CA & Cousins

In March we were able to travel to California to visit family, and also to meet up with Kate's cousins from Colorado! We had a fun time, despite all the rain, and really enjoyed our visit. The first 2 days it rained constantly, and the little girls got bored inside...so we went out on the back patio to blow bubbles! Don't you just love Kate's outfit?

The third day we got some sunshine! We headed to the beach to play paddle tennis and dig in the sand. It was perfect!
Although the water was very cold, Kate still managed to get herself completely soaked...running away from waves is just too much fun. :)
The next day we tried Knott's Berry farm...the kids had fun at Camp Snoopy and rode all the rides. We didn't get very many 'grown-up' rides in before the rain came...we thought we'd wait it out, but after a while we were soaked! It was still a fun day!
Kate and her cousins really enjoyed the rides...this one went up high, then did little freefalls...Kate was laughing so hard - definitely one her favorites.
On our way home we stayed a night in Las Vegas...the girls were awed by all the lights and the water show at the Bellagio. We were awed by the Bellagio buffet...
Back in Utah, Kate's cousins were able to stay and play for another week! So we had fun hanging out every day and did all sorts of activities...Grandpa took us all to the zoo!
Swimming was a favorite...and this photo in the locker room afterward turned out really cute!
The girls had a great time in the big jetted bubble bath and made some nice Santa Claus beards!
We had such a wonderful time visiting with everyone...we miss you already!

Happy Holidays!

As usual, the month of December flew by! We had a lot of fun celebrating the holidays, beginning with Kate's 3rd birthday on December 1st! It's amazing to think that 3 years have passed since she joined our family - she's growing into such a loving, intelligent, happy little girl!

Who doesn't love a bunch of balloons?

Daddy decorated her birthday cakes to look like the characters from Team UmiZoomi, Kate's favorite cartoon. So here we have our Geo cake & our Milli cake...Kate was thrilled with them! Good work, Will! (I can't seem to get this photo rotated...sorry to crane your necks...)

Happy Birthday Beautiful Kate!

We tried ice skating as a family one Saturday...Kate did pretty well for her first time! They have these little "walkers" to help kids balance, and as long as we were holding on too, she did fine. It was cute to see the tiny ice skates on her feet!

What December would be complete without a trip to see Christmas lights? Unfortunately Kate wasn't feeling great the evening we went, so she just chilled in the stroller. But she did take this photo of us...she loves taking pictures, and as you can see, she does a pretty good job!

Kate loves to draw & paint, but always manages to get her pen, markers, paints, etc. taken away because she also loves to color on herself. :) Here we have a black watercolor paint moustache:

And purple dry erase marker war paint!

We traveled to Missouri for Christmas this year, leaving SLC on the morning of the 24th. Santa was extra smart this year and knew to leave her presents a day early so she could open them before we left for the airport. She seemed to have fun...we still had to point out the presents under the tree...she walked right by them. :) And any time anyone asked her what she got for Christmas, her answer was candy in her stocking...must have been her favorite part!

We were extra excited to visit Missouri this time because William's sister delivered her first baby...on Kate's birthday! So Connor Patrick was only 3 weeks old when we met him - he's Kate's first cousin on Will's side of the family. Kate did fairly well - only getting jealous that Mommy was holding him a few times...

Here's a better view of him...isn't he a cutie?

We celebrated New Year's at 11pm Missouri time and Kate was wired! She loved the blow horns and tiaras, but looked at all of us adults like we were crazy. :) Of course she didn't settle down easily after the celebration, so although we tried to put her to bed, she ended up joining us for the actual New Year at midnight too...oh well! Once a year, right?

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that the new year is off to a great start!

Autumn Time

I love the Fall! There are so many fun 'harvesty' activities and the weather is nice and the leaves are changing and the air smells good... :) We've been having a fun Fall. We went to the Barnyard Boo at Thanksgiving Point when Hilary & Eden were in town. The girls each got to choose from several activities including wagon ride, face painting, cookie decorating, and pony ride - the favorite was the pony ride and they each rode twice:

Cutie Cousins:

Little Model:

The girls also had plenty of fun with the leaves in Grandma & Grandpa's yard!
We were completely surprised that we got SNOW on October 25! We had about 4" at our house, and Kate couldn't wait to go out to play. She rode her slide in the snow, we built a little snowgirl, but her favorite part was eating it:
We've been framing our basement (for Months now!), but Kate likes to come down and 'help.' She's really good at scattering nails around the floor and playing in the sawdust. One night she decided to wash her hair with sawdust...what a mess!! So here is William trying to suck most of it out with the shopvac:
And finally, Halloween! Kate dressed up as an adorable witch! Every time someone would ask her what she was going to dress as, she would give a different answer...either spider, Woody, pumpkin, etc. etc. But when she put on her witch costume, she loved it and wanted to be a mean witch. Everyone kept saying how cute and nice she was, though, so she changed her mind. :)
I took her around to Grandma, Grandpa & Daddy's offices on Friday...obviously she was a hit! On Saturday we went to Boo at the Zoo to trick-or-treat around see the animals...we're really glad we went! Saturday night we had intentions to take her around the neighborhood, but it was rainy and chilly, so we stayed in. Kate loved answering the door and commenting on the costumes of all the kids. It was a fun holiday!

