ConRAC

Here is everyone, field & office, who is working on the ConRAC at the San Jose Airport, the BIG parking garage/quick turnaround rental car facility. You can see their progress behind them. It is a Design-Build project; they are about 13% complete with construction and still have some major design issues to work out. The current projected cost is about $230 million dollars, the biggest project the Northern California Hensel Phelps office has ever done. They also have the smallest team of any of the other airport projects. Jordan has ample opportunities to learn and gain experience, as well as building his resume. If you can't tell which one Jordan is, just look for the guy who isn't smiling. :)

Smells So Sweet

McKay smelling his 'popcorn ball'

A day at the Beach

Yesterday we packed a lunch, took our hiking backpack, and a blanket and went to Santa Cruz, about 45 min away, and spent the day at the beach. McKay LOVED it! To get to the beach we walked through the Boardwalk. McKay was all eyes, watching the rides, the people, hearing the screams, and the music. Every now and again Jordan would feel him dancing to the music in his seat.
We laid our blanket out on the warm sand, had lunch, and put another coat of sunblock on our boy. Then off for McKay's first time in the ocean! His first time to ever see the ocean was when we went to San Francisco. McKay loved the water; it was cool and there was a pretty good breeze so we just let him wade a little. He couldn't get enough - we had to hold him back from chasing the waves as they left the shore. His pure enjoyment was so much fun for Jordan & I to see.
McKay could have continued for hours... but he got a little too wet and started to get cold. He didn't want to stop but he was shivering! We could tell when he was warm again because he was ready for round two!
After leaving the beach, we continued along the shore to a historic lighthouse. The inside serves as a surfing museum. We enjoyed watching the people sailing and surfing, as well as the show the sea lions were putting on for us. They were all over in the water and on the rocks, barking and playing. McKay kept barking back at them, much to the amusement of the people around us. His bark was quite a bit higher than theirs but it was obvious what he was doing. Again, pure enjoyment!
To top it all off, our day of relaxation and memory making cost the gas to get there and $5 to park. :)

McKay - 1 Year Pictures

Signs

McKay is 13 months old today. Now he can sign: fish, more, want, drink, eat, and book. He also folds his arms for prayers, does the popcorn popping actions, moos like a cow (with his mouth closed), points to himself for 'McKay' and tries to mimic pretty much everything else we do!

We ran out of time in Arizona for McKay to try out the swings my Dad put up in the backyard for the grandkids, so the Sunday after we got home from Arizona, we went to the park and put McKay in the swing. He wasn't too sure of it at first but he caught on and really liked it.

Jordan stopped at a yard sale and found a bunch of Little People toys, these Legos, and a few other things a spoiled rich kid hardly used, all for $20. What a find!

Garlic Ice Cream

On Saturday we went to Gilroy to check out the outlets. We all had several things we needed and had been putting off this day for quite a while. Neither of us are shoppers unless we are finding really good deals. There are 145 stores there and boy do they put Park City to shame! They have pretty much anything you need (and lots you don't need) for good prices - our kind of shopping! We didn't go on a holiday (thank goodness! - don't know if the sales would be worth the extra crowds) but there were still a lot of good deals. We spent all day there and didn't even get through half of the stores. McKay was a trooper... he only took a 1 hour nap (he has been sleeping A LOT lately recovering from our trip) and enjoyed running his hands along the clothes as we went by in the stroller. We stopped at a Famous Footwear in the evening and there weren't many people there so we ditched the stroller and let McKay walk around, get all the mirrors dirty, and grin at everyone. That may have been his favorite part of the day! It paid off too. The manager gave us $10 off a pair of brown leather shoes for Jordan and 10% off the whole purchase 'because she liked McKay'. Who says good looks don't get you anything!

There was also a store there called the Garlic Store. They had the famous Garlic Ice Cream as well as some garlic peanut butter cups. We figured we had to try it and everyone had told us it was actually pretty good. YUCK!! McKay ate more of the ice cream than we did! And he only did it because of the cute little spoons they gave us. It was terrible. And what a waste for the peanut butter cups! We decided we like garlic but it really needs to be kept separate from our dessert!

