Baby No-Name Has Arrived!

I (Kaelee) am posting for Heather to let everyone know that she had her baby today. She went into labor early this morning, I think around 3 am, and had the baby by c-section at 10:32 am. Heather was having a lot pain this morning from the c-section but this evening when we went she was feeling much better. The baby is quite adorable and has a perfectly shaped head! He was 7 pounds 8 ounces and 18 inches long. He's considered preterm since he is 4 weeks early. I thought I had a picture of just him but I took that one with Heather's camera. This is the family looking at him through the window at the nursery. I'm sure there will be many more pictures to come, and also hopefully a name!

Jepson Family Reunion

This year we were not planning on going to my family reunion due to the fact that I'm 8 months pregnant and not really in a camping mood, but Thursday we decided we didn't want to miss it. So we packed up our van (yes, I am the owner of a minivan:) and headed up to Tropic Friday morning. What an awesome family I have. I love getting together with everyone and hanging out for the weekend in the mountains. Granted, I wasn't the happiest camper this year and I probably (for sure) will never go again when I'm this prego, but it was so fun and I'm so glad we went. Grandma, Grandpa, Caleb, and Gavin. In the background you can see the smoke from the "controlled burn" that was uncomfortably close to camp and didn't seem very controlled, but it seemed to get further away as the weekend wore on.

As a result of the fires, there were helicopters constantly pumping water from the lake. The kids loved watching them dip into the water.

Trying to catch the big one.

Jada and Jersie, styling even in the mountains.

Casey caught this monster in the little stream by camp that is seriously about two feet deep. This thing weighs in at 7 1/2 lbs and is 29 inches long! And yes, it will probably be mounted on my wall:(

Caleb-sized fish.

Connor and Caleb doing the three-legged race.

Just chillin watching the races.

Silly Jada, getting ready to watch the family picture video on the big screen. Every year someone makes a video with all the pictures from last year's reunion (great job this year, Nat!). This is one of my favorite parts of the weekend.

Caleb catching a grasshopper at the lake.

Good times on the paddle boat.

And finally, the famous bat race. This year's big fall features Casey and Melissa:)

Enjoy!

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4th of July pictures

Caleb wasn't too sure about the horse ride, Jada loved it.

Just chillin' watching the festivities.

Doesn't she look awesome.

Fireworks in front of the house.

Scaredy cat.

Scaredy cat #2

Jada and Caleb love our neighborhood and the neighborhood kids. They are outside from first thing in the morning till almost bedtime riding bikes, playing on the Rhino, digging in dirt, whatever. They have a blast. It's nice for me cause I can leave the front door open and work in the house and still keep an eye on them. That will probably change as the days get hotter, but for now it's perfect. On a slightly sad note, Jada came walking down the street to the house the other day all alone, kinda dragging her feet. I asked her what happened. She said the boys were in a Boys Only Club and had kicked her out. Yes, my sweet little 3-year-old boy is in the club. Sad! Does it really start this early??? I hate it.

Jada, Caleb, and Mariah

As a side note, I just wanted to share pictures of my pretty little girl:

Conversations with a 4 year old

I must admit, I get slightly frustrated trying to answer all the questions Jada throws at me. I mean, they never quit! She would ask questions all day long if I had the patience to answer them all. I love talking to her. I love the things that come out of her mouth. Two recent conversations went like this:

Jada and Grandma Jo sitting outside:
Jada: "Why are those ants friends?"
Grandma: "What ants?"
Jada: "I saw some ants walking together. How did they meet each other? See, there's more ants walking together. How did they get to be friends?"

And with me the other night, after I had put her in bed after a VERY long day:
Jada: "I want you to turn the heater (AC) on!"
Me: "Okay, I will in a minute."
Jada: "I want you to turn the heater on!" (over and over and over again)
Me (not very much patience): "Jada, if you say that one more time I'm gonna come and spank your bum."
Jada: "K . . . will you turn the heater on, or no?"

I had to laugh.

Preschool Graduation

Jada graduated from her preschool class on Thursday and it was such a cute and funny little program those kids put on. I was pleased at how much Jada learned in such a short time, since we only started her in January. I'm glad somebody's teaching my kid something:) Here are some cute pictures, and a hilarious video of Jada and her very unwilling partner.

The Latest

We went to eat up in Springdale at the Pizza & Noodle, and afterward we went down the street to the . . . local petting zoo? I'm not really sure what it is, but the kids loved it. You can feed the elk and bulls and buffalo.

Caleb really got into feeding the animals and was even brave enough to let them lick his hand.

This was Jada's favorite, the friendly cat wandering around all the cool animals. She followed it around and had a great time.

Casey decided to set up a backyard campout for the kids and it was a huge hit. They set up their tent and sleeping bags, then set up the laptop for a movie. The weather was perfect (almost no wind!). I was surprised Caleb lasted till about 5:30 a.m., and Jada stayed out there the whole night. Meanwhile, I was sound asleep in my nice, comfy bed inside:)

Does it get any better than this?

Last week I turned the big 2-8. I'm really getting up there:(

Jada made me this Mother's Day card in Preschool. It was so sweet and accurate:)

"My mother is the most wonderful Mom in the whole world! She's as pretty as a rainbow. She weighs 7 pounds and she's 10 feet tall. Her favorite food is cereal. I think Mom looks funny when she plays peek a boo. I know she's really angry when she puts me in trouble. I wish my Mom would love me everyday. I wouldn't trade my mother for a cereal bowl."

Happy Mother's Day!

We had a backyard bonfire with smores and the kids loved it.

This is the result when you tell Caleb to smile.