what you really have been wanting.

This is Kenya saying good night as she was leaving to go to get some rest at about 8:00pm. Needless to say she did not get to sleep because right about the time Grandma was getting her into bed they got a text saying that Lois was going to be ready to deliver within about 30 minutes. So, Grandma packed Kenya back up and returned to the hospital where Kenya was wonderful during the whole birth. She was in the room with the family the entire time!

There aren't anymore pics of the actual delivery because Baby Inside became Baby Outside in 2 contractions. The bottom picture is Lois push and the top picture is waiting for a contraction to start the process.

Here she is!! A beautiful baby girl! (These ones are after she had been cleaned about 1 hour after birth.)
She looks similar to Kenya, but definitely has her own looks too!


Daddy holding his second daughter!

Kenya was so excited and loved every minute of it!

Look how happy!
These are the grams on the scale. She was 7 lbs 3 oz.

Here is our first family picture! Daddy is still out number by girls, good luck Daddy!

Touchdown! Slam Dunk! Goal! Score! Ace! Knockout! Homerun! Deuce!

Houston...We have a baby! I repeat...We have a baby! This is the moment we have all been waiting for! The Coo de gra, the Whole Magilla, the Big Cheese, the Big Kahuna, The Main Event, The Show, The Sock Hop, The Showdown, The Unveiling, The Answer--to the question, quandry, conundrum, the riddle, the enigma, the problem, the mystery, the puzzle! Is it a boy or a girl? Some will prove to be prophets, fortune tellers, psychics, forecasters, mystics, telepaths, seers, clairvoyants. Some will be fooled, conned, hoodwinked, bamboozled, tricked, duped, taken in, deceived, wool pulled over their eyes, mislead. Either way we will all be edified, enlightened, informed, notified, up to date, up to speed, caught up, and updated.

In this corner we have a baby born at 9:20pm mst weighing in at 7lbs 3 oz, lying down at 20 inches long! Former Baby inside, now Baby Outside! The Newborn, The infant, The Youngling, the Kin of Robert and Lois Draper, their posterity, offspring, The sibling of Kenya Draper, Our Man Cub...


BABY DRAPER!









it's a girl!

News flash!

The nurse just checked Lois and dilation is complete! She said the baby is right there and that she expects it to be coming in the next half hour!

The Dr. will be here in 10 minutes to get the show on the road!

Stay Tuned!

Feel the Burn...til the epidural gets here!

So sorry folks, but there are some technical difficulties so I won't be uploading live video anymore, but I will continue to update in normal blogging format. They are blocking social networks here, so video is very difficult to load. Video will still be recorded, but not uploaded until further notice.

Now here's to catch you up!

Lois was having some intense contractions and ordered the epidural. She handled them like a champ! We can now successfully say that she has felt contractions!

So the epidural took 2 tries, between 6:30pm and 7pm MST, before being successfully placed, but it is definitely in full effect.

Lois is now dilated to a 6 (as of 7:30pm MST so it could be more by now ;)

The room has been prepped for delivery and Grandma Evans and Kenya are at a friend's house preparing for bed.

More to come...

Baby Draper is...

... is now starting the labor process with a few minor contractions.

The Flood Gates Have Opened!

This morning while taking a shower my water broke. Just a drizzle and then a few gushes. This was around 8:30 or so as I was getting ready to go to my Dr appointment. I got out of the shower and called Robert to tell him. As I got ready I was convinced that it was my water. My mom got here last night and so she was going with me to my appointment at 10:00 so I just went about my morning with a few minor set backs to keep myself clean.

At the doctors I told the nurse that I thought my water had broken and we went about the normal stuff: weight, blood pressure, urine sample and then waiting for the doc to come in. When he came in to check and see if it was my water breaking I just knew as I laid down there would be another gush and I was a little embarrassed about it, but what could I do. So, sure enough he goes to get a sample to test and said, "Yep that's the water". Karen the nurse asked him if he wanted a slide just to make sure and he said, "Nope, that's the water", as it continued to come out.

From there the Dr. got us scheduled at the hospital and let us know that he "...does his best work before dark!", and we went to lunch! We had Pizza Pie Cafe (Formerly known as Craigos) as the last meal with only 3 Drapers before the event starts.





