The Last Frontier

A lot of you have been asking about our recent trip to Alaska. Unfortunately, I didn't really get too many good pics to share with you. This was due in part to Aaron working most of the time and part to the less than best weather that we had while we were there. Lucky for Adelyn and I the first few days were pretty nice, sadly for Aaron, the day that he actually had free was the rainiest and yuckiest of all. So we probably had more fun than he did, but all in all it was a good trip, and always good to get away on a little adventure. This was the first plane adventure that we had taken with Adelyn and this first pic should show you how much fun she had on the plane ride.




She and I went to the zoo one day and it was a very nice little zoo--with a lot of animals local to really cold regions that we don't see too much down here--polar and brown and black bears, Musk Oxen, Yaks, Snow Leopards, Moose, etc...we had a lot of fun but it was already soooooo cold!! Strangely enough, Adelyn seemed to love the Alpacas the most. We actually ran into a group of Taiwanese people, so that was random and cool.



One thing that was cool was that we could see Denali, Mt. McKinley, from the window of our hotel room. I know it's not the best picture in the world, but we were amazed by how big it still seemed so many hundreds of miles away. I really wanted to go to the park, but it, like most of the rest of Alaska, shuts down mid-September, just in time for us to miss it!



Anchorage is pretty much surrounded by mountains except for the inlet where the ocean comes in, but even on the other side of that you can see mountains. It was beautiful, especially with all the fall colors all around.



The babe liked the flight home a little less than the way there. I suppose you could say that Aaron and I liked it less--she was still having a ball but was so tired and trying so hard not to fall asleep that she just finally crashed. She was sitting on Aaron's lap one minute, and the next minute looked like this.




So there's a short version of our trip. We had a great time, but would recommend to all interested in going to Alaska, do it in the summer!!

She's on the Move!

Well she's not quite crawling or walking by herself, but she has developed a style all her own for each that we thought we'd share with you far away relatives. She's not quite up to getting on her hands and knees yet, but here is her army scoot!

And this is her true love here. If we put her on her tummy too long she cries and screams as though we were torturing her. But she will walk with Dad until she can't think straight...this is one such time...she was so tired but still wanted to walk! The other day she and Aaron actually walked a lap around the entire backyard. What a cute little nut.

The Best Two Years

No, it's not the mission that I'm talking about. Of course, my mission wasn't two years, so perhaps you weren't confused, just annoyed by my cheesiness. But if you can't be cheesy on your anniversary, when can you be?!?! Aaron LOVES it when I am cheesy, so I do it just for him. :)

Anyway, two years ago today, we were married in the Seattle Temple. I have had fun looking at everyone else's wedding pics on their blogs on their anniversaries, so I have included ours here as well.



Then here we are celebrating our first anniversary up in the San Juan Islands. Yes, I'm a bit pregnant here. I wonder what percentage of Mormon brides are pregnant on their first anniversary?! Glad to be numbered among them, that's all I can say!

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And here we are celebrating our second anniversary (this past weekend) getting ready to go Ziplining at Whistler (more fun pics to follow). We had so much fun up there, all made possible by Aaron's aunt and uncle wedding present...thanks Evan and Norene!!



And since two years really isn't long enough for us to look much different, I thought I would scan and include the VERY first picture I could find of us together. Whoever took it for us could obviously tell that we were in love and wanted to catch the moment.

Anyway, I am so grateful for Aaron and all that he has done for me in the past two years of marriage and seven years of friendship. Life would be so dull without him. You are the best hun!

The Little Seahorse

So I promised more pics of our trip, and here they are, hoping to illustrate just how hot it has been!! We have been spending as much time in the water as possible this summer, also because we discovered Adelyn absolutely loves it. She never wants to get out.

This first one is actually the week before our trip and was Adelyn's very first time swimming. We were pretty close to heat stroke in our record breaking temps, so we just headed to the lake down the street from our house and took a dip to save our sanity.



Then we were on to the Tri-Cities for more hot weather. In looking for ways to keep busy while Aaron was working there, we were lucky enough to have a free wading pool just next door to the hotel. It turns out she likes water where she can't touch, where she can kick her legs, so we headed to the indoor hotel pool afterward.



Then in Utah my cousins were nice enough to invite us up to their ranch to help celebrate my cousin Lauren's return from a mission to Chicago. We had so much fun with all the family and all the boats...until Aaron lost his wedding ring in the moss!!!!



