Chiefs and More

We like to read a book of story rhymes. This is one of the rhymes. 

Ashlyn one day said, "Look, its Little Johnny!"

Uncle Skyler came and visited us last week. We did a lot of fun stuff. On Saturday, we rented a car (Chevy Spark (it was cheaper than driving the expedition)) and Skyler and I drove down to Kansas City to see a Cheifs game. I made sure to take him to Oklahoma Joe's before the game.

Arrowhead Stadium was super cool! It was big!

Our tickets were on the 14th row! It was awesome! The beginning of the game was really exciting. Music, the team coming out of the tunnel with fire blowing! It made me want to be a big fan of some team. I just haven't followed anything real closely the last few years except for golf... and its just not the same has having a team to root for.

On Monday one of my patients told me that it was National Banana Split Day and that Culver's was selling banana splits for $2! So we went for family night! You'll notice Ashlyn's face doesn't look great. Well, she had a bit of the banana split and got some pecans. She did not like the texture and might even be allergic to them because she threw up not too long after that. She was coughing the rest of the night and somehow picked up a cough for the next few days. There have been several times over the last few days that she has thrown up while coughing hard.

Jenny and I saw some people dancing in a parade during the summer and called themselves "the jitterbugs". They were listening to old jazz like Ella Fitzgerald. I have always loved watching movies of people dancing back in the black and white days, so the jitterbugs caught my eye. Jenny and I have planned on going since then and finally went this week on Friday. We had SO much fun! We showed up early where they taught the newbies how to dance the jitterbug. We got the basics down and a few little moves. We are excited to learn more and go back again!

Yesterday we had a few things going on in the morning and in the afternoon we went to the Fontanelle Forest "like a family" (as Ashlyn would say it). We always have fun when we go there. We like to hike to the Missouri River and throw rocks and have some snacks. Well, the water was too high so we couldn't do much at the river. There were bugs out and it was humid. But we still had a great time.

Just look at that foilage!

Brinley loves walking! She is even getting to the point where she can run a little!

Ashlyn never fails to find little treasures wherever we go.

My four cute girls! (one still in the womb)

We are on the search for a minivan. We have test driven 4 and have a good feel for what we want but are struggling deciding how much money to spend. We have loved driving the Ford Expedition for the last year but realize that we could save $1000 a year in gas by switching to a minivan. We will be selling the Expedition back to Jenny's parents and getting a van. I never thought I would be a dad with a minivan as I grew up with a Jeep and Suburbans. Below is our top choice for the budget we have chosen.

Just kidding... Not really. We won't be getting top of the line, but hopefully still something that is somewhat nice and has low miles. Wish us luck!

Jenny starts preschool this week! She is nervous about some of the students she will be getting as they seem a little out of control. We will see this teacher use her magic.

Ashlyn has begun dance and gymnastics and enjoys them both. In a couple of weeks she will start a violin class! We are excited for that!

Brinley is starting to say more words and become more active. Church has become increasingly more difficult as her mobility increases.

I am having fun in the clinic in school. I love being with patients and love dentistry!

Summer Fun!!!

We buried Ashlyn in the Bear Lake sand

 Derek and Ashlyn rode in the kayak.  Derek said that the whole time they were out Ashlyn asked if they could go back to shore, but once they got back to shore, she wanted to go back out. HA HA.

 

Grandma Martinson went swimming with us at the pool. Ashlyn had lots of fun jumping off the side to Grandma. 

Granny was so sweet and had a Tea Party for all the Williams' Girls in the Family.  It was such a fun event.  All of us loved it!!! Great event Granny, thank you!

Ashlyn is taking after her Auntie Aubrey with all the faces that she was making while taking pictures.

Ashlyn had a lot of fun dressing up for the big event! She sure looks like a superstar!

Whenever I get my phone out Brinley says, "Cheeseeeeee".  Can't you just hear that sweet voice looking at this picture!

Some of the Tea Party ladies!  Don't they look fabulous!!!

Daddy, Ashlyn, Grandma and Grandpa Williams, Aubrey, and Maren had a campout in the backyard sleeping in the tent.  One by one throughout the night, people came into their nice cozy beds inside, but Grandma and Grandpa, Maren and Aubrey stuck it out!  What troopers! This was Ashlyn's first experience sleeping in the tent.  

We went to Seven Peaks three times while in Utah!  Ashlyn loved it everytime.

One of the evenings, we went to Station Park in Farmington to play!  That is one of Derek and I's favorite places to go. We enjoy the fountain, play area, and family friendly atmosphere.

One of my most favorite things is to watch Derek play with the girls!  He is the best father ever!