So now we have checked in (at about 12:30), got a room and I am hooked up to the I.V. and are waiting for pitocin (the stuff that causes contractions). Stay tuned.

Scoop Jam: 2011

The Drapers decided that since Baby Inside wasn't coming as soon as everyone had thought that we should try to force him/her out with an overload of ice cream at Scoop Jam--an all- you- can- eat ice cream, event! I told Lois, (because she loves ice cream so much) that she would probably eat herself into labor. Well as we all know she didn't, but it was not for lack of trying.

Kenya's pajamas show her preparedness for this festival of frozen food! Here she is snuggling This as we were getting ready for the jam.

The following pics are of Kenya and Lois off to a great start for the day!





Well, since Baby Inside didn't become Baby Outside it made a darn good table!During our outing we ran into the Central Idaho Credit Union booth that offered the usual candy, key chains, and pens. What was not so usual about what this booth was giving away was cold hard cash! So we signed up for a, much needed, new checking account and got to try our hand in the money machine. A capsule with a cash covered floor that at the push of a button blew the dead presidents around in a flurry! (there were ones and fives)


Eventually all three of us had a turn and whatever we got was doubled if we agreed to deposit it immediately. We nearly made $200! Nuff sed!

Now that's how you start a college fund!
Question: Is it possible to have too many videos of your child dancing?

Answer: Not if your child is an awesome dancer like Kenya is!

And all that dancing and eating of frozen treats put Kenya into an ice cream coma with spoon in hand and everything! She was eating ice cream and popcorn when she slipped into her silent slumber.

All together we conquered 21 cups of frozen goodness and bought a nice commemorative t-shirt to remind us of one the best ideas since mixing sugar, milk and some other ingredients, freezing the product and consuming it on a hot Summer's day! Thank you Scoop Jam, Snake River Landing and everyone who put this thing together!

We closed the day with a Scoop Jam, wrist band, huddle on This. "Gooooooo Scoop Jam!"

No news, would have been good news!

Well, here I am another day with nothing to complain about. I really mean that too. Ever since yesterday afternoon I have been feeling better and less pregnant that I have in about 4-5 weeks. I am able to move better, get up and down off of the floor, bend over, run, and play more with Kenya. (Oh, but the tiredness is still there for sure!) What did that Dr do to me? It seems that he put me back about a month in my pregnancy.
In fact on Monday, I thought that I might have been having contractions. (Yes, I have a child and still do not know what they feel like.) I have not really felt that same feeling as I thought was contractions since after my doctors appointment. I am still feeling the baby move so I am not really worried.
Really, I have not had anything to complain about with this pregnancy. A little heartburn here and there, a larger belly that restrains my movement (and this was only for about 5 weeks or so), and tiredness is all I have really had. I know that I have been blessed again!

PS
Robert is planning on blogging again hopefully in a new inventive way with the labor and delivery permitting. We will see how it turns out.

There is progress.

So, the doc says there is progress, but nothing like I was wanting to hear. I am "more than a 3" now, but this baby has not moved down yet. He stripped my membranes to see if that will do anything and if not back to the Dr on Friday to see if there is anymore progress.
I really like my doctor. He is all for inducing me, but only if the baby and me are ready, meaning it will not cause complications. Like today for example would have been great to just ask him if he could just have me check into the hospital and be induced, but he said that the baby is not inducible because it has not engaged into the birth canal yet. I really feel like he is not going to allow me to do anything that will endanger myself or the baby. I have told him that I do not want to do anything that will increase the risk of c-section.

40 weeks

Tomorrow July 12 is 40 weeks and I have a doctors appointment. Hopefully there will be news tomorrow!
This is just a teaser post.

Independence Day

For children all Independence Days should start off with a parade! The one in Idaho Falls was big and lasted quite a while, but we were not impressed by it. Kenya enjoyed getting candy and hanging out with her friend Hannah. We were able to meet from friends and hang out with them and their family during the parade. Kenya had a blast dancing to the music that some of the floats had playing and did I mention the candy and free stuff they gave out.


