The Jesperson Family

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A Classic Wasatch Alpine Climb: Pfeifferhorn's North Ridge

Since the early November powderfest in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, the weather has given us nothing but warm and dry conditions. It is rather depressing from a skiing perspective, yet from a climbing perspective, these conditions are wonderful! The snowpack is saddled with a thick sun/rain crust that makes backcountry approaches quite easy; and, the winter routes are in good condition for some enjoyable mixed climbing.

This weekend we hit the North Ridge of the Pfeifferhorn: a Wasatch classic (the sunlit route in the middle-left of the photo). Additional photos at Mountainalbum.com.

We traveled up the Maybird Gulch...

...and began our climb up the northeast couloir.

The couloir maxed out around 55 degrees and had some good mixed climbing.

The remainder of the ridge provided ample bare granite...

...for good hand holds.

At times, the foot holds were a little sugary and exposed...

..but protection was good and we simul-climbed the route.

Nothing like a good glissade down...

...and a nice ski home. Ah, the Wasatch!

If tomorrow's storm bares any fruit, maybe we'll be back to skiing. Pray for snow!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I'm a SUPER Fan Girl!!

I was on MTV TRL today! I'm here in New York, and David Archuleta was on the show today. We were so lucky and they sat us right in front. Me and my friend Paige are the ones on either side of the camera man. So cool! There's a close up on both Paige and I. Check it out...

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Kids Halloween Party...

This year the Clawson's threw a Halloween party for the kids. They had so much fun going on a scavenger hunt, bowling with a pumpkin, coloring, eating a yummy lunch that Lisa had prepared, and than trying their luck at a pinata. It was such a fun time, thank you Clawson's for putting together such a fun party. The kids loved it!

*Warning* LOTS of pictures ahead! I couldn't decide how to narrow them down, so I just put most of them in. =)

Trying to get a group shot was next to impossible. This is the one I had with most of the kiddos it it. We have Arli as a pretty kitty, Michelle as a mouse, Connor as Darth Vader, Anna as a pretty butterfly, Tanner the turtle, Kate as a ladybug, Rowen the pig, Haley the pretty ballerina, Chase as a puppy, and Livy as Cinderella (that's her arm on the bottom left).

This one cracks me up becuase of Connor's super hero pose, Chase's doggie bone, and Rowan relaxing her arm on Arli. What a cute bunch of kids!

This one makes me smile because Kate is trying to take off her costume and Rowan is now trying to pet the pretty kitty (Arli). =)

Kate cracks me up, she was so done with pictures at this point.

Rowan was absolutely adorable in her piggy costume!

Rachel wins the creative mom award!! When Ty told her that he wanted to be a remote, she made it happen. And Ty looked great!! We were so sorry that Ty had to leave early because he wasn't feeling well.

Shawn wore this hat that used to be Rachel's when she was a baby. Awesome!!

Haley was pretty in purple.

I asked Connor to show me his cape, he is such a poser. =)

Livy made such a pretty Cinderella...

...although this picture cracks me up, I think Livy's mom would agree that she isn't princess worthy all the time. =)

I thought this was so cute as the older boys, Connor and Tanner, hung out with Chase and admired his costume.

Chase letting everyone know he was ready for the bowling game.

Haley's turn.

Tanner prepping...

...and then watching as...

...all the pins go down.

Arli's turn.

Finally Chase gets his turn.

Livy takes a shot too.

The final activity was the pinata.

Tanner giving the witch the stare down. (Connor's face cracks me up)

Hitting as hard as he can.

One last hit! Connor's face makes me laugh, because as Tanner was hitting, Connor would plead not to hit it too hard because he wanted to be the one...

To knock the Witch's head off. =)

Thanks again for such a fun party Lisa. You did such a great job!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy 30th Birthday Matt!!