Hide and Seek

Today, McKay and I were playing our version of hide and seek. I run and hide, and call to him so he knows what room I am in, and he comes and finds me. With McKay being so fast now, I can barely get hidden before he is coming to find me so I have started adding a few more hiding places to our regular spots. He gets so excited when he finds me. Once in a while I jump out and scare him and we both laugh so hard. It is a fun game (and a good workout for me!) So today something happened that was too funny, I have to write it down. The last time we played hide and seek, I 'hid' on the side of the fridge with the freezer door open to hide my face. (Yeah I really wasn't hidden but I didn't have time to think of somewhere else!) Today I ran in the kitchen and hid in a new spot behind one of the chairs at the kitchen table. McKay came in the kitchen, looked around the corner where I hide sometimes, and proceeded to the other side of the fridge. I wasn't there and instead of looking somewhere else, McKay tried to fit between the fridge and the cupboard and started calling for me to let him in. He was SURE I had gone in there and he wanted to come too! I was laughing so hard I fell over on the floor and McKay came over to laugh with me. Then off to the next spot!

Arizona

July 26th - August 9, McKay and I were able to go to Arizona. Jordan was able to come for the McCleve Reunion so that was wonderful. We stayed with Melinda and Devin in Mesa for a couple of days and then went up to Snowflake. McKay loved being around his cousins... kids his size. He and Kindsey (McKay is 1 month older than her) were super cute together. They were so excited to see each other again after naps!

During the week McKay and I were gone, before Jordan joined us, McKay discovered just how much faster he could get around walking than crawling. Jordan couldn't believe how much he grew up that week! McKay loved all the attention from Nanna Anna, Grandpa, Aunt Chantelle & Uncle Dustin. He was well entertained at meal time and loved Nanna Anna giving him baths. I enjoyed some great talks, awesome foot & neck massages, lots of ice cream, a couple of trips to the temple (thanks for the babysitting!), many much needed naps, and movies on the projector in the Marriott (the guest house with surround sound etc). It was nice to come home to a clean house (yeah, I know... I'm one lucky wife!) and a husband who missed us. It is nice to go and nice to come home. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed (or crib, as the case may be). Thanks Mom & Dad for a great time!

McCleve Family Reunion - July 31-Aug 2

This year my parents were in charge of the McCleve family reunion, which is my Dad's immediate family. There were 150 in attendance and 50 were under 8 years old! It was a lot of fun and great to get to see everyone there. We enjoyed great food, horseshoes, late night games, and lots of catching up. We also enjoyed going out to dinner with the rest of the adults Saturday night. We weren't able to attend the reunion last year because McKay was born 2 weeks before and it was amazing to see how much the kids have changed since the last time I saw them! Some aren't kids anymore!

Friday morning we had an Amazing Race. We divided everyone 8 and older into 9 groups and mixed up all the families. Each of the 10 'original' children (except Aunt Connie who couldn't come this year) were at a different location in Show Low that had some significance to the McCleve family growing up there. Dad started them off with a puzzle - something always found at a McCleve family gathering. As each group finished their puzzle, they got their first clue, which took them to the different locations in town. Once finished and back to camp, each group had to line up youngest to oldest (the line up for Christmas morning at the McCleve home) for Dad. The winning team got peanut M&M's and the rest got suckers. :) I think everyone had a great time and enjoyed learning more about what the 'original 10' remembered and visiting places in Show Low they had only heard about. And the 10 enjoyed reminiscing about growing up in Show Low.

McKay's First Haircut

McKay's hair was getting into his eyes a lot so we decided it was time for him to have a haircut. Here he is a couple days before his haircut, talking to Jordan on the phone. He LOVES to talk on the phone, especially to Daddy.

Nanna Anna cut his hair after dinner.

McKay would not hold still... he kept turning at every sound.

So we enlisted Grandpa to help entertain. McKay didn't move a muscle after Grandpa came!

Final trims on the back...

And he is done!

I am not too sure how I feel about how much older he looks with his hair cut.

