Swimming

Having a pool at our new apartment has been great. We go swimming almost every day. The girls are getting braver with the water, too. Lyra likes to sit on the edge and jump to our arms. We even let her go under the water some of the time and she seems to like it. We bought Lisa a life jacket so she can swim all around the pool without holding onto anything. I think she likes being able to do it by herself. She used to absolutely hate getting water in her face at all, but now she will run and jump in without worrying about it. We are all getting rather tan, too!

Craters of the Moon, July 2010

Two weeks before moving from Rexburg to Twin Falls, we went for a day hike at Craters of the Moon National Park. We have driven by it several times on our way to backpacking destinations, but never made the time to stop. The hike was planned by Krista Ramacher, a friend we met in Idaho Falls this past year. She actually lives right there in Arco and Lisa was very happy that she had brought her daughter, Meredith. They are about the same age and had a fun time running and jumping around together. It was a great hike for them because it was a bunch of short trails and we would drive from one point to the next. Lyra did very well in the carrier again and even fit in a little nap while we explored. I loved going down into the caves and feeling the cool air, such a contrast from the sweltering heat among the lava rock outside. And although it seems like a barren wasteland, I was pleasantly surprised by the varieties of life everywhere I looked. Neon green lichen growing on the rocks, lovely white flowers blooming between the cracks, small birds and rodents, bugs and bees...those craters are teeming with life! Very enjoyable afternoon.

I liked this next one cause at first I thought I took a picture of everyone staring at the ground, but they are actually looking down into a huge crater

Here is Ryan's "STOP taking pictures already" face

This type of rock is called Pahoehoe, which I think means "ropy" in Hawaiian

I loved how some of the rock actually look like petrified wood

Goodbye, Rexburg. Hello, Twin Falls!

Here are a few pictures of our last week in Rexburg and our first week in Twin Falls. We are getting settled in to our new apartment and starting to explore a little bit. Gail and Lee made the trip all the way to Idaho to help us with the move, for which we are very grateful. This week Ryan will probably try to make it in to his classroom and get started with planning. Only two weeks until his first day of school!

About a week before leaving Rexburg, there was a beautiful evening sky so I went for a drive with Lyra, windows all rolled down, and stopped to take this picture. One of the things I always loved about Rexburg--the beautiful fields on the skyline.

Of course we spent lots of time at the Rexburg splash park this summer. Lisa asked to go there every day. It pretty much became part of her regular schedule. Lyra got a kick out of it too once I finally bought some swimmy diapers so she could play in the water.

I have seen this canyon numerous times as we drove over it on our way to California. Now we live a two-minute walk away from a paved trail that makes its way along the edge for a short distance. Beautiful sights to enjoy. We can't wait to explore the hiking and fishing spots around Twin Falls.

How to entertain a 10 month old while trying to unpack: put her in the kitchen sink!

How to entertain an almost-five-year-old while trying to unpack: make a bigger mess by adding a fort to the mix. (a little more involved here)

Or just give her a broom. She's getting pretty good with sweeping actually!

Our new apartment has a pool and Lisa asks to swim every day. On this day she wanted to curl her hair. Before going swimming. What do you know--I'm so starved for hair styling moments with her that I actually humored her and curled a few strands.

Loving Lisa

Loving how she sometimes acts shy and tries to hide from the camera

Loving how excited she is to ride the bus to preschool this year

(Not Kidding! She screamed out loud when she saw the bus pull up)

Loving her desire to make every day a FUN day!

(here with her new friend, Alexis, on a silly rainy day)

Loving her enthusiasm for the seemingly mundane tasks of the day

Loving her sense of adventure as she overcomes fears

and explores new territory

Loving her exuberant discovery of the natural world,

her boundless energy, and her infectious smile.

Loving her ENDLESS questions about life and the universe,

her creative imagination,

how she sings her way through the day.

Loving the unique and fiery spark she adds to life and to our family.

Loving HER!

Hiking day at Palisades Creek

On Saturday we got together with some friends and hiked to the lower lake on the Palisades Creek Trail. The trail was going to be a little too long for Lisa to hike herself so she got to stay with our neighbor, Lindsay and her son, Levi. We arrived at the trailhead around 10:30am and hiked about four miles to the lower lake where we stopped to eat our lunch. The view was beautiful and it just felt so peaceful. There were lots of flowers along the trail, several of which Anne identified for us by name. I was not sure if Lyra would be able to fall asleep in the carrier, but she surprised me by zonking out for half an hour on the way back from the lake. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the good company and conversation. When we picked Lisa up at the end of the day she asked when she could go to Levi's house again, so I think she had a very fun day, too!

Andrea Binggeli

Anne Timpany and her son, Cedar

Lyra: 10 months old

Lyra is now 10 months old and doing well. She follows us around the apartment by scooting on her belly. She gets up on her hands and knees, but isn't quite crawling yet. She pulls herself up to standing position if there's something she wants to reach. She loves herself a good smoothie (don't even think about taking it away from her!) and is also drinking from her own little sippy cup. She tilts her head way back and looks like she's giving herself whiplash. Every now and then she does this funny noise where she purses her lips and sucks air in and out of her nose. I finally caught it on camera and even took a little video. Cracks me up every time. She seems like she may be teething a little. She's been sort of grumpy the past few days, but no teeth yet. She is very petite for her age which gives off the illusion that she is younger than she actually is. I am enjoying the babyness as long as I can while it lasts. She has surprised me by being much more interested in watching movies than Lisa ever was at her age. We never had to worry about limiting Lisa's viewing time because she wasn't interested, but we may have to watch it with Lyra. One thing I have yet to capture on camera is Lyra's fondness of clapping her hands. She started doing it on her own a couple weeks ago and now if we say the word "clap," she'll smile and bring her hands together. So fun when babies start putting things together like that and making verbal connections. Love the cuteness.

See her thumb in the next one? Didn't notice at the time I was taking the picture, but it kinda looks like "Gotch yer nose!" tee-hee