Saturday, September 22, 2012

Nana weekend...Cascade Springs

My Mom came down last weekend to help me get ready for baby...mostly we played (and she organized/cleaned because she couldn't help herself..:-)....and it was wonderful to have her here, as always. Ellie, though, was a bit of a pill about taking any pictures with her...e.g....



But, I did capture some fun moments as they were swinging over at our cousins. 



The open-eyed kiss is pretty cute...a little unnerving...but mostly cute....



I also attempted a 'sunflower' photo shoot up at Sundance. It was not a huge success...mixed lighting, no water or playground that Ellie could get super jazzed about, and as it turns out bees like sunflowers too...so I heard a lot of "Bee-Bee!! (ellie's word for ANY flying insect...).




Lambie came with.




We had a fun family night up at Cascade Springs along the Alpine Loop with the Smiths. Ellie loved the boardwalks, the vegetation signs, and the water fountains.





She did not however, enjoy being told that she could not boulder on another patron's cool Jeep in the parking lot. She naturally assumed the open-top jeep was parked there for her amusement...



"Wa-wa"

Not sure this is what the Bureau of land management had in mind for their bronzed wildflower signs...but whatev....

And then we quickly lost steam, Ellie got tired and hungry, a sucker was a quick fix that rapidly turned into a dirt magnet...and it was time to be on our way down.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Papa visits/Labor Day Weekend

Josh and Papa visited for the weekend to drop off Matt at school. We had a fun time playing at City Creek, visiting with Alyssa and Tyler and just chilling. 








Especially in the fountain!





We spend some pool time up at the Smith's Alpine House -- it was the perfect way to cool off on a hot weekend...











Ellie went on her first bike ride with Michael in our new trailer -- she was pretty excited.






Mike said she showed mixed emotions towards the ride -- some nervous smiling/singing as they bumped along University.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Toddler mullet


I am behind on my posting but August was a fabulous month for us. Our friends Lexy and Jared visited for an extended weekend from Charlotte and we had a blast: cooking (by Lex of course), playing in the park, alpine sliding, boating, olympic watching/commenting/making fun of the other countries', hot-tubbin, Monopoly Dealin', etc. Ellie was a trooper with bouncing all over the valley and did a pretty good job of not being a complete birth control ad for all of the singles and blissfully-free married couples.  

















We miss you! Thank you soooooooo much for visiting us in our humble P-town abode.


We also crossed another item off our bucket list and went fishing for a family night up at Vivian Park in Provo Canyon. While we were not profligate fishermen (mike caught a small one...then let it go thinking surely something more impressive would come along to show ellie...didn't happen), likely because some WT family cleaned out the pond as we were pulling in...we still had a good time.





There were dogs! Can't go wrong. Ellie loves dogs.






Gelato from costco -- should have known the waffle cone plus 90 degree weather was a bad combination -- but try telling that to her....




And there we go. Picture perfect.


Summer mornings at the park.



Now Ellie swings! She is becoming the master of the jungle gym, a veritable Cirque d'Soleil performer in her own right...



Ducks! All males...just hanging out together...a bro fest in the pond.




Cousin Sean's safari birthday party. Ell was unsure of the costuming...although she loved the themed cereal...


Wild beasts! The toddlers dressed up as animals for the kids to "discover" on their safari around the yard...it was pretty cute, even if the tiger isn't exactly indigenous to Africa.....