Here he is combing his own hair. Thanks Mom for cutting it for me and Dad for the entertainment... we were ALL entertained! :)

Swimming

On Saturday, July 26th, McKay and I flew to Phoenix, AZ to visit family & go to the McCleve Family Reunion. That night we went swimming with my sister Melinda & her family. McKay was really tired but for the first 20+ minutes he had a ball splashing and kicking in the warm water. This was the first time I have ever taken McKay swimming. Now we know how much he loves it (no surprise there!) we'll have to go again.

McKay's First Birthday

When McKay woke up on his birthday, I walked into his room singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him. He didn’t know what it all meant but he could tell by how I was acting that it was fun and he started grinning and laughing! After we got home from our walk, Nanna Anna, Grandpa V, Uncle Dustin & Aunt Chantelle called to sing Happy Birthday to McKay. He loved being able to hold the phone and listen to them. He loves 'talking' on the phone and as far as I know he hasn't broken anyone's eardrums yet. During his first nap I hung red, yellow, and blue streamers up in the front room. McKay noticed right when he woke up. Lots of enjoyment for $1.50!

For McKay's 12 month pictures, we went to Central Park. He loved seeing all the geese, ducks, and pigeons as well as all the dogs out for walks. He wanted to chase the birds. Between all the distractions and my little TODDLER'S new ideas (meaning NOT looking at mom when she has the camera) it was an interesting 'photo shoot'. He loved the park so much I took him back the next day for a walk.

He was so worn out after going to the park that he actually took another nap. He just laid quietly in his room for an hour or so and then went to sleep for another hour and a half. Wonderful! When Jordan got home from work we had dinner and gave McKay some of his birthday presents. We were really excited to give him his lion (it took ALL our self control to not give him early!) and so we all played with it for a while. As soon as he got the idea, McKay had a blast and we got a lot of enjoyment out of watching him. McKay lasted through one more gift from us and the gifts from his grandparents and was ready for bed!

Friday morning I baked McKay's birthday cake. I have let him taste brownie batter before but I have never given him the beater to lick. At first he didn't know what to think but he got the idea pretty quick and loved it!

Saturday afternoon we had a barbecue to celebrate McKay's birthday. We invited the Clark family (Mark, Jennifer, Brooklyn, Jack & Isabelle) and a couple who just moved into our ward a few houses down from us, Ben & Nancy Bailey, to come celebrate with us. We had hamburgers & hot dogs, pasta salad, fruit & fresh lemonade from the Bailey's tree. McKay really enjoyed playing with the Clark children, especially Brooklyn who will be 7 on July 25th. She loves to play with McKay and is really good with him.

McKay enjoyed eating his birthday cake, though it did take him a few minutes to catch on. Now whenever he gets any food on his fingers he tries to squish it between his fingers like he did his birthday cake. Lovely.

The Clarks gave McKay a Lego set and duck book and the Baileys gave him a big red ball. McKay enjoyed putting the Legos away each time they were dumped out. Thats my boy! We also had McKay open the last few gifts from us and the gift from Grandma Cardon. We had a very enjoyable evening. McKay waved bye bye to everyone as they left and was asleep by 7:45.

It has been interesting to observe the transformation that has occurred in our little guy during the last several days. He suddenly has an opinion on what he wants to eat and on what book he wants to read first. He makes sure someone is watching him as he drops his sippy cup on the floor and looks everywhere but at the camera when I am trying to take his picture! He is always on the go and wants to be part of whatever we are doing, even more so than before. I've lost my baby and gained a toddler! But he is still the sweet little boy, ready with a grin and a laugh, and noticing everything around him (we name everyone in our family picture several times each day) and loving it all! What a joy our little boy is in our lives!

McKay - 12 Months

12 months ago today, at 6:28 pm, McKay Jordan Moser was born. We had no idea we could love our sweet boy so much!

An update on our boy (mostly for us):

McKay sleeps on his side with his arms and legs at a 90 degree angle to his body. He has slept like this since we stopped laying him down on his newborn wedge. He also prefers to sleep at the very bottom of this crib, with his head in the corner where the bumpers meet and his body along the bottom. He is getting taller though and the crib isn't wide enough for him so one foot is usually up on top of the bumper.

