Uncle Shane's Buddy

Kaia loves her Uncle Shane. She kept wanting to do things with him and when we were together she would follow him around like a puppy dog. I don't blame her, Shane is a fun and loving guy. We all had a good time being together.

She had a great time running around Shane's truck yard as well as helping him check what was wrong with one of his trailers.

Shane even let her climb up in his personal rig. He had her honk the horn, but she didn't realize that's what would happen when she pulled the string and since it was inside the workshop it was extra loud so she wasn't as excited about that part. She did like laying in the sleeper though. (Talmage wanted to push all the buttons and play with the gears.)

Oma's House

Everything is more fun at Oma's House. Although we didn't do anything particularly special in Bishop it's still always fun because there are so many new things to discover for the kids. Like ponds, grass, kitty cats and duckies that come around, the old toys that I played with when I was a kid, watching a leaf float down the creek, room to run, and all the other fun discoveries that Grandmas' Houses have.

We took the kids to the city park a couple of times where they enjoyed swimming in the pool and feeding the ducks.

There's nothing better than some good clean dirt.

These T-shirts are from Uncle Shane and they make great jammies.

Kaia discovered computer games and had a lot of fun being allowed to play with the computer.

Kaia loved running around Oma's big yard.

I loved having a babysitter (even though I was put to work tiling my mom's kitchen countertops- I felt it was a fair trade). Bishop is so beautiful that it is always relaxing to be there. No matter how much she changes it, or how old I get, my mom's house will always be home.

Las Vegas

Since we flew into Las Vegas we decided we would stay and play for a little while. We stayed at Circus Circus for two nights and had a great time watching the acts and playing a couple of the midway games. I wanted to play the racehorse game where you make your horse move by rolling a ball into the holes. I liked the prize that you got when there were only 2-4 players (a stuffed green starfish) so I made sure that we were there right when they opened and just Kaia and I played. I was happy with our little prize, but Kaia wanted to play again. So we went ahead for the fun of it, but by that time there were a bunch more people. Well, I managed to get my ball in the move-three-spaces hole a couple of times and just barely held on for the win! I was really excited and we got the coveted big white tiger. Do you think I'm competitive at all? :) So much for Circus Circus just being for kids!

Well, that was fun, but we had a real blast when we met my brother Shane and his family out at Lake Mead. We got to stay in his motor home, ride his boat, and hang out on the lake for four days straight! I'll tell you what, that is the life for me. I absolutely loved having a boat while growing up and I LOVE swimming. It was even more fun for me to see how much my kids enjoyed it. We were literally in the water for hours on end. I really needed that. Kaia also liked feeding bread to the fish. One morning we couldn't go out on the water because there was thunder, lightening, and rain, but we had a great view and just sat and watched the weather. Kaia still talks about it. Those are the kinds of memories I want to continue to provide for my kids- I just hope that in all the craziness I'm not missing all the opportunities around me.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I'm sure you are all wondering what happened to me. We left for California back in July and it has been nonstop since then. Traveling, someone being sick, new fall routines- nothing has been normal, so I am hoping that with the cool down in weather (not that I'm really looking forward to that) my crazy life will cool down a little too. I'll try my best to update you on what we've been doing. We had a great time going to California, but wouldn't you know it, the batteries for BOTH the camera and the video recorder died on me! I just got some pictures from my Mom so here goes.

Happy B-day Dallin!

Yesterday was Dallin's Birthday and we were very happy to actually be able to spend it with him (since it was a Saturday). We just wanted to let him know how much we love him and are grateful for all of the things that he does for us.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DALLIN !

We love Dallin because he is:

*Fun, happy, and always ready to have a good time
*Not afraid to work and get the job done
*Willing to help anyone in need
*A loving father whom the kids adore
*Quick to forgive
*Good at fixing things around the house
*Our spiritual leader and has a strong testimony

and so many more reasons!
(Sorry I don't have better pictures)

Little Baker

Kaia is my little baker. Practically ever since she could walk, she has insisted on being in the kitchen with me when I am baking or cooking. I'm not talking about her just wanting to be with me, I mean she has to be doing what I'm doing. Even when I try to start baking without her, as soon as that mixer turns on, she comes running. Of course, she learned early that the beaters are the best part of baking- even if I just make bread dough she has to have the beaters (that's OK 'cause I still get the bowl). If she could read I'm sure I could just send her in the kitchen and tell her to make some cookies and she'd do it. When we were making cut out cookies for Valentine's Day, I had to leave the room for some reason. When I got back, she had finished glazing the previous batch with milk and then rolled and cut out the next batch and was pulling away the excess and putting the cookies on the sheet! The most amazing part was she did a great job rolling it out even- I think only one or two of the cookies were slightly thin on the edge! I was quite humbled and significantly impressed by my three year old. Kaia loves every part of baking: the apron, standing on her stool, the measuring and pouring, the mixing, the licking, watching it cook in the oven, the beeper, the hot pads, and of course, the eating. Mmmmmm, sweet dessert! It looks like our family baking tradition is in good hands.

Washington D.C.

One of the great things about living in Pennsylvania is being so close to so many great places to go see- Philadelphia, NY, DC, Niagara, Hill Cumorah, Boston, etc. are all within 4 1/2 hours of our place. There is still so much I want to see that I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to fit it all in (so if anyone wants to come out and go check these places out with me you'd better hurry). Back in April I was able to take a trip with my Mom, sister and kids (again, sorry Dallin) to DC right when the cherry blossoms were out. We loved it! We were impressed with how clean the main part of the city was and for a major metro area it really wasn't that bad to get around in. There was a lot to see and do and the weather was gorgeous. I personally would have loved to have spent more time in the art museums, but with a three year old and a baby that just wasn't going to happen.

I made sure we made it there for the cherry blossoms because that was one of the things that I absolutely loved about Japan and I didn't want to pass up an opportunity to enjoy them again. We were lucky, the timing was perfect and the blossoms were beautiful. I definitely was reminiscing about Japan.

Of course we tried to get to as many monuments as possible and they were all wonderful. The Jefferson was beautiful for me architecturally, but the Lincoln and the new WWII monument were very special and particularly sacred.

We also took in some of the Smithsonian which, little did I know, is actually a whole bunch of different museums. There was some cool stuff, but again, not quite as interesting to the kids. Kaia much preferred to ride the Merry-Go-Round as many times as I could afford.

We did a lot of walking and all got our souvenir T-shirts. A bunch of kids were playing with the branches of a weeping willow tree, so of course Kaia had to do the same.

The DC temple is actually the temple we are assigned to (even though Manhattan and Palmyra are both closer). I had already been a few times before, but we ended up there "accidentally" because I was following those directions just to get to DC and then forgot I needed to switch to the directions for the hotel. Oh well, it's never a loss when you find yourself at the temple.

Well, it was a great time, and if you don't believe me you can come on out and I will gladly go back and show you around!