Mariah's Baby Blessing

The day after Johnny and Ashley were married, we finally did Mariah's baby blessing. She's now almost 8 months old and quite a chub, so she definitely didn't fit into her original newborn blessing dress. My mom was kind enough to buy her a new one. We did the blessing at my parents home, with most of my family still there, which was nice. I told a few stories about Mariah's namesake, Ann Mariah Bowen Call, her 4th great grandmother, who was a strong pioneer woman. It was really wonderful to have my grandmother there, who is Ann Mariah's great granddaughter. Anyhow, Rob gave her a beautiful blessing, although she squirmed the whole way through. We couldn't even get a decent picture (as you will see below) because Mariah was so squirmy. Now I know why people do baby blessings when babies are newborns -- they can't squirm so much.

Forget the pretty photos, just put me down Daddy!

Smile for the camera girls!

Yeah, sure, mom.

Alright, we got this one. Four generations together!

Ha ha! That was great fun!

John's and Ashley's Wedding

I made the long trip back to the U.S. again (alone with the girls) for the wedding of my youngest brother, John. The plane trip was about a 24 hour ordeal -- I took a 2 1/2 hour train to Zurich, then hopped on a plane to Atlanta and another to Salt Lake. Needless to say, the girls hardly slep a wink until the very last leg of the flight and I could feel myself getting progressively sicker and sicker with a cold going without sleep. Pretty exhausting, but worth it! Rob arrived the next day (I had to come earlier because I couldn't risk missing the wedding dinner.) John's fiancee (now wife) Ashley is a wonderful person. She did a beautiful job planning the wedding (in less than two months!) and even put thought into little details for the nieces and nephews. Johnny is a lucky guy and she's a lucky girl -- I love my little brother and I'm excited to have Ashley in the family.

Rachel, Margaret and I sang together at the wedding dinner. Actually, Rachel, who has a gorgeous voice, was not going to sing, but I was so sick that I almost completely lost my voice and I needed her to provide some volume. I can't remember when all three of us sang together before. Although I sounded like a frog (and felt so too), it was wonderful to sing with my two sisters.


Here we are, the entire family (except kids) just after their marriage ceremony.



Me with all my siblings -- Ken, Rachel, CK, John, me, Jane, Margaret.

COUSINS! Both girls were thrilled to have cousins around. Here are all 10 of them together.

Olivia was a great friend to Anna Claire.

Anna Claire and Peter quickly renewed their friendship -- and their mischief making together.

Come on, Peter, let's' go!

The three flower girls: Anna with Gretel and Gracie.

The four babies (all within 6 months of age): Mariah, Eleanor, William, Noah.

August 2007 - Summer fun!

We live in a fabulous community -- especially in the summer time. We go for walks along the lake where we admire the sailboats and feed the ducks and swans. (The swans can be nasty and aggressive -- one attacked Mariah during a picnic on the lakeshores.) There is also a wonderful community pool just down the road. It has two shallow pools for Anna to swim in. We bought her a little life jacket so that she can splash around to her heart's content when I'm dealing with Mariah. Mariah likes to sit on the shallow steps and splash around too!

Mariah also tends to grab anything and everything nearby. She will NOT sit still for diaper changes, not even for a second, which can be quite dangerous. Poor Anna Claire -- whether it's her helmet (on bike rides) or her life jacket -- Mariah never lets her alone. Then again, Anna does her share of tugging at Mariah.

Mariah has really developed quite the personality. Now that she can sit, crawl and pull everything down, she is showing her wild side. She loves to get into splash fights with Anna in the tub. She splashes and laughs almost continuously throughout her entire bath. I have to be the spoilsport when I take her out.

Watch this Mommy!

Big splash!

Ha ha ha! Wasn't that great!

Rob has been traveling a lot this summer, but when he's home, the girls go crazy over him. Daddy is the greatest!

When Daddy is not home, I try to do fun activities with the girls, like swimming or picnics along the lake. We usually do a long walk along the lake and then picnic at a grassy beach spot.

Anna Claire with her trusty bucket and sunglasses.The view of our little town of Morges from our picnic spot.

July 2007 - Zurich!

So we finally made it to Zurich. I had been there once before, during the winter, and wasn't too impressed. But this time, I was quite surprised at how beautiful and walkable the city was. I particularly loved seeing the Chagall stained-glass windows in the Fraumunster Cathedral.

We are still missing the back seat of our stroller (a necessity, I've now realized) so the two girls both rode in front.Anna's in the fountains again!
St. Peter's Church -- it has one of Europe's larges clock faces. Go figure -- in the clock capital of the world.

July 2007 - A Side Trip to Yvoire

Right after the Tour trip, I took my mom and dad and the girls on a little boat trip to Yvoire (a little medieval French town across the lake). It was great fun to spend some time showing them around our "neighborhood".

Anna Claire, of course, had to stop and wash her hands in every fountain. She loves the place.