McKay's hair is starting to curl in the back. Yeah!!!

I am trying to teach McKay baby sign language. He understands most of what I say and has signed 'book' back to me. He also likes to fold his arms for prayers.

McKay loves watching the picture screen saver on the computer, especially when he sees himself. He gets SO excited!

Another thing McKay gets really excited for is a bath. He acts like he is going to jump out of his skin he is so excited!

McKay has 4 teeth on the top and 4 on the bottom.

In the last week and a half or so, McKay has decided it is time to phase out one of his naps (sniff, sniff). During one of his afternoon naps when he was not sleeping, he figured out how to click his tongue.

McKay likes 'Popcorn Popping' and will do the popping action but not during the song - he's too busy watching Mom & Dad doing it! Now anytime we do anything remotely similar to that action (ie. Jordan snapping his fingers) McKay does the popping action.

He has also started 'dusting' off his hands. It took me a while to figure out what he was doing. I realized what it was one day when I was feeding him lunch and I was snacking on some trail mix and had to dust off my hands. One handed dusting prompts the popcorn popping action and two handed dusting prompts him to do the 2 handed, fancy way of clapping (basically it is clapping your hands sideways, one hand on top and then the other. :) ). He thinks it is so funny when we both clap our hands that way!

This morning, McKay got my bluetooth and was holding it up to his ear and saying 'aaahhh?' at the top of his lungs. How does my 1 year old know what to do with a bluetooth!?!

New Calling

Today I was sustained as the Second Councilor in the Young Women's Presidency. Our membership records were also read today. :) I am excited for this new experience. I haven't been in YW since I was one! I will be over the Beehives. Our ward has 8-10 Beehives and 4-5 Mia Maids and Laurels. I don't remember 12-13 year old girls being so young! It is such an awkward stage yet the decisions they are making will shape their lives. I hope I can be a good example for them and truly lead them and help them as they are making important choices.

We have been so impressed with our new ward so far. Everyone is so friendly and willing to introduce themselves. The Santa Clara ward is constantly changing. This summer there are probably 10-12 families here for internships or selling security systems - so they are here just for the summer. The 2nd councilor in the Bishopric was released today because his family is leaving tomorrow (their truck is all packed up) to move to Chandler, AZ. Both he and his wife are from the Valley. It was neat to hear his testimony and experiences he has had in the ward and to be able to relate to his first Sunday in the ward. I have a feeling it will be hard for us to leave this ward when the time comes, just as it is for the Catmull family.

There are also more converts than I have ever experienced before - and I LOVE it. It is so neat to hear the testimonies of people who are celebrating their 8th year of being members of the church, or the 1st councilor in the Bishopric who just celebrated his 20th. The testimony meetings are generally focused on bearing testimony and the sacrament meetings are always good; the speakers are well prepared to speak and use assigned conference talks as their basis. Simply wonderful.

Daddy & McKay

McKay Kisses

McKay loves to 'give' kisses. Usually that means leaning over to you so YOU can kiss him. Once in a while he will surprise you by giving a 'kiss' but usually when we ask for a kiss he will lean over so we can kiss him. When it is naptime or bedtime, he uses it to his advantage - isn't he too young to stall? When I say 'night night McKay' he'll lay his head back on my shoulder to cuddle some more (who can put him down then!) or lean his head in for a kiss. Or sometimes he'll just lean in for a kiss just because. So sweet!

McKay Walking

McKay took his first steps alone on June 29, 2008. This video was taken last Sunday, July 13, 2008. We had a new couple in our ward over for dinner and boy was McKay showing off! It was a lot of fun!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Today McKay & I went with some friends we met at church (the same great family who invited us over for dinner our first Sunday here - the Clarks) to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They are members there and had a guest pass for us, so that was really nice. It took about an hour and a half to get there, though if you were to ask little 5 year old Jack, it took forever!

