Annie’s School Picture

 

I put some cute clothes on her, fixed her hair, gave her the order form, told her to smile, sent her off, and then hoped for the best.  And it actually turned out pretty cute! 

First Food

James was about a week shy of 6 months when we first fed him solid food.  Definitely later than the girls.  We fed Annie food the day she turned 4 months (we were anxious first time parents), and Leah was almost 5 months when she started.  I always love feeding babies baby food, it’s just that it throws in a few more extra steps in the already busy mornings and evenings.  So, maybe I was putting it off for selfish reasons.  I knew the baby would love food, and finally, I couldn’t resist this cute little face any longer:

What’s that you said, Mom?  Something about food?  What is it?  I want some.  You think I’ll like it?  Well, give me some and let’s find out.  I want to try it.  All those kinds you’re talking about.  Quit just talking about it, and let me try some.  Is it that stuff you guys put in your mouths?  I stare at it and wish I could have some.  I sometimes even make chewing sounds and lick my lips so you’ll know I want some.  But you never give me any.  Pleeeeeease can I try it?

Is this it?  Finally!  Ok, I’m excited.  I’m concentrating.  I hope I like it!

I think I do like it!  I’m so happy!  So happy in fact, that I don’t even know what to do with my hand.  I think I’ll just leave it up like this the whole time you feed me.

Mmmmmm, I LOVE it! 

Mom, you’re not going fast enough.  I have to eat my bib in between bites.

This is so fun!

  

Ok, now I’m stuffed.  No more, Mom.

First foods – rice cereal and applesauce (what I always feed my babies first:)  This was actually the second time we fed him.  The first time we recorded on our video camera.  These pictures were taken September 25, 2010.

Coyote Lake

July 24, 1010 – Boating at Coyote Lake, California

We hadn’t been boating in a long time, in fact, this was our kids’ first time.  They were so excited!  Jeff recently brought Katherine’s Dad’s boat back to Saratoga with him, and he was anxious to take it out.  Russ and Julie’s family came too, so they brought the MasterCraft.  It was a perfect day on the lake . . . . we really need to do this more often.     

Leah was really excited to try out the tube . . . . Annie, not as much.  But we figured Annie would give it a try after she saw how much fun Leah had on it.  Leah looked so cute out there on the tube with Dan.  The boat started to go and she was loving it. 

Then all of a sudden, the tube hit an unexpected wave, and Dan and little Leah went flying through the air.  She landed in the water and burst into tears.  She wasn’t hurt, just never expected to be launched from her safe little tube like that.  And of course, she wanted to be done.  She had stopped crying by the time the boat came around to get them, but she still had her pouty look.  She does this look when she’s sad about something and she’s trying not to cry. . . . I’m actually glad we got a picture of it, because I think it’s kind of cute, and it’s probably something I would have forgotten if I hadn’t ever gotten a picture of it.  She presses her lips together, which cause her cheeks to poof out and then of course the look in her big brown eyes just says it all. 

And then somehow, I’m still not even sure how it happened, we convinced Annie to take a turn.  I think we told her that the boat would go really slow and we would make sure she wouldn’t fall in the water like Leah. 

And so the boat started up and unfortunately it went a little too slow, and the nose of the tube started to dig into the water, and before we knew it, Dan and Annie were face planted into the lake.  Great.  She managed to give a smile for the camera, but didn’t want to look at that tube again.

She did love this thing though!  Yay for the water wienie!  haha

Jeff and Halle on the tube . . . . this was a successful run. 

This Weekend

We spent this past weekend in California visiting my family.  Thanks to Dan’s 4-day weekend off of work (he seriously has the best schedule) and the fact that we’re only a 4 hour drive from my family (which still is long, but compared to the travel time and cost from Ohio, we’re loving it!), a long weekend visiting them is totally doable.  And we had a few good reasons to go – my brother, Jeff, was blessing this little guy:

                                                   Ryan Jeffrey Cole – born August 6, 2010

And actually, it was the first time we’ve seen their baby.  He is as cute and sweet as everyone was telling us.  It was also Halle’s 3rd birthday and they had a family party for her on Saturday, so it was so fun to be there for that as well.  We didn’t take very many pictures of the weekend, but here is one of a few of us after church on Sunday:

Those are Katherine’s parents and her little sister, Megan, in the picture with us.  They live in Fresno, only 3 hours away.  So, yeah, it was a great weekend, and we’re just so happy that we are closer to family so we can attend events like this.  And of course there was swimming, playing with cousins, eating at Fresh Choice, going to YogurtLand, and lots of shopping.  In fact, I did some serious damage at PBKids . . . I finally got the girls new bedding!  Now we just need to buy Leah a new mattress so we can get her into a big girl bed (she’s still in a toddler bed).  I’m so excited . . . . that will be our project for Thursday (Dan has it off). 

No Rules Pinewood Derby

A while back my sister, Amy, posted a video clip of a car she made for a “no rules” pinewood derby they were having in her singles ward.  The clip showed her car rocketed forward across the finish line by two large strings of rubber bands anchored at the end of the track.  It took about half a second for her car to destroy the other cars on the track.  So naturally, when our Elders Quorum President announced the upcoming Elders Quorum activity, a no rules pinewood derby, I knew I had this one in the bag.  Then he clarified, there are actually two rules: the car can’t interfere with other cars on the track, and the car has to stay on the track.  Dang!  Still, I followed her logic as I designed my car.  By anchoring the rubber bands to the underside of the track only a quarter of the way down, I could still slingshot the car forward, but keep the car on the track.  As long as my car was as fast as I thought it would be, the rubber bands would release and I’d be far down the track before any other car could be interfered with.  

Here’s my set up.  Though it worked best in the middle lane, it proved unstoppable in every heat, and the ward’s second newest member took home the trophy.  As it turned out, the wards newest member was the runner up, the blue car on the right.  Loaded with twin battery powered tail fans, a crank-back real wheel propulsion system and a sleek aerodynamic finish, this car’s design and technology put mine to shame, but in the end, simply couldn’t keep up.

The win was not without controversy, however.  In the final race, a one on one with the blue car, after my car was propelled forward, one of my rubber bands popped up onto the track.  A still shot captured by one of the spectators shows the blue car rolling over the rubber band on its way down.  However, the judges determined that my car had nearly crossed the finish line by the time of the occurrence, and the alleged  “interference” was inconsequential to the result.

Brad graciously accepted his defeat.  He’ll have his chance again next year, when rubber bands will likely be banned from the competition.

The Mass Ascension

This was such a cool thing to go to . . . . Now we did have to go early (really early), and we had to walk a ways down a dirt path, up hills and down, pushing strollers in the dark, and it was pretty cold out . . . . but we had doughnuts, and were with our new friends, and seeing 100 hot air balloons take off at the same time was definitely a sight to see.

So, did you notice Matt and Adrienne’s sweatshirts?  Yep, fellow Ohioans . . . . I just knew we were going to be great friends:)

 

 

The Great Reno Balloon Race – September 11, 2010

Labor Day Part 2

Scott and Elisha left our house on Monday morning, and our girls were so sad to see Molly and Foster go.  But they were quickly cheered up with the news that Scotty, Emily, and Grant were already on their way to our house!  The Riches had spent the week in Utah and were planning on spending the afternoon and night with us before driving the rest of the way home on Tuesday.  We had just enough time to wash the sheets on our guest bed before they pulled in early afternoon.

We decided to go check out Galena Creek, a beautiful little area at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the way to Tahoe about a half hour south of us. 

It was a short little visit, but we’re so glad they spent some time with us on their way home!