- JACK'S FIRST BATH

Jack had his first bath today. It was mostly a sponge bath since his umbilical cord hasn't fallen off yet. Everyone helped and he only cried when he got cold.

He did LOVE having his hair washed though. I thought he was going to go to sleep.
(You can see how jaundiced he is....we have a Drs. appt. tomorrow to find out if he'll need to go under the lights)

The whole family helped dry him, lotion him and diaper him. It was just like a day at the spa for Jack!


After his bath, we put him in a sunny spot in front of a window. This is a tradition for every Carlson and Casper baby so far. We just make yellow babies! (The little blue mittens are so he won't scratch his face)

- BURRITO BABY

Jack loves to be wrapped up like a burrito. It seems the tighter we wrap him, the happier it makes him. If his blanket gets loose, he fusses until we re-wrap him. Jack was the star of the show today. He had visitors from Logan (Amy and Jake and their kids), Layton (Kristie and Bruce) and Provo (Katie). Several friends from the ward stopped by to meet him too. What a busy day!

- WELCOME HOME JACK!

The doctor decided to send Angie and Jack home tonight instead of tomorrow. Kelsey and I were going to make a cute sign to welcome them home. This is the best we could do on short notice. Kelsey was still coloring it when they pulled into the driveway!

The first order of business when Jack arrived home, before he was even out of his carseat, was that Abbey and Kelsey wanted to read him some storybooks.

Before leaving the hospital, Jack was poked multiple times to make sure his bilirubin levels were okay. His heals looked like pincushions. The doctor seemed to think he was looking a little yellow this morning. Tests came out okay.

Jack gets a tour of his new bedroom.

Jack and Angie are glad to be home. We're glad they're home too!

- IT'S A BOY!!!!!

Angie was due to be induced this morning at 7:00 am but started having contractions yesterday. At about midnight they were 4 minutes apart so they went in to the hospital and baby was delivered about 3 hours later.

Jack Gregory Carlson was was born Friday, June 27, 2008 at 3:30 a.m. He weighs 7 lbs 4.5 ounces and is 21 inches long. He has gorgeous blue eyes and is strong and healthy....oh, and NO webbed toes!

Greg was able to give Jack his first bath in the nursery. He didn't like being cold and cried a little.

Kelsey holding her little brother for the first time.

Abbey takes a turn.

I'm so glad I made it in time for the birth and to help with the girls!


Snuggled together in bed.


He's so sweet!

I can't believe they have their boy!!! It's so weird to see blue!

Proud daddy and adoring sister.

What a cute family!

- BABY EVE IN UTAH

This morning I left Placerville at 7:00 a.m. and drove to Layton, Utah for the birth of my new grandson tomorrow morning. Angie looked like she was going to pop. She's been having contractions all day. Maybe baby won't wait until tomorrow. We're all so excited we can hardly stand it!

- BABY HAT

I wanted to make something for my grandson-to-be so my friend Judy taught me how to knit this cute little hat. I finished today- just in time for Jack's birth on Friday! I can't wait to see him wearing this. I hope it fits. I've got the knitting bug now. I've already started another hat and hope to learn how to knit socks and sweaters. Thanks Judy!!!! Cross another thing off my bucket list!

- WILD FIRES

The skies have been really smokey in our area for the last couple of days due to wildfires all over California. The fires started because of lightning storms over the weekend. Tonight there are over 840 fires burning around the state. Governor Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in several hard hit areas. Air quality has been pretty bad here in Placerville today. Tonight when I drove down to Folsom, it was hard to breathe and the sunset was an eerie red.

- GOT GOATS???

Kurt is so happy to finally have the goats he's been waiting for. They were delivered yesterday. Now he'll have help with the weeds that seem to sprout up as soon as he cuts them down. As soon as he put "Rusty" and "Rolly" in their new pen, they started chomping on some poison oak. I haven't been very excited about this new endeavor (I'm a city girl, I guess) but I'll have to admit, Rusty and Rolly are pretty cute.