Summer Wrap-up

So, I wasn't very good about blogging regularly through the summer, so now here's another wrap-up of the last few months. What's a hot, July night without chocolate ice cream all over face, dress, hair, car seat, car window, etc., etc...?
Kristen & her family were here in late July...we did all sorts of fun stuff (most of which I don't have photos for)...water park, rodeo, fireworks, birthday party, park. These girls sure do have fun together!
We had our yearly trip to Lagoon...Kate had such a fun time riding all the kiddie rides. She even rode the bumper cars a couple times and was too busy laughing to drive straight! :)
There were a few zoo trips this summer. Here's Kate's comparison to a juvenile gorilla.
All 4 tigers were gathered at the water at the same time...I thought that was so cool!
William and I didn't make it to the State Fair this year, but my parents took Kate, and they had a blast. Here's one of the cute photos they took. This kid loves rides!
Again with the zoo...this time in Denver! Kate and I went to visit Kristen & her family in September. On Hilary's day off from school (she's in kindergarten!), we went to the Denver zoo. Kate couldn't get enough of these Huge fish...I actually think the tropical/ aquarium part of the zoo was her favorite this time!
A trip to the zoo wouldn't be complete without a ride on the carousel!
The three girls dressed up in dance costumes and put on a little show...they were so cute with their twirls and jumps, and especially with this dogpile. :)
One more...our Gorgeous not-so-little-anymore Kate. Doesn't she look so grown up? And beautiful, too? What a joy!

Catch Up!

It's been a few months since I posted last...so here's a quick update about what's been going on with us!

In April we converted Kate's crib to a toddler bed for her own safety (she's a climber!). She did fairly well with the adjustment, but loved to come into our room in the middle of the night. We bought her a clock with a nightlight that turns green when it's OK for her to leave her room - and it worked! She has been sleeping great through the night. The first week after we converted the crib, we found her asleep like this during quiet time:
In May we traveled to Missouri for a family visit and 2 graduation ceremonies! William's sister Ketta graduated with her doctorate in physical therapy from St. Louis University. We also found out she and her husband are expecting their first baby in December...Kate's first cousin on that side of the family!
William's brother Steven graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia with a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife. He got a 3 month summer job in Utah, so William stayed in Missouri and helped him make the drive! He stays at our house on the weekends and camps during the week while tracking 2 species of birds in the mountains. It's been fun having him here!
The saddest news of the summer is that my sister and her family moved to Colorado. :( Her husband got a district manager position with Sprint and they've rented a cute townhome in Castle Rock. Kate sure misses her cousins...it took her a while to stop saying she wanted to go to 'HilaryEden's house' every day. But now when we ask, she knows they live in 'Co-rado' - and we're excited for their visit here this month and our visit there in September! We miss you guys!
William's mom and sister traveled here in June, and we all drove up to Idaho where Will & his mom completed the Teton Dam half marathon! Here's Kate congratulating her sweaty daddy:
We then continued our road trip to Yellowstone National Park and had a fun time seeing the sights and animals. Here's Kate with her grandma:
And here's a bison roaming the street:
And here's Kate all decked out for the rain. It was cold there! In June! We had sweaters and hats and umbrellas...and I think she's just about the cutest little model for all three!
On the 4th of July we went for a hike in Big Cottonwood Canyon to see where Steve had been tracking birds. It was a Tough hike...I hate to admit what bad shape I'm in! William and I both tried carrying Kate in the pack on our backs for a while, and both got quickly exhausted. Thankfully we had young, fit Steve with us to carry her the rest of the way up the mountain! Here's proof that we made it!
It was all just too exhausting for our little cutie and she fell asleep nearly the whole way down the mountain. It was a gorgeous day for a hike!
So that was a bit of a long recap of our last few months...I hope to stay more current on the blog throughout the summer!

California & Disneyland!

We had a really nice vacation to California! We went with Kate's cousins & grandparents and had a fun time all together. We drove, and the kids did surprisingly well...but I think we'll try to fly in the future. :) We got to spend time with my dad's family, playing at the beach & park. We played paddle tennis at the beach (hooray!) and, although the ocean was freezing, Kate couldn't get enough of the water! Here's a cute photo of her digging in the sand:

We spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house in the hills, and they have several lizards running around -- all 3 little girls took quite a liking to them! We'd catch them with a noose so the girls could hold on to them with a leash. Here's Kate with her new little friend:

But the highlight of the trip was our time at Disneyland and California Adventure! My parents treated us all to a second day at the parks, as well as hotels & meals at the park -- Thank you so much, Mom & Dad! Kate & her cousins had a really great time together on the rides and meeting the characters:

And, at the end of the day, with her new Minnie Mouse souvenir doll, after the 'beautiful' fireworks (Kate's word), Kate fell asleep in her stroller - so sweet!