This is one of the best pictures we could get with these four munchkins.  We had a fun time visiting the Hogle Zoo with Grandma Martinson, Minnie, Lyssa, and our cousins Parker and Sawyer.

I sure love these little princesses of mine!

The first morning we were at my parents, Brinley found the Jesus statue and gave him MANY hugs and kisses!  It was so cute!

This is what the girls looked like when we took off to Utah at 4 in the morning.  Derek and I were so impressed with how well the girls did in the car traveling there and back!

I had to add this picture because I thought it was hilarious.  While I was packing for the trip, Brinley was helping me out (or so I thought).  HA HA.

Summer Fun!

I took Part I Boards on July 9, went to school the next day, and drove home with Jenny and the girls on the 11th. That night I flew to the Dominican Republic with a layover at the JFK Airport. Needless to say, I was pretty tired when I got to Santo Domingo. There was a group of about 50 of us that went with the G3 Foundation, founded by Len Aste of Manti, UT. I had such a great time.   

 I pulled my first tooth! We did a lot of extractions, fillings, and cleanings.

 I pulled a wisdom tooth and brought some bone with it. I guess that is fairly common.

 Look at the size of those carrots!!!

 Cleaning teeth! My back sure was tired but I probably cleaned 40 people's teeth in one morning!

Most of the fillings we did were on the front teeth to increase peoples confidence and improve their smile.

 Before:

After:

Kids waiting to get their teeth cleaned, being taught about maintaining hygiene.

This was the view out of my bedroom at the resort we stayed at the last few days.

The last day of dentistry we set up clinic at an outdoor clinic. After we were done we went swimming in the river! It was great!

A view from the bridge.

I wrestled in the water for probably a full hour with this guy. His name is Victor. He works for the secret service for the Dominican Republic. He was assigned to stay with our group during our stay and make sure we were okay in all our activities.

The trip was subsidized to by political groups to keep costs down for us. This guy is a Senator that is running for president (I found out there are 16 political parties). He helped sponsor us and visited us in the clinics with lots of cameras running. He gave out chocolate bars with his picture on them. I thought that was kind of funny.

I have many sponsors of my own to thank: my parents, Jenny's parents, President and Sister Seal (mission president), Grandma and Grandpa Williams, Chris Williams, Kelly Williams, and Preston Williams. Thanks to all of you so much for helping me be able to go on this trip. I wouldn't have been able to go without your generous support.

UTAH VACATION!

We stayed at a condo in Ogden with the Williams family (our second year in a row going there). It was very nice and we really enjoyed our stay. Here we went on a walk and visited a cemetary by Pineview Reservoir.

My three cute girls!

Brinley pushing Ashlyn!

Ashlyn saw Maren drawing on her arms and asked if she could draw on herself too. I told here no that we don't draw on ourselves but she could draw on Aunt Maren's arms if she wanted! Can you tell who did which arm?

Trevor lining it up. It sure was good to see this guy. It had been 2.5 years!

Ashlyn definitely got her fill of sugar on this vacation!

Thanks to Grandma Williams we were able to go to Seven Peaks three times while being in Utah! We had a blast! Ashlyn really enjoyed the slides and playing in the water!

"Like A Family!" (Ashlyn's phrase for doing things together as a family)

"Cheese!" One of the few words in Brinley's vocabulary.

Ashlyn loved climbing across the snake. The first time she got out of line and decided not to do it. A little later she decided to go again. She conquered her fear and went across! She ended up doing it probably 5-10 times!

 "YAY!"

We went bowling for Minnie's birthday and this is where Brinley really started walking. She had taken steps at a time for the weeks preceding. It was the motivation of walking up to be able to push the ball that got her to do it! She was walking around the whole bowling alley after that.

Fun times visiting Grandma Lewis! They both had fun with her. Grandma Lewis had Brinley laughing pretty good playing peek-a-boo. Ashlyn liked having Grandma Lewis read stories to her.

Golfing at Gladstan with my dad. He's played three times in the last 10 years probably (and two have been with me). He's a sport for taking me.

Tea Party at Granny Williams! The girls had so much fun! (Notice the pretty matching dresses that Granny made!)

We went to Bear Lake with Grandma and Papa Martinson and Minnie the last few days before going home. We had a great time. It was beautiful. Although we were pretty worried about how the girls would sleep. The first night Brinley cried for probably an hour before falling asleep. She woke up several times. At about 2am Ashlyn woke up and climbed in bed with me while Mom laid by Brinley. A few minutes later I felt something wet on my arm. Ashlyn was throwing up. A few vomits and crying episodes later, it was morning. We were amazed at how good and fun the girls were the next day despite their lack of sleep.

On our way home we stopped at McDonald's. This picture is proof of how tasty McDonald's fries are.