- EAGLE COURT OF HONOR

Tonight we attended an Eagle Court of Honor for Jacob Taylor, one of the students in the seminary class that I substitute teach. It brought back memories of Tyler's Eagle Court. The best part was seeing Kurt in his scout shirt again. I love a man in uniform!

I made cookies to take. They were a hit. I'm including the recipe:

HEATH BITS PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup peanut butter
1-1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
3 TBLS milk
1 TBLS vanilla extract
1 egg
1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1-1/3 cups (8 oz pkg) HEATH Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits, divided

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Beat shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add egg; beat just until blended. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. Stir in 1 cup toffee bits; reserve remainder for topping.
3. Drop by cookie scoop about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet; top each with reserved toffee bits. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until set. Do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

- MY GARDEN

This morning Kurt and I put landscape fabric down between the raised beds in our garden and covered the area with gravel. It looks so much better now. It was nearly 100 degrees outside when we finished.

Kurt, weed whacking before we rolled the landscape fabric out.

Covering the area to keep the weeds out.

Half yard of pea gravel - probably about 1/4 of what we'll need.

We completed about 1/3 of the project today. It just got too hot and then we had a summer thunderstorm. What a perfect way to spend the first day of summer! To celebrate, we picked the first zucchini of the season from our garden.

- HAIRCUT

Tonight Kurt and I drove to Sacramento and met Alyssa and Tyler for dinner at Baja Fresh. Alyssa cut my hair at Paul Mitchell while Kurt and Tyler went to Harbor Freight and Home Depot. Kurt and I stopped at a drive-in movie and saw Get Smart afterwards. The Drive-In was fun - the movie....not so much.

- ISRAEL

Today, during lunch, Dr. Kiholm showed us pictures from his recent trip to the Holy Land. He visited Bethlehem, Nazareth, Golgotha, the Dead Sea, Egypt and Germany. He said it was one of the most spiritual experiences of his life. I have just added a trip like this to my bucket list.

- FULL MOON

I have always loved the moon, especially in the full phase. I think I have a photo of every full moon for the last 2 or 3 years. I love learning about the different phases of the moon and the traditional names for each one. The name of the full moon in June is • Full Strawberry Moon - This name was universal to the Native American Algonquin tribe. However, in Europe they called it the Rose Moon. The Algonquin tribes knew this Moon as a time to gather ripening strawberries. . . . so the full Moon that occurs during the month of June was christened for the strawberry....and boy do I love strawberries!!!!!

- GUITAR HERO

Tyler stopped by on his way to institute. He's learning some new songs on the guitar. I always love hearing him play and sing. Tonight he sang a little Beatles and Johnny Cash.

- SKYDIVING

Alyssa and Tyler are still talking about their skydiving experience on Saturday. They went to the Lodi airport with Nathan and Zach and had the time of their lives. Neither of them were scared but Alyssa said she doesn't think she'll ever do it again. I second that! ;)

- FATHER'S DAY

This morning I made breakfast for Kurt and served it to him in bed. He had early morning Bishopric meetings, but after church we watched a couple of movies together and then the kids came over in the evening and we had a nice dinner out on the back deck. Kurt opened his presents and we had carrot cake for dessert. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO THE WORLD'S BEST DAD!!!!!

- MISSION CALL

Tonight we had over 60 friends cram into our family room to witness Nathan Mackey open his mission call. We hung maps on the wall and everyone made their guess as to where he would serve. We all cheered when he read the letter telling him he was called to the Marshall Islands Majuro Mission (English speaking). We all sang "Called to Serve." Nathan was surprised to read that he will be wearing a skirt and sandals on his mission! We all ate cookies and visited until about 11:00 p.m. Congratulations Elder Mackey! We're SOOO proud of you!!!!!

- GIRL'S CAMP

Because I'm working now, I couldn't spend the entire week at Girl's Camp this year. Linda Stacy couldn't stay all week either for the same reason. So, we did a job share. She went up earlier in the week and I came up on Thursday after work and stayed until Saturday. I was a counselor to the Big Sisters. Best job at camp! I got there just in time for all the fun stuff! See below:

The Big Sisters all dressed up for the sock hop Thursday night. The theme this year was "ROCK ON....you're worth it." (Being steadfast and immovable). The girl's had such a fun time dancing the night away!