After the parade it was home for a much needed nap for Mommy and Kenya! Then we went to a family in our ward for a fun BBQ and for Kenya to "play with friends". She just loves being around other children and it is not kids her age that she plays with. It is usually older ones that she can communicate with because of the kids her age she cannot understand and play with well. Our friends had a sand and water table set up and Kenya played in it with several other kids for literally at least 2 hours.
After our dinner and a little fun playing we headed down to the Melaleuca Freedom fireworks celebration on the Greenbelt. Again Kenya loved playing with the Hildebrandt family!! Thanks Hildebrandts REALLY you made us feel welcome and we had a great time crashing your family events! Really they just let her join in the fun with all of the cousins and friends that Hannah had there. She had the time of her life because for at least 3/4 of the day she was playing with other children. She loved the fireworks again, but fell asleep about 25 minutes into them and didn't wake up until a few hours after we got her home and in her own bed. I think the show is about 30 minutes or so long. It took us well over an hour to even get out of the parking lot we were parked in and so we did not get home until after 12 am and the fireworks were over at about 10:30. It was a fun 4th of July and we are so glad that Kenya enjoyed it!

What do you know this is a picture of Kenya and a dog. One of the Hildebrandts had a puppy at the Greenbelt and this occupied much of Kenya's time. The dog was a little bit mouthy, but Kenya did not mind. She was in heaven as long as she was near it or holding its leash.

This video is of Kenya playing with the dog. That poor little puppy crashed not to long after this and was sound asleep the rest of the night next to one of the grown ups.





This last picture is of Kenya playing with some of the girls there just before the fireworks started. They has glow sticks that they were making jewelry out of and they treated Kenya great making sure that she was included and letting her has a few. Again, thanks Hildebrandt family for including my daughter when she does not have any family around to celebrate with, you sure made her day and in turn Robert's and mine.

Cocoon.

I don't know if I ever posted this or not, but I wanted to make sure that I got it in there somewhere. Not long after we moved to Shelley Kenya made a profound statement. We had read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and a day or so later asked me if Baby Inside was in a cocoon (as she pointed to my belly). I told her yeah, kind of. How does a 2 year old process that information and understand that the butterfly coming out is going to be like when the baby is born. Blows my mind.
The reason I was reminded about this was because tonight I was reading her the same story and she told me that my belly was a cocoon and that the caterpillar was in the cocoon too. What a smart girl!

How much can a toddler pee at once?

The answer to this question is still mind blowing to me. Here is the story to go with it.
Kenya and I were getting ready to take our routine nap when she asked for drinks. She is potty trained and rarely pees her pants during naps (but over night is a whole different story). As she was drink both milk and then water I was thinking to myself, she is for sure going to pee this time. I was exhausted from have 2 ridiculously late nights over the weekend and not really having a chance to recover from them and thought about this and decided it was not all that bad and took potty right before we went to nap (which is she did, as normal) and to sleep we went. This map was almost 2 hours when I woke up. It was HOT in Kenya's room on the chair where we were sleep holds in heat plenty well. Because it was so hot the nap was over for me, however Kenya was still sleeping. So I checked and yes Kenya has peed her underwear was wet. I then felt a wetness on me. So, I got up and still holding Kenya went out into the living room to hold her there because I knew it would be at least a bit cooler and it was. To my surprise when I was walking from her room to the living room I felt that my entire backside was wet from about the middle of my butt down to my knees. I then laid down on the couch and was in awe by just how much see must have peed in order to soak through her blanket on to me and then the entire backside of my shorts and underwear.
Hello.... Lois you are pregnant and a thought hit me.... Maybe your water broke.
I just lay there on the couch wondering if that was possible and/or likely. Well, last Friday I began to lose my plug and Saturday confirmed it. Then I spent 2 out 3 day walking forever each day celebrating the 4th of July. The more I thought about this the more likely it was me and not Kenya. I laid there with her for about another 20 minutes because that girl needed her sleep! Then when she woke up I went to check the chair we were sitting on. Yep! It was super wet too! I then called Robert to tell him and then talked to my mom and then my doctor. I decided to go in to the doctor this afternoon to have him check to see if it was my water breaking. Yeah, imagine calling your Dr who actually just happened to be on lunch to tell him you think your water broke or it could just be that your toddler peed the bed. So with his recommendation I called Robert who came home from work at his lunch (2:30 pm) and we went to the docs office to see if this baby was coming anytime soon.
This whole time I am thinking well if it is your water you need to get to doctors to see if you are going into labor and/or will need to be induced because the water is gone, but if it isn't your water then it will all be for nothing. Other things that made me think it was the water. There was a smell of urine on Kenya's wet underwear, but not on me or the chair. There is no way a child could pee that much!!! I don't really know what labor or contractions are like because with Kenya I never really felt any, so I kept telling myself who are you to know if your water has broken.
So, I guess you are wondering the results of the visit. Well, Baby Inside is a....... baby inside still and does not appear to be coming anytime soon. The doctor said I am still a "tight" 3 and the baby is not engaged yet. I will go in next Tuesday on my due date for my next visit.
So, what was it that made me to wet. I am thinking that is could have been a lot of sweat because like I said it was HOT in there and a combination of Kenya's pee. I thought I was going to get a different story to tell out of interesting day, but at least it is a story none the less. I am really not ready for this baby to come anyway so that is nice that I am just a paranoid pregnant woman who is afraid she wont recognize labor.

