Five Years!

We drove south to Cedar City on Wednesday to play for a few days and celebrate the completion of our first five years of marriage.  Here is Douglas "napping" on a swing at a park near our hotel.

Mom, Doogles, and Penny at a small, man-made lake.

 Douglas's and Penny's Aunt Taylor came with us to help babysit when we wanted some time sans the little ones.

Last night Sam and I attended a Utah Shakespeare Festival play called The Foreigner.  It was hilarious.

 This morning Sam and I participated in sealings at the Cedar City Temple.  I am now caught up (once again) on all of the LDS Temples in the United States.

 Sam, Penny, Doogles, Taylor - visiting Cedar Breaks National Monument.  Thank you, Taylor, for coming with us!

I have learned much in these five short years of marriage.  There have been plenty of ups and plenty of downs.  Of all the things Sam and I have done so far, bringing these two little beings into this world was the most important.  Marriage is hard.  Trying to be a good father is harder.  But I look forward to the next five years and I have the best companion a man could ask for.

I love you, Sam!

Update on 21 July (funnies from four-year-old Douglas):

Conversation (about the boogie man) while eating in Cedar City:

Doogles:  I'm the boogie man

Sam:  How do you know about the boogie man?

Sam (to Daniel):  Did you teach him about the boogie man?

Daniel:  Nope

Doogles:  I'm the boogie man because I make boogers.

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We arrived home not too long ago from Cedar City.  I walked in the house and said, "Ah, home, sweet home," to which Doogles replied, "I don't like this house as much as Cedar City."

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A few minute ago:

Daniel:  I'm going to the store.

Doogles:  Why are you going to the store?

Daniel:  To get some milk and other things.  Do you need anything?

Doogles:  No, but I'll text you if I need anything.

Elder Coombs goes to Minnesota!

On Saturday, July 7th, most of the Coombs family met at the Ogden Utah LDS Temple where Nate received his endowment.

Left to right:  Taylor, Jori, Spencer, Kate, Nate, Margaret (Mother Coombs), Doug (Father Coombs), little Schofield, Stacie, Sam, Daniel

Elder Coombs is off to the Land of 10,000 Lakes!

 On Monday, 16 July, the entire Coombs family met at a park to get some final photos before Nate entered the MTC (Missionary Training Center).  Sam's cousin, Makyla, and her husband were our wonderful photographers.

Left to right:  Sam, Douglas, Penny, Daniel

 Doogles posing

 Penny:  "Hmm, I believe I like this position."

 Daniel & Sam

 Left to right:  Seth, Krew, McCall, Jarren

 Krew with his awesome blue eyes.

 Jori, baby Schofield, Spencer

 The Grandchildren:  Jarren, Schofield, Krew, Douglas, Penny

 Doug and Margaret (Grandpa and Grandma Coombs) with their ever-increasing posterity.

 Doug:  "Ahhhh, posterity."

 This picture will be a wee bit different in two years when Nate returns from his mission.

 Siblings:  Taylor, Spencer ("Muscles"), Kate, Seth, Sam, Nate, Stacie

 We met in Provo on Wednesday for some very final photos before Nate (Elder Coombs) went across the street to enter the MTC.

 Douglas with his Uncle Nate - Provo Temple in the background.

 We love you, Elder Coombs!  And no doubt the people of Minnesota will too.

With Mom and Dad Coombs........and Doogles.

California (Karsten's Baptism)

Last Thursday Sam, Doogles, Penny, Ari, Jude and I arose early to drive out to Lizzie and Dan's place in California to spend some quality time with them and attend Karsten's baptism.  This is Penny after 11-12 hours of traveling.  Granny and Grandpa (Ogden) arrived the next day by air along with Gideon.

 "No more travel!"

"Much better than my car seat."

 Notice the youth on their cell phones. :)  The others are playing a strange game where you try to hold on to metal handles as long as you can while you are being shocked.

 Ah, the tree swing.  So much fun.  Sam, Penny, Magnus (aka Paggy), and Doogles.

 Their nightly gaming before bedtime.

We visited a Parkour (free running) gym where the boys climbed and jumped all over.

 Making crepes with Magnus, Doogles, and Jesper.

Not sure what's happening with my face here.

Grandpa Ogden chatting with Dan's parents, Larry and Mary, who drove out from Arizona to attend the baptism.

Watching World Cup soccer with Doogles prior to heading out to the baptism.

 Congratulations, Karsten!

 What an awesome family.

 Karsten and Douglas

Reverence

Thumbs up!

Slip 'n slide in Lizzie's front yard

 Paggy

 Oskar

Gideon

Penny

 Dan, Larry, and Granny Ogden watching the fun.

 Sam and Penny

 Anders and Ari

 Gideon

Penny didn't exactly enjoy coming down by herself...........or coming down at all.  :)

 After the first night we decided that Penny would do best sleeping in Lizzie and Dan's walk-in closet.   It worked great!

 Magnus and Doogles.  I asked Douglas yesterday (5 July) who he most enjoyed playing with at Lizzie's house.  "Paggy," he replied.

Soren reading to Jude, Paggy, Karsten, and Gideon.

 Lizzie held a neat FHE (Family Home Evening) while we were out there, reminding everyone to "Ask, and it shall be given you.  Seek, and ye shall find.  Knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

 Gathering for prayer

 Jude loved the costumes in the house

Doogles squeezed a bunch of oranges and boy was that juice delicious.

 On Monday we went to "Pump It Up" to celebrate Karsten's eighth birthday.

 Jesper

 Jude

 Ari and Soren

Douglas and Magnus

 Dan

Knowing that we would be driving back to Utah during most of the day on July 4th, we decided to don our patriotic apparel on the 3rd for a family photo.

Penny was more concerned with the neighbor's dogs than she was with the photo.

Jude and Karsten on the swing

 "Here we go!"

 5 July - I went to Costco to purchase, among other items, some batteries for Douglas's bubble machine.  He was happy when I returned.  He saw the two sides of the pack of batteries and stated, pointing to one side, "We can use this loaf for the bubble machine and this loaf [pointing to the other side] for something else."  The man loves his bread.

 5 July - Sam was busy doing something with Douglas when she realized she hadn't heard Penny for a few minutes.  Penny had managed to climb up on the chair, grab Douglas's half-eaten bowl of Cheerios from the table, drinking some of the milk and spilling the rest onto the cushion without spilling a drop on herself.

"More, please."