Bishop Anderson came for Bishop's night and dinner. Here he is with the Placerville Ward YW, sporting his Grand Poobah hat!



FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2008

Tonight was testimony meeting, my favorite part of Girl's Camp. The spirit was strong and I was so grateful to be here this week. I loved working with Cheryl too. She's a powerhouse and such a great example to me.

- WE'VE GOT OUR WORK CUT OUT FOR US!

Recently we had 2 semi-truck loads of retaining wall blocks and brick pavers delivered to our house. Kurt has spent the last few days moving some of the pallets to the back yard. We're working on the yard/landscaping now that the house is mostly done. It'll be so nice to enjoy our yard....maybe next year ;)

- HOLY COW!!!!!

Tonight I drove down to Folsom to buy groceries and pick up my photos at Costco. I decided to get gas there since my tank was only 1/4 full and it's always the least expensive place for gas. I was shocked beyond words! $4.37 a gallon!!!!! That is the MOST I've ever spent for gas!!!!! 3/4 tank cost me $57.00!!!!! I never thought I'd live to see the day. I'm wondering how I'd look on a motorcycle or one of those cute motorized scooters????

- SNICKERDOODLES

Tonight I started my cookie baking frenzy. Nathan Mackie should be receiving his mission call any day. He'll be having an "opening" party at our house as soon as it comes in the mail. I'm making cookies every night this week after work for the party. I'll put them in the freezer until the the big night. Tonight I made snickerdoodles. I saw this recipe on America's Test Kitchen, my new favorite cooking show on PBS. See recipe below:



SNICKERDOODLES

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

1 3/4 cups sugar
1 TBLS ground cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 large eggs

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine 1/4 cup of the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish for coating and set aside. Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

2. Beat the butter, shortening, and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy for approx 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.

3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Give the dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure it is combined.

4. Using wet hands, roll 2 TBLS of dough at a time into balls (I use a cookie scoop), then roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat and lay on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced about 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes, (I did 12), rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.

5. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

- ALYSSA

Tonight Alyssa stopped by after church. I had made homemade rolls and honey butter. We ate way too much and then we played on the computer for awhile. It's always fun when Alyssa stops by. She makes me laugh. We never know what color her hair will be though. I think this is the darkest it's ever been. Every time I looked at her I did a double take. I guess this is all par for the course when you're in cosmetology school. She has one more year of school to go. I wonder how many shades we'll have to look forward to?

- TRIP TO UTAH - MAY 7-9, 2008

We made a fast trip to Utah last month for my Grandpa Litson's funeral. We stayed with Angie, Greg and the girls. I spoke at the funeral, Kurt gave the family prayer, conducted the graveside service and dedicated the grave. Angie played the piano and Tyler and Kurt were pallbearers. The VFW did a nice job with the military portion of the funeral. It was so nice to see family again. The drive is always long, but we had fun with Tyler and Alyssa. We played our usual dumb games during the drive and I took some pretty funny pictures of everyone sleeping in the car..... wink, wink.

- GOLD PANNING AT THE CREEK

Today we had a quiet day at home. I worked on my Primary lesson, read a book and worked on a little hat I'm knitting for my new grandson-to-be. Kurt spent the day at the creek panning for gold. Alyssa and I walked down and took a picnic lunch and we all enjoyed the nice weather we're having. Kurt found 4 small pieces of gold today. He's getting quite a collection. Who knows, maybe we CAN retire in April! ;-)

- DATE NIGHT

Tonight Kurt and I went on a double date with Greg and Tara. They were celebrating their 10th anniversary and asked us to join them. We took that as quite a compliment. Who wants to hang out with a couple of old people on their anniversary? We had a great time. We went to dinner at Elephant Bar and then did some shopping at the Sunrise Mall. Afterwards, we drove to El Dorado Hills to see a movie. It was sold out, so we had dessert at Chili's and talked for a couple of hours. What a fun night!