Oh, and Adelyn didn't really have too much fun with the life jacket...something kept getting in the way of zipping it up!!!

In our last stop on the vacation, we did a little more indoor swimming, with Aaron's cousins this time. I love this shot with his cousin Kori, the sweetest little kid ever!! Adelyn absolutely loved her and started grinning and kicking her legs everytime she came into the room. We miss her already.

Now we haven't been swimming once since we've been back, but hopefully we have enough summer left to do it.

P.S. Adelyn's swimsuits were provided courtesy of Rachel and Olivia. Thanks!!!

Animal Lover?

Yes, it has been a busy summer. We just returned from yet another family reunion and had yet another great time. Though we haven't been seeing much of the folks in our new ward, we have been seeing a lot of family and old friends. All in all Adelyn and I were gone two weeks and put almost 3000 miles on the car (her longest trip yet) and she handled it pretty nicely.

Aaron's reunion was centered around the Cassia County Fair & Rodeo, which is apparently a big deal in Burley. No one in his family could believe that I, being from Texas, had never been to a Rodeo so they were all pretty excited for me to go. I will admit that it was a lot of fun and wish I would have gone to one sooner. I didn't get any pics of the actual show, but I just had to share these of Adelyn.

Aaron's mom was really excited to see Adelyn with the animals and truth be told, her reactions were indeed priceless. If you can't see the look on her face, please click on it and zoom in!

But then again...maybe it isn't just the animals that have her concerned after all...

More pics and stories soon, just had to share these first because I got such a kick out of them.

Baria Vacation

To start things off, I have to share the latest in our attempt to catch the little squirt laughing on film. This one showcases quite a few of her favorite way to try to stifle her laughter when the camera comes out.



We started out our family "vacation" locally because Liz wasn't able to join us adventuring down the Oregon Coast due to work. We had our first family pictures in SIX years (Yikes!) taken, which will hopefully produce good results soon. Then what we thought would be a "lazy" float down the Deschutes River turned into Survivor: Pacific Northwest, with two of the rafts collapsing mid-float. Only Ben & Jadyn managed to float completely unscathed, while Jenn & Michelle had the worst of it, having to swim/walk half the way to the park at the end (unfortunately no cell phones to reach the rescue party).

It was an adventure I am sure NONE of us will forget!



Here we are, having made it safely to Oregon, with the little one having the time of her life!!



One evening we sat and watched a bunch of Seals and Cormorants hang out while the tide brought their food in.



Aren't they so cute??!!



This is on the way heading down to Florence, at Seal Rock...I know, it was a Seal-Filled Vacation. We visited the Sea Lion Caves as well, boy were they smelly!!!

Ben's biggest request for vacation was to go four wheeling at the sand dunes. Since he is leaving on his mission this Tuesday, my mom obliged his desires. Here we are on our sweet rides.

Last but not least, here is the view from the house we rented. It was right on the beach and was so peaceful and beautiful. Just what the doctor ordered--until we were on our way home and hit 90 degree weather in Portland. It's been gross ever since! Idaho, Utah, and central A/C here we come!!

Back to the Cuteness

So now that I have posted about something other than Adelyn, we're going to get right back to it...that's what we all love anyway right?? Babies!! Aaron's mom did wonder why we hadn't posted anything of her in awhile, so I'd better take care of that.

We'll start things out with a video of Aaron trying to get her to laugh and then I'll share some of my recent faves.



Unfortunately, so far this summer Aaron has had to work quite a few Saturday mornings. But Adelyn was not about to let that affect her time enjoying the sun!



So we had a picnic with Michelle and Jenn (and Cooper of course, though he wasn't cooperating when I wanted them to smile together for the camera).



Aaron was excited to see that she finally fits into her Seahawks clothes, though it looks like the hat may be a bit small!! Hopefully she can still pass for a girl with a Seahawks beanie in the place of her flower bows!!



And last but not least, my sister snapped this at our pre-fourth of July picnic (yes, once the weather starts getting nice up here, I just can't stay away from the picnicking!!). It's so cute that I had to steal it from her.



Looks like it could be a nice little tribute to the late MJ. :) I think I'll post a few more pics on my facebook, so if you are still hungry for more, go ahead and try there!