An Amazing Start: 4th of July Weekend 2011

So Saturday the 2nd was a great way to start the 4th of July weekend! We lounged around in the morning to early afternoon and then made our way to Driggs, Idaho to have some fun at the Huntsman Springs Celebrate America event. I know you’re probably wondering where in the world is Driggs! Well this town lies in the beautiful Teton Valley. It was an all day celebration that had inflatable play palaces for kids, music (live symphony and record hits), an abundance of sunshine, shows, overly expensive street vendors, heat, Glenn Beck, activities, classic cars, patriotic planes, and FIREWORKS!

This event was not only a celebration of the best nation on Earth, but it was also a huge benefit for the fight against cancer with one of the foremost cancer research and treatment centers in the nation. What better event to show up to, right? The kicker to this shindig was that everything, but the overpriced, concessions, was FREE!

We, made probably one of the worst purchases of all time. We got, what smelled, looked, and just overall felt like, what be a good funnel cake and was sorely disappointed! It was like consuming a vat of oil. We didn't even come close to finishing it. It was like 5 dollars for a plate of oil! I guess everything can't be perfect at a place like this!

Enjoy a few pics and vids of the fun-filled day.


This girl is patriotic! She already knows to put her right hand on her heart during the national anthem!

Here's a tour of our makeshift shade tree. It's not much for the eyes, but it did the trick for the abundant sunshine I mentioned earlier.
As per request, here is an updated, pregnancy pic of Lois
I know you're probably thinking, "Alfred Hitchcock was there?".

Jump was one of Kenya's favorite parts of the day because she loves dogs with a passion. She loved watching the doggies dance too!
Kenya was lovin' the inflatable play palaces!


Kenya had a blast with "friends". There was this family that had 3 little girls and one little boy that had set up next to us. Kenya saw the littlest girl (age 3) and the oldest (age 7) playing frisbee with their dad and immediately wanted to play with them so she went up and repeatedly asked to play with them. They allowed her and they were all playing together for the next few hours! Kenya and Audrey (the 3-year old) would throw the frisbee and race each other to it like a good old-fashion, fumble rooskie...tackling included, but did it in the nicest way. It was so cute to watch them.

Here Kenya is with Alexis ( the 7-year old) pursuing the frisbee.
Kenya saw the little brother fall down and was quick to go help him up and to help him walk! He could already walk so we had to thank her for helping, but not to help too much because she might make him fall over again. We can't get enough of her helpful heart. She is going to be an awesome, big sister

The first vid is of Kenya visiting Daddy at work.

Next is the amazing dog-show called "Jump".

After that was some dance time.

Lastly, Kenya using her acrobatic skills and uncanny determination to try somersaulting up a hill! (Note: Kenya does know how to somersault...you try doing a perfect one uphill. Do it!! Now! I'm watching you!)




Glen Beck spoke at this event and he did it well. His speech was patriotic and religious. He spoke about how our children need to know about the important events that have taken place in the past in order to help mold our country into what it is now. He didn't single out any particular religion, but he made it a point to let everyone present know that this country was not built by man alone--God was at the foundation of it all. Without Him our country would not be here as it is today. It was great!

The day was rapped up with an amazing fireworks display that was, in our opinion, better than that of the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration! The fireworks were seamlessly, choreographed to patriotic music, video and narration that would make you want to cry with tears of appreciation and joy because God has blessed this country so much and continues to do so!

I hope everyone has a safe, memorable, and appreciative Independence Day celebration! God Bless America!!