Small Town celebrations!

I know this post is really late, but better late than never!

For the 4th of July weekend we went to a little town called Lewiston Utah for a parade and a fireworks show. Its where Nicks grandparents live. Tessa and Dallin just love there great grandma Barbra and great grandpa Blair! It was such a blast to hang out! I love small town celebrations! I love how everyone knows each other and is constantly waving throughout the parade not because its required but because they are greeting old friends and family! I love how you feel safe at the carival or safe parking in an empty field and you can always find parking spot, and you arent constantly looking for pickpocketers. I love how warm and inviting people are and how everyone is in some way related and looks out for each other.
here are some pictures from the festivities:

grandma Barbra and Dallin


anticipating the candy



A giant tractor makes Rylee nervous as she tries to get candy before it gets squashed!
Nicks mama (grandma Susan) and Dallin petting a puppy.

Justin (nicks brother in law, Rylee's dad) and Nick and little D relax in there camping chairs.

What Happened to my Baby Girl?

On July 6th Tessa Turned 4! She got two parties. One with her grandma and grandpa Blair and one with my sister and her family. I really cant believe its been 4 years. When we moved to Memphis she had just turned 1. Time flies when your stuck in school. =) Can we graduated yet?
anyway...

Take a walk with me down memory lane........ (warning if you don't want to hear/see Tessa's life story then skip this post)

Nick and had been married for almost 1.5 years when we decided to start our family, but after a miscarriage at 12weeks; we were extactic when I became pregnant only 4 months later with Tessa.
Tessa Amanda Blair: July 6th, 2003
7lbs 13 oz
19 1/2 inches long


My baby girl. 4 days late and a sweetheart from day 1. I was so upset because I saw suppose to have her BEFORE the 4th of july and there i was EXTREMELY, FAT and HOT and MISERABLE watching fireworks in Rexburg Idaho! But she came 2 days later. i delivered her with a midwife- (yes i was at the hospital) and it went well, no complications. What a wonderful day!

A happy daddy in the bathroom after her first blow out! She had him wrapped around her little finger.

3 months old: My first semi professional pictures:
Her 1st Christmas, Dec 2003. almost 6 months.
Tess 9 months.. Nick's graduation BS Chemistry from BYU I.


Tessa's First Birthday

(18 months.. the messy stage) =)


Tessa 2 years old. Another Hot mid-south summer so we were doing alot of swimming!!


Tessa's Third Birthday: The Princess stage starts (and we are still in it!)
And now a 4 year old!! Do they ever stop growing?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Heaven on Earth

Lyons, Colorado....


This is my backyard/front yard. The place where where i grew up. From the day I was brought home from the hospital until I pack my bags for college. I LOVE this place!!The day after fathers day I went home. I spent almost two week there trying to make up for the almost 3 years i'd been away. It is beautiful! Its my heaven on earth. The kids loved it! Every year my mom puts on something called "grandma's camp". its every summer and all my siblings the cousins try and get together for hiking, camping, horseback riding, 4-wheeling, swimming, tubing, rock climbing, ect.. ect.. ect.. The kids had a blast!

rain or shine.....
(tessa hangin with her cuz brandon)

My brother Jesse & Dallin, giving the kids rides! (yes there were lots of them! As Dallin is my moms 26th grandbaby! he was also the youngest one there! Since i am the baby of 8 kids.. (5 sis 3 bro) there are plenty of kids to go around! =) 32 people i think we caulated stayed! there were bodys sleeping everywhere!! Card games, food and family every night! what more could a person want?


And tessa has the ulitmate grandma, grandma Sally! She keep chickens so tessa got to gather eggs everyday, she has a horse.. sandy, one of many i grew up riding!
she is a master gardener...... look at all those strawberrys! this is just one days worth! we picked three more times and had two more beds to do!

Grandma Sally is also a Bee Keeper!! she gets all of her own honey and has three hives!
But most of all grandma always makes time for snuggles!! I love you mom! thanks for a wonderful grandma's camp!

from youngest to olderst
The Austin Family
Sibling Picture:

hiking

What a fun little family adventure!



Willow Creek, (somewhere in Idaho)

Dallin Update

Dallin is 10 months old now. He started crawling and climbing and its been nightmare..( my sisters house is three stories so lots of stairs!) He's a handful but what a cute handful he is. He says Mama, Dada, Ts, and "all dun". He walks if i hold his hands but i tried to let him go by himself and he fell so now hes scared to try again with one hand. He just cute his top front tooth and it was hurting him so bad! here are some new pictures o him.. enjoy.

Happy Birthday MOM!

My sister is taking piano lessons and since I play a little by hear, we thought it would be fun to have Audra's piano teacher come and teach us how to play a song we remember our mom playing on the piano as children. " I love Coffee" i am sure you've heard of it! anyway it was a lot of fun practicing so here we are!! Thanks Vicki for your time and patience!

Happy Birthday MOM!! you mean the world to us!! here is a small taste of a performance coming to you SOON!!!

Finally Getting Settled (kinda)

Well, I 'm alive....
I am sorry but its been so crazy busy and I am long over due for a post! so let me catch up!

The Blair family in general is doing well. Its been a rough month though. (living out of a duffle bag). Now we are comfortably settled in my sisters basement in Stansbury Park, UT (just north of Tooele). For those of you who dont know we are in our first rotation of externships at the Eye Insitute of Utah. (4 months longs) Nick has finally gotten comfortble and he has seen a lot of cool eye problems and deases. (Microphthalmia, Macular degneration, and BRVO and several eye surgeries like LASIK.. just to name a few =) Tessa is finally getting adjusted too. She still struggles crying for home and her friends, preschool, the park, about every little thing. But she is getting better and better every day. I didnt think she would be so affected by this move. i thought she would be too young to remember things and care. But it seems like very detail is there still. She misses it and she still thinks she is going home. But in all honesty we are now homeless. (the house sold and everything went through) I would NOT recommed buying a house though if you are thinking about it.. What a big stress, and lots and lots of work! ANYWAY! its done and over! and I am grateful it sold. What a blessing. so life is good. we are back west and are loving catching up with family and friends.
Nicks parents are just 2 1/2 hours away in Cache Valley so we drive up there every chance we get to visit. Its so beautiful there and the kids have just loved spending time with family!! here are some picture of weston Idaho. (Oh how I missed the country!) I hope you are all well, and for those friends back in Memphis I cant wait to see you this winter!


Weston Idaho.. LOOK REAL MOUNTAINS in the background!!!

Tessa doing a pose for us in grandma Blair's sandbox!

Tessa LOVES jumping on TRAMP!


Dallin enjoying some dirt while we try and plant garden
oh and he finally learned to sit up by himself! 10 months old!! and to think tessa was walking now!!! he's my mellow cute guy! Still refuses to crawl and just slumps around on his tummy.

This is Nicks little sister Sydney. she is the best babysitter in the world!! Here she is giving Tessa and Rylee (cousin) a horsey ride!

Tessa and Rylee spend most of their time outside in the sandbox! Though this picture was taken quite a few weeks ago its definately much more temperate weather. I am not going to miss those HOT MUGGY SUMMERS IN MEMPHIS! I will be begggin for a memphis winter though!