McKay loved looking at all the fish in the first aquarium we saw - for the first few minutes he was really excited. He also enjoyed a play area that actually had a couple of things for babies to do. I tried to get a picture but he was too fast going from one station to the next. He ate his lunch very well; thanks to the pigeons for entertaining him! He took a 45 minute nap around 1 pm (yes, the ONLY nap of the day and he got up at 6:30 am!) and then he was interested in the Jelly Fish exhibit and the Outer Bay exhibit. By then it was time to head back home, despite the older children's protests.

This is a male sheephead. All sheephead are born female and most of them change to males at some point. Their diet consists of hard shelled animals so they are very dangerous with their sharp teeth. Click sheephead to learn more.
Overall we enjoyed our day at the aquarium... but now I'm itching to go cruising again!

Big Basin

On Saturday we decided to go and check out Big Basin Redwoods State Park. It is about 30 minutes southwest of us. We didn't have a lot of time but now we know we definitely want to go back and spend a day there hiking. There are trails everywhere; a map is a must. We didn't have a map or a lot of time so we did the Redwood Trail and part of another trail. The Redwood Trail takes you past the Mother of the Forest and the Father of the Forest. The Mother of the Forest is the tallest in the park at 329 ft and the Father of the Forest has the largest circumference of 66 ft 9 inches. Talk about big trees! We saw a Stellar Jay and a doe that looked like it had just lost its spots. We took the scenic way home and decided it is the only way home - absolutely beautiful. We all enjoyed our first time seeing the majestic redwood trees.

The Father of the Forest

Jordan and McKay in the Mother of the Forest.

This redwood tree was cut down when the park was opened and they have labeled the rings for what happened during certain years of the trees life, such as when Columbus discovered America. The tree was about 1500 years old!

No matter how much or how little time you have to spend among God's beautiful creations, you will leave feeling refreshed and at peace.

Independence Day

The 4th of July was a big day for our little family. Last Saturday on our way home from Oakland, we stopped in Fremont to look at a couple of Toyota Corollas Jordan had found on the internet. He is the official 'researcher' in our family and he does a GREAT job. We ended up putting a $1,000 deposit down on a 2008 Corolla with 10,860 miles on it. Probably as close to a new car as we'll ever get. This car also cost more than both of our other cars put together. Yet we still got a smokin' deal and are thrilled. As soon as the guy who sold us the car saw we were from Utah, he asked if everyone in Utah is as cautious and does as much research as we did. He said he would like to take Jordan with him when he goes to buy cars. :) Like I said Jordan is really good at researching! On INDEPENDENCE day we went to finish paying for it (ouch!) and brought it home. Jordan will use it to drive to and from work and McKay and I will have our Ford Contour (the car I bought after graduation) at home. Yeah!!! We are independent again! It seems like forever since I've been able to go whenever I want and not have to walk there and push the stroller! Now I just have to figure out where I am going... The Corolla is supposed to get about 28 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway so we will definitely use the Corolla when ever we are all going somewhere together.

Santa Clara has a huge 4th of July celebration in Central Park, right by the library about 1/2 mile from our duplex. We made it to the last event of the day - the fireworks show. We walked over to the park around 8 pm and found a spot on the grass. There were people EVERYWHERE. We asked some of the people around us where the fireworks are and they said they had sat in several different places in the park every year and had not ever had a problem seeing. As we sat down, Jordan was sure the fireworks would end up being behind a tree in front of us. Sure enough, the fireworks started and we all (including the family we had spoken with before) jumped up to run to the side of the tree. So our blanket sat empty while we stood and watched the fireworks. McKay enjoyed the show, though at first he wasn't too sure about the noise. As long as we kept reminding him how pretty the 'lights' were, he was okay and seemed to enjoy it. The grand finale was AWESOME! There was so much smoke in the air we couldn't see the fireworks and it looked like a huge forest fire. We even felt the ash falling on our heads. I think every inch of that park must have been covered with people because when we went to leave with the masses... WOW! They closed down the major streets around the park and everyone was walking down the middle of the road. It was quite a sight. I felt a little bad for the people stuck in their cars but the feeling passed. People around us got a kick of Jordan's white knuckle stroller driving and McKay enjoyed the ride. And of course it was nice to get home and head to bed... what a day!