Fast Utah trip

This was our really fast trip to Utah. We left Friday at 9am and came back Saturday evening. Cortney had a baby shower to attend and thought the drive would be more fun if Lisa and I came along. Natalie came and met up with us, then took Lisa and I to this fun place called Kangaroo Zoo. Lisa and Olivia had a blast and I even went down a few slides. It was fun to get out of Rexburg, even just for a day. Natalie and I also spent a little time working in her yard which was very refreshing considering you still have to bundle up to go outside here in Rexburg.



Lisa and Olivia had fun playing outside, pretending to bake rock and wood "cakes" in the backyard.

















Lisa loved to dance to the music while she bounced in the toys.

Backpacking, fun with cousins, and Easter

During our trip to California for Grandpa Terry's birthday, we were able to go on a backpacking trip for four days in the Big Sur area, near Monterey. It was beautiful weather and scenery. We went swimming in the very cold Big Sur River and then got to soak in the relaxing, although slightly foul smelling, hot springs. Hiking twenty miles may not sound like vacation, but it really was a getaway for us!

On the trail with a view of the ocean behind us.

There were so many beautiful flowers and lush greenery. At times you had to duck under the canopy made over the trail.

Huge fallen Redwood trees on the trail

View of the Ocean from the Pine Ridge Trail

Coastline on Hwy 1, Big Sur, California, near Monterey

Lisa is finally at the age where she really has fun playing with her cousins. This used to be one of my favorite games when I was a kid. We'd pull each other around on a blanket.

Cameron told Lisa if the dandelion showed yellow on her chin then she was happy.

Silly time with cousins, Cade and Cameron

Decorating Easter eggs with daddy

First thing she wanted to do when she found an egg...eat it, of course!

Happy Easter basket!

Happy 80th Birthday!

This month Ryan's grandpa had his 80th birthday and we were able to make a trip to California to celebrate. We had a really great time seeing family we don't see very often and enjoying the warm California weather.

Mesa Falls minus the snow shoes

Well, I usually just put pictures of Lisa on here, but I decided this time to post a fun trip that Ryan and I did to Mesa Falls today. We originally were going to use our snowshoes, but the snow was so packed down we didn't need them. It was a fun hike, including views of the Lower and Upper Mesa falls, sliding down hills with no sleds, climbing on top of the visitor's center and building a silly snowman. We both got rather sunburned.

The fun never ends

Every week on Tuesdays is toddler reading time at the library and we have a lot of fun going to read, sing songs, and color pictures.




This is Lisa's friend, Kyle bond, who makes the funniest faces when you ask him to smile for a picture.








Scissors, crayons, and glue.
It doesn't get much better than that.


Glue takes a lot of concentration.

ABCs! (sort of)

Lisa surprised me recently by singing bits and pieces of the ABC song. So...she skips letter "d" through "h", but I'm pretty impressed. I'm always amazed at how much she is really absorbing without me realizing it. She loves reading books these days, something I had wondered if she'd ever have the attention span for. We read about 20 minutes before nap and before bed and any other time she feels like it during the day. I love looking over and seeing her just reading her books. Some of her favorites are, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie," "Red Fish, Blue Fish," "Hop on Pop," and "Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom" (or as she says, Chicken boom boom). 

Lisa's Singing Medley

This is Lisa all day long. Singing, singing, and more singing. She will tell us, "Mommy, daddy sit down! Sing songs!" And then she performs. Sometimes we'll catch snippets of songs like, "twinkle, twinkle" or "pat-a-cake, baker's man" or "c cookie" but often it's just that serious face, hand motions, full body bends and nonsense words. We love it.