Happy Birthday #1 Monkey!

July 16th started bright and early, anticipation was in the air, there was a lot to get done. Adam and Dad got hair cuts and took baths (Adam put his towel over his head like a ghost and started walking between Mom and Dad blind, he thought it was hilarious!)then Mom started working on the treats for the day.

 Adam helped by testing the frosting

And he said it was good enough.

 He even watched to make sure everything was baked all the way through.

As Mom was decorating, Dad and Adam helped get the house clean and tidy. Before the festivities started we at dinner and Mom wrapped the presents.

 The theme was monkeys... because honestly Adam has lived up to his nic name very well.  Mom made a personal cake for Adam and cupcakes for everyone else, as well as a white cake for those who didn't like chocolate.

so much work but so much fun.

when 6:00 rolled around we brought everything up to the park and got things ready for all the guests! There was Mom and Dad, Jonas and Sophie and their parents, Grandma and Grandpa Gleason, Great Grandma and Grandpa Basset and Great Grandma and Grandpa Cook!  Before we knew it, it was time for presents!

 what could it be?

 Awesome!

Books and toys and clothes, and a box of tissues of his very own!

The crowning moment was the cake, while everyone else were enjoying their own, Adam was quite busy!

We finished the evening with a bath to play with his new bath toys and a video chat with Grandma and Grandpa Cook and Family! What a wonderful birthday!

First hair cut!

I was totally nervous.. and I had no clue what I was doing, so I started with Nathaniel's hair. This I have done plenty of times. then we plopped Adam down on Dads lap and had at it.  not to shabby I say! turned out better than I dreaded :)

Adam and his first hair cut on his first birthday!

before shot

Puddle jumping

Adam loves the water, what ever form it may come in!

Walking...a lot!

yep that's right we have a little walker on our hands and right before his first birthday too! Actually he took his first steps clear back in March as seen here.

But the real walking has been going on for a couple weeks.

Even though he gets into everything now, and can be a little stinker, I sure love this little kid!

Ooops, fourth of July come first!

My parent live in Pleasant Grove, not too far away from us, and this year the surprised all the grand kids (and adults) with a huge blow up water slide, the movies speak for themselves. aside from great food, fireworks, freedom and the best company, we had a blast!

Don't worry it doesn't hurt

nor did that

Ok, now that may have... silly boys

water baby

World Chocolate Day

July 7th, a great day. To celebrate we had chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate milk for dinner. Adam enjoyed it :)

Stadium of Fire!

Have I ever mentioned that my husband has one of the coolest employers ever?  Qualtrics wanted to surprise there employees with Stadium of Fire tickets this year and ended up being the number 1 sponsor.  Each employee of Qualtrics was given four tickets, ON THE FIELD, as well as dinner and ice cream at the base ball stadium.

 Flew in right over our heads... though he had a little trouble on the landing.

Everyone was given these blue Qualtrics shirts and we were happy to have my little sister Ashley and her husband Klark attend with us.  it was a fantastic evening. Brad Paisly and David Archuletta preformed but the fire works were my favorite part.

Gleason Family Reunion

Pictures pending the finding of my camera.  We went camping up by Squaw Peak and had a whole lot of fun, though we missed the Carlsons, Joe and Darren.

Universal Studios

When we planned on coming here we mostly had planned on visiting Harry Potter World.  I had heard good things about it and mom and dad made it possible.  Because there wasn't free transportation from our campground to Universal, like Church, we had to go in shifts. Nathaniel, Emma, Adam and I had a fun time exploring Dr. Suesse land while we were waiting for the rest of the family to come. A lot of fun

 Sooo big! sitting on an egg.

 Emma

 Fun carousel !  

 tickle the toes... and...

 he pops out!

 Exploring the tunnel that had voices and eyes

a cow like creature with a ton of legs!

When the rest of the family came we hurried of to The Wizarding world of Harry Potter! Items of business included a tour through Hogwarts,ride included, (A little girl went into some kind of anxiety attack in line and help was very slow at coming, I will never forget watching Dad jump over fences and scale six foot walls to get help, our hero!)  dragon challenge and one must not forget Butter beer! Ollivanders and honeydukes were also must visits. we ate at the Three Broomsticks where we got even more Butterbeer! so delicious! Mom and Dad got me a wonderful memento... my very own wand!

 View of Hogsmead

Hogwarts!

 My wand

Very Happy!

 Pushing his own stroller... Adam got very good at this!

Universal Studios had a lot more to offer, like cartoon world and Sinbad land, super fun day! And Super fun Trip, thanks  Mom and Dad for including us in this part of the trip! It was wonderful spending more time with all of you!

 Posing on their favorite ride

Pushing around a chair in the kid swap room

Epcot

We were able to spend two wonderful days exploring Epcot center.  While there were a few rides at this park I think the favorite part of our days was exploring all the different lands.  We didn't get pictures of all the countries but in addition to what you see here we tried chocolate in England, bought chopsticks in Japan, watched O Canada  and saw a belly dance in Morocco... by accident :)

 Italy 

 Mexico

 China

Germany

In Germany I got to talk with some of the workers there and introduced the family to German Chocolates... yum. Nathaniel spoke with some Spanish and ordered for us in Mexico, and Dad had fun remembering his mission in England.  If I could go back to only one park we visited, it would be the epcot center.

Sunday in Orlando

While in Orlando we stayed at the frontier land camp grounds at Disney worlds fort wilderness.  On Sunday we were able to take a nice break from everything and attend a very large ward right across the street from the temple. That was a very nice experience.  Because Nathaniel had already returned the rental car we had to travel in shifts.  It was a very reflective day for me. June 12.  It marked the passing of ten years from when my brother Mark passed away. while I was missing family back home I was also reminded and filled with love for my new family too and how they love and take care of me. Thanks Cooks, you made my trip wonderful.

Someone got hold of our camera... I wonder who that could have been?

 Getting ready

 Adam seemed to do a lot of this

 Nathaniel and ... Jared... I think

 Camilla

 Emma

 Jared again, sleeping, a good Sunday activity

 Brianne

Mom... where is Dad I wonder?