Here I am guys, come and get me!
We lost the back piece to our stroller so Mariah got to ride on my back. She loved it, but came home with a sunburn ring on her head where her helmet stops.

July 2007 - Le Tour de France!

EPIC! That's how Rob describes it. Rob has been wanting to see the Tour de France for ages and he's gotten me excited about it too. Several of Rob's biking buddies, Jared (our brother-in-law, married to Rob's sister Tiffany) and my parents came out for an amazing week of biking and Tour-watching. We spent the week at the home base of Tignes, France, a picturesque ski resort in the middle of the French Alps. Rob and the gang's biking schedule included some of the most famous Tour de France climbs in the Alps -- Col de Telegraph, Col de Galibier, and the Alpe d' Huez in the same day! I got to go on several rides with my dad, thanks to the generosity of my mom, who watched the girls every time! Thank you Mom! After all this climbing in the Alps, maybe I'll aim for LOTOJA next year!

Dad, Rob and me ready to ride.

THE ROAD TO STAGE 8

Here is the gang of crazy cyclists at the top of Cormet de Roselend. They rode essentially most of Stage 8 (110 km and loads of mountain passes) the day before we watched the real thing. From right to left: Randy, Tom, Jared, Rob. (Rob's friend John from HBS missed the first day because his bike got lost in Paris. He made up for it two days later when they rode Col de Galibier and John took a 3 hour deviation into Italy.)

Jared - our optimist brother-in-law.

Tom - the amazing triathlete (and the guy who braved Alpe d'Huez with crash injuries).

Randy - Rob's good friend from his BYU cycling days.

Stopping to refuel along the way. The whole ride was full of Tour fans cheering them on.

Man, is this nuts or what?!

On the way to Cormet de Roselend.

Jared getting cheered on by the Devil (a famous follower of the Tour)

Here I am -- future Tour de France champion -- riding up the road to Tignes just a few hours before the Tour cyclists arrived. It was motivating to have the crowds cheer for me as I cycled past.

Almost to the top! Don't ask me why Rob was taking photos of my behind!

THE TOUR DE FRANCE--LIVE FROM TIGNES!

Watching Stage 8 of the Tour de France. The big screen kept us informed of what was going on below. We were at the finish line in Tignes.

My parents at the Tour de France. I have no idea why there were hippos on the big screen at this moment!

Grandma and Grandpa and the family.

This is Rasmussen, who won Stage 8 by a wide margin. (This put him in the maillot jaune but he was later disqualified on suspicions of doping, like a bunch of other guys in this drug-stained Tour.)

On Daddy's shoulders, Anna Claire got the best view of us all!

Mariah got to be a "placesaver" in the crowds -- who would cut in front of a baby in a stroller? -- she didn't enjoy the role very much.
I'm much happier here -- on the couch.

GRENOBLE

Our little trip to Grenoble. This Alpine city is completely surrounded by mountains. My mom spent a couple months of her mission here -- 40 years ago.

Sightseeing with Grandma Tia. You may be wondering how I can do all this biking without the girls. I owe it all to my fabulous mom, who took care of the girls every time! Thank you Mom!

The view of Grenoble from our dirty cable car.

ALPE D'HUEZ

Halfway up Alpe D'Huez. Stunning views make the climb worth it!

The top of Alpe d'Huez (The actual Tour finish is 1km up, but it's a big construction area right now. Isn't it amazing that my 61-year-old dad completed this epic climb?

Come on guys, you can do it! (Rob and Jared on the ride up to Alpe d'Huez.) This was the final leg of a grueling day for them, including climbing Col de Telegraph and Col de Golibier.

COL DE L'ISERAN

At the beginning of the Col de l'Iseran climb (a steep 20km climb in Stage 9 of this year's Tour). See how energetic we look!

At the top of Col de l'Iseran. Not so energetic--I'm tired and freezing at this point. Note all the glaciers around us. We biked up this just a few hours after the Tour went through and you could see messages written to the cyclists in the glaciers.

The views from the top of Col de l'Iseran.

Halfway down and feeling much better. This is the view into the Vallee d'Isere. Again, stunning!

CORMET DE ROSELEND

Me, huffing and puffing up Cormet de Roselend (a 20km steep climb).

My dad at his usual steady pace.

Rob zoomed up then zoomed back and forth between my dad and me. I can't believe I have such an athlete for a husband! He's in AMAZING shape!

At the top of Cormet de Roselend: John, Dad, me, Rob, Randy

Rob kept blowing out his tires, which can be very dangerous on a steep descent. Here he is with his friend John.

The views on the way down. Check out my fashionable arm-warmers (borrowed from Rob)!

Bye-bye guys. It was fun!

BIKING BACK IN SWITZERLAND

Our fabulous week ended with some bike riding back in Switzerland. Randy and John watched the girls while Rob took me on a romantic ride through rolling hills, roses and sunflowers. Now that's my kind of bike ride!