Wow! I can't believe my hubby turned 30 this year!! I wanted to make it very special for him, but at the same time not go over board. He doesn't like people making big fuss over him, and definitely doesn't like being in the lime light. So I knew that I couldn't throw him a party. Instead, I decided to take this opportunity and show him how much he has accomplished and how much the Lord has blessed him in these first 30 years. Since I've only known him for the last 7 years of it, I focused on family. We've been so lucky to have Rebekah Westover take pictures of our family this year. And she was so accommodating and did everything she could to get me the pictures that we ordered before his birthday. It worked out perfectly, he was out of town the day I got the pictures, so I was able to put the house in order (thanks Mom Jesperson!), decorate the kitchen with 30 balloons, and display the pictures, and gifts/cards he had gotten from family, so he could see them when he walked in the door.

It worked perfectly! He was totally surprised (which I was glad for since I ruined the first surprise I had done for him for his birthday), and just stood there for like 15 minutes just looking at all the pictures. He sure loves his family!

I loved that his favorite gifts were the cards the kids had made him. He always admits he loves how the kids make him feel like a rock star. He walks in the door and all you hear is the pitter patter of little feet running to the door to greet their dad. But truly, he is these kids biggest fan. I love that about him.

Happy birthday sweetie! Here's to the next 30 years, and the next...=)

Happy Halloween!!

Tanner as "Franklin the Turtle," Kate as an adorable Ladybug.

I love these adorable little critters! We had such a fun day today. Busy, since Halloween is also Matt's birthday, but so fun! I have so many pictures to post of the last week. Lots of Halloween parties and festivities. Mom and Dad, I will get them up before the end of the week, but until I do, enjoy this picture. =)

Thursday, October 30, 2008

First School Party!

Tanner had his first school party this week when he had a Halloween Party at his preschool. The anticipation this little guy had for this party was so fun to watch. He was so excited. I think Halloween is his new favorite holiday!

Walking into his classroom. Isn't the back of his costume so cute! When he walked, the padding wiggled back and forth like he was swinging his bottom back and forth. It was so funny!

Tanner, Aiden, and Blake!

Tanner's class with his teacher Mrs. Stewart.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Artistic Pumpkins

I saw these cute little "Bat'o'laterns" in F*mi*y F*n Magazine and I thought they would be a lot of fun to try and make.

Tanner took his painting part very seriously,

and was a great little painter!

After a couple of hours, we finally had one!

Tanner is so proud!

This picture makes me laugh so hard. Kate is wanting to hold the pumpkin, and Tanner is just giving her the look of death. "Don't you even think about it Kate, this bat is MINE."

Too much fun.

I thought they turned out pretty cute, huh?

A few days later, we did the traditional carving of the pumpkins.

Cole, Matt's youngest brother, joined us for the occasion.

Showing Matt how scooping out the icky guts of the pumpkin is my favorite part. (NOT!)

Tanner helping me dig.

Yeah, I don't think he liked it either.

Our works of art...

...and some pumpkins from our garden.

What a pretty sight! I sure love Halloween!

Archive Tannerisms...

"Mom, what's for dinner?" We are having blueberry muffins and omelets. "Omelets? Do I like omelets?"

"Mom, come look at the puzzle I just did. You are going to think it's amazing!"

Tanner, please stop picking your nose. "Mom I can't, I pick my nose before I go to bed and wipe it on my bed so the booger monster can come and get it. He only eats boogers, not people, so I'm not afraid of the booger monster." Oh really, where do you put them. "I'll show you..." And sure enough, there were boogers wiped on his mattress. I have NO idea where this came from.

"Mom, have you heard the news, spring is almost here!"

I asked Tanner what we should name our new baby brother and he has said multiple times, "Cookie Joy."

I had to set the timer a few days ago for Tanner to come eat breakfast. When the timer went off, this was our conversation...

(Me): Tanner, the timer went off, please come eat breakfast.

(Tanner): "Ughhhh, I want to kill it."

(Me): Kill what?

(Tanner): I want to kill the timer!

**When I asked him where he had heard the word "kill" he reminded me that the day before I was running around the house saying I had to kill the spiders because I don't like them. This makes this conversation all the more funny to me!

(Tanner): "Mommy, can I go play outside."

