The men in my life

I have a bunch of pictures from the last few weeks, but no exciting stories to go with them, so this is mostly a pic post. Probably our last for a while: we're already swimming in boxes, and have many, many more to fill between now and the 31st. Then I'm not sure what my computer access will be like for a while.

First, some summerness. We went with Allison + entorage to the casino/race track for the 4th to watch the races before a spiffy fireworks show. It really was a great show -- I don't know if I haven't seen a good show in a while or what, but I thought it was the best one I'd *ever* seen! Scott was more interested in the horses and kept asking where they were during the fireworks. Can't you just hear them begging, "Let us out!"?Something in the works?? Summertime feet:Summertime head: (post run-in with a big stick)Scott in his Jetsonsmobile-meets-Flinstonesmobile. Don't you love the proportions of these cars? For our year on the road, we bought Scott a portable bedroom: a dog tent! haha. It's just the right size, and he's slept in it just about every night since we got it. Here's hoping it'll ease the shock of being a nomad at least a little bit. Scotty: "Don't even think about snapping that shot." AWESOME bribery material for 10 years from now...
More bribery material. This is a 90's version of Scott. Nerd-face Tilton. Big brother keeping James company during some tummy time:My manly men in fruity stripes:Here's a taste of what Jer gets to do all day. Before:
After:
James chillin' with papa:
Getting REALLY excited about attention from dad:


Wish us luck with our move! We're mostly excited, but of course a little sad to leave favorite friends and places behind. We'll miss Des Moines!

James Kenneth's baby blessing

We had James' baby blessing the weekend of the 29th of June and luckily both sets of grandparents were able to be there. We named James for the biblical James (we've both always liked the prophet and the name) and for Jeremy's dad Ken. After the fact, we realized that James is everywhere in my Scottish line of ancestors, and is also the name of Jer's mom's grandfather and great-grandfather. So it's very much a family name. Here are the two Kens bonding on the papasan: My dad, Ann, the boys, Corrine, and Ken:
The Tilton boys:The Jeremy Tilton family of 4:
We had a blast! Ken and Corrine came Friday. They do a PERFECT job of being doting grandparents. Indulge Scotty's every whim. He missed them so much when they left! Friday night we went out for yummy ribs and to see Wall-E, which was fun, of course. And Saturday after Ken fixed the Subi (again! Thanks, Ken!), we went to the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad. If you've never been, it's a little hard to describe. It was very Iowa. Slow, a little shabby, and no surprises. We had fun though, of course. Here's Scotty with his favorite, grandma Corky:
Scotty, Ken, and Corrine:Mossy Jer:James doing what he *still* does best:
Scotty messing with anything that looks like a potential gizmo to get him in trouble w/ the conductor.
I guess there was one kind of dramatic part: the "High Bridge" (most creative of all names) is 159 feet high, with no visible side rails. Pretty trippy. But not too scary going 5 miles/hour. My dad and Ann just moved to Nauvoo, so they came up that evening and the 4 grandparents went to Sam and Gabe's to hear Jer play one of his last gigs with Stu Calhoun, our 80 year-old jazz pianist friend. The next morning Jeremy blessed the baby at church and did a very nice job, Jer's parents left, and we had a bbq that afternoon with my parents before they headed home to unpack their boxes! It was a great weekend. Not too long or too short. Absolutely perfect, 70-something degree, breezy, sunshiny early summer weather.

Several times the following week I stopped everything I was doing and just sat there thinking about how truly blessed we are to be loved and cared for like we are. We love our parents! We're so glad they could come and support us. I also did a little swooning over my husband. I'm grateful for him, too, and that he's a good man, strong in the gospel, a great example for our boys, and so dedicated to our family. Whata guy.