(Me): Not today Tanner, it is so, so windy outside. you'll blow away!

(Tanner): "Mom, (in a really annoyed voice) I won't blow away, I'm not a balloon."

(Me): Tanner, if you don't eat your dinner, I'm going to take you home to bed.

(Tanner): "If you put me in bed, I'll jump up, run out the door, and just come back to Nana's."

(Me): Then I'll just have to lock the doors.

(Tanner): "You'll lock Nana's doors too?"

(Me): Yep.

(Tanner): "No, don't say those words."

(While changing his diaper) "Mom, is my poop white?" No Tanner, why would you think your poop was white? "Oh, because I was eating the snow."

(To a friend of mine who visited the nursery a few weeks ago) "Did you know I am the only 3 year old in here!" (Poor Tanner, turned 3 in Feb, will be in nursery until the end of the year).

"Mom, I'll say the prayer...In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen." (He knows how to say a whole prayer, I think he just wanted to eat).

"Mom, we sure say a lot of prayers!"

(Kate crying...) "Kate stop being so sassy!" (Kate still crying...) "Kate, stop being sassy! I mean it! I'm serious!"

Last week the snow finally melted off our front lawn and I told Tanner I was so excited because spring was coming and it was going to get warmer and we'd be able to play outside. Saturday, it snowed really lightly, and Sunday morning, I hear Tanner in his room sadly exclaiming, "Oh no mommy, spring has already gone!"

"Mom, could we go to Old McDonald's?" You mean McDonald's? "Yes, McDonald's, and get some chicken nuggets?" Tanner, we have chicken nuggets here at home. "Whatever!" (I actually asked him to repeat himself, I could not believe that this was his response, I was laughing so hard).

(After jumping off the couch and hurting his ankle) "Mom, I need some goldfish." "You do?" "Yes, the goldfish will go into my tummy and go down to my ankle and make it feel better."

"Kate, you are frustrating me!

"Mom, when I wake up, will I be 3?" Yes Tanner, tomorrow is your birthday. "Am I going to turn 3 in my bed?" Yes, I guess you will.

Today, Matt asked Tanner if he turned 3 in his bed. His response, "Yeah I did, well wait, (pause), no I turned 3 in your bed." (Yes, Tanner still comes into our bed EVERY night, at least he thought that through)

Tanner do you feel older? "No mom, I'm still little, I'm just 3."

"Mom, you got these on ebay didn't you?"

"Mom, I Love You! You're my big red dog!" Thanks Tanner. (Watch Clifford?)

Looking at pictures from Cabo)..."Mommy, I'm naked!" Tanner, you aren't naked, you are just in your swimming suit with out a shirt. "No, look, you can see my two nipples, I'm naked!"

Tanner knows that when we cross the street, he has to hold my hand. One day I was holding Kate and carrying groceries, so my hands were full. I told Tanner to grab my purse and hold onto while we crossed the road. He said, "Oh that's okay mom, I'll hold my own hand!" And he did, he grabbed his hand and walked across the street!

Tanner stop picking your nose. "I can't mom." Why? "Because, my boogers are quite expensive, people want to buy them."Tanner's new favorite food is "Mommy's very yucky smoothie." (I make a protein shake some mornings and one morning Tanner asked if he could have some. I told him he didn't want any because it was mommy's very yucky smoothie. He still wanted to try it, so I gave him a sip...he LOVED it! Now he asks for "Mommy's very yucky smoothie" a few times times a day).

"Dang it, I don't want to eat my breakfast, I want to play with my toys."

Tanner, look at this cute costume with the tutu (we were looking at friends blogs). "Do they toot mommy?"

Tanner, you're a good boy, it's just time to go to bed. "Noooo, I'm a bad boy. I'm a very bad boy." A few minutes later..."I'm a very very sad boy."

To Uncle Cole on the phone..."No, I'm not going trick-or-treating, I wouldn't go to bed, and mommy said I would be in trouble if I didn't go to bed, so now I'm in trouble."

I was talking to a friend about Kate's labor and mentioned when my water broke. Tanner came over to me, and asked, "Mommy, were you sad? When your water broke, were you sad?"

Hey Tanner who are you talking to? (Holding a pretend phone up to his ear) "Oh mom, I'm talking to bulldozer." Oh yeah, what's he doing? "He's bulldozing."

(At Preschool)What shape is this flag? (Tanner)"It's a rectangle, just like the BYU flag, GO BYU!!"

"Hey mom, look over there, that cactus is broken. We need some tape so we can fix it."

While we were saying prayers, Tanner whispered, "Daddy, bless the Mickey Mouse Playhouse Concert." Arms were folded and he still had his eyes closed, he's pretty excited about the concert this week, lol!

"Kate, don't touch that, it's dangerous."Mom, I can't, I'm busy."

"Mommy, what's this?" It's a fly swatter. "Oh, what do you do with it?" You kill bugs. "I want to kill bugs." Ok, you can go outside and see if you can find any bugs to kill. (A few minutes later...)"Hey bugs, come here, I want to kill you."

Last week, Tanner started to call Matt's Dad "Papa John." Cute huh!

"Mommy, where are Grandma and Grandpa? Tanner, they went back to Texas. Noooo, Texas is too far away, can't they go to Arizona?"

"Grandma and Grandpa are you going back to Texas? Okay, Tanner go too, I'll get my shoes."

"Woah Mom, that was a big one. (Talking about the size of the poo-poos in his diaper-is this a sign I should be potty training?)."

"Kate, use your little boy voice, please"

"Okay Mommy, let's get to it." (This was Tanner's response when I told him what our plans were for the day).

"I smell poo-poos. Tanner did you go poo-poo. (Laughing) No, I just tooted."

"Mommy, I have a hungry-ache."

"Tanner are you tired? No, I am happy!"

"Mommy, can you draw me a bulldozer? Tanner, I don't know how. "Mommy, can you draw me a digger? Tanner, I don't know how to draw one of those either. Oh come on Mommy, will you please try."

"Mommy, my diaper is full."

"Mommy, be careful!" I was putting dishes away, and this was his response to hearing the dishes banging.

We were sitting in Sacrament meeting and Tanner looked up Matt's nose and audibly asked, "Daddy, where are you're big boogers?

"Tanner, what sound does the letter "R" make. (After a brief pause) "Arghhhh Matey." (We were going over ABC's and the way they sound and he was doing a really good job, so when I got to "R" and this was his response, it caught me completely off gaurd, I was laughing so hard)

Hey Nick, get off your computer and come over here and eat. One, two, three...(I wonder where he got that from?)

Tanner, would you like PB toast or Mighty Bites for Breakfast? "No Mom, I want to be sassy."

"Kate is cute. Mom and Dad are awesome. And Tanner is soooooo handsome!"

Archive Kate-isms

"I'm a pretty one."

(Matt) Are you?

"Yes, I'm a pretty little girl."

"I'm going to go get married in the temple mom."

(Mary) Who are you going to marry Kate?

"Tanner."

(Mary) I'm sorry honey, you can't marry your brother.

"Oh, well then I am going to marry these beautiful flowers."

(Mary) You can't marry the flowers either Kate.

"Why?"

(Mary) Well, flowers don't last forever, someday you'll find a boy that you can marry in the temple forever.

"Oh, okay."

Kate, would you like some lunch? "No, but thank you though."

"Mom these flowers are so beautiful, can I sleep with them in my bed tonight?"

I asked Kate what we should name our new baby brother and without hesitation she responded, "Sister."

(After getting Kate dressed in pink for the day) "Look at me, I'm pinkerella!"

(After Tanner threw a fit) "Mom, Tanner is frustrated."

"Mommy, Tanner is being a very bad boy."

(During the Sacrament) "Mom can I have a book?" Not until after the sacrament, during the sacrament, we think about Jesus. "Can I have a book about Jesus?"

"Mom, why are you giving the counter a blessing?" (She was watching me make bread, and I was shaping the loaves and this was her question to me when she saw me putting oil on the counter)