First bike

Even though Blake's birthday isn't until October we wanted to go ahead and get him his birthday bike now while the weather is nice and he can enjoy it. He was so excited and wanted to help daddy build it. He helped out the whole time (slowly daddy's progress) but being very patient. He could not be more excited about his new bike and his new helmet that Auntie Laura got for him. He loves to wear it and he loves to "ride" around the backyard. I think this was a great purchase and should last us a while! Happy early Birthday Blake.

Summer Fun

We had such a busy summer and such a fun summer. We spent most of the time in the water, trying to stay cool. We went swimming at Papas' pool, lots of times with friends. We also went to the park and played in the water there. It is fun to get out and enjoy the water...and Blake sure loves it. He is really getting to be a great swimmer too. He can make it all the way from one side of the pool to the other!

Abducted by Aliens on the 4th of July

Obviously all our pictures aren't on here but I think you can see that we had a great time....lots of laughs, lots of adventures, and most of all, lots of driving! We drove from Vegas to Albuquerque, NM, then to Roswell, NM, to Carlsbad, NV, back to Albuquerque, NM, and then back to Vegas.... crazy!!!!

Here is a snapshot of our trip:

Hanging out at the KOA halfway between Roswell and Carlsbad

They had a fun, free firetruck ride which Blake LOVED... It was a pretty cool old truck.

Storytime with Uncle Brian...of course! Brian makes up some pretty crazy stories though.

Swimming with Aunt Cindy

We did make it to the Carlsbad Caverns and they were pretty awesome. We went late in the afternoon...took the elevators down and HIKED OUT!!! Not a very good idea but the only feasible one at the time. We were able to stay and see the bats come out at dusk.

Blake hitching a ride on daddy's back... what a way to go!

Even with getting to ride the whole way up and down he was exhausted that night!

The whole reason for the trip was the 4th of July and of course that means fireworks... YES we kept Blake up to see the fireworks...and NO he was not impressed. Maybe next year.

Again it was a fun trip and we love to be able to make these great memories and share times with great friends. We know Blake won't remember these yet but we have pictures to share and
great stories to tell him and soon enough he will start to remember!

Grandma Holly and Papa Mike Visit

It's always fun when Grandma Holly and Papa Mike come to visit... This trip was nothing different. We were able to spend time together of course but we did a few extra special things too.

We took a trip to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay... and Blake was in heaven. He loved to see all of the fish and tried to scare them all.



He tried to get the sting rays...but he is still a little bit too short... Maybe next time.

No visit from Grandma Holly is complete without story time. Blake loved to have Grandma read book, after book, after book. Papa Mike even got in on the action every once in the while.

Saturday morning we headed down to the lake so we could enjoy the jet skis and the great weather. We all had a great time. Blake enjoyed the water and throwing rocks into the water!



It was a great weekend....that once again went by too fast!

Step Right Up

Ringling Bros. Circus came to town... so we decided to take Blake (and his cousins, Morgan and McKenna) to see the Circus. It's not like our house isn't a circus everyday but this one has a few more animals!

We weren't totally sure what to expect and weren't sure what Blake was going to think of the whole thing but he did a great job and really enjoyed the experience. He paid attention, pretty much stayed in a seat the whole time and loved watching all of the excitement going on. Couldn't ask for much more from an 18 month old at his first circus!

Tickets in hand and ready for the show to start!!!

Opening session... all the performers, animals and lots to see.

The big group of us at the show... Aranne, Blake, Papa, Morgan, Uncle Robert and McKenna. This was also Blake's favorite part about the circus... getting to sit and eat popcorn the whole time! He LOVES popcorn.

The elephants doing their thing.

Having some of dad's juice. (I swear it is juice. It looks like soda but it is NOT!)

After the show... we were lucky and found this crazy hat on our way out... too fun!

Everyone again... Uncle Robert, McKenna, Blake, Morgan, Papa and Aranne

The Great Outdoors

We decided to be brave and head out on our very first family camping trip. We weren't sure how things were going to go and how Blake would respond so we kept it simple and close. We packed up a few things and headed down to Boulder Beach at Lake Mead. The weather is already getting a little bit warm but we thought it would be okay, especially for just one night.

Blake was very excited to be there. I don't think had had any idea what was really going on but he was excited to just be outside and run around. He was also excited to try and "help" daddy with whatever he was doing. It didn't take Blake very long to get really, really dirty. It looked like he had been camping for a week and we had only been there an hour!

After setting up camp it was time for lunch and boy did he eat good. Being outside and playing definitely works up the appetite, and somehow food always seems to taste better when you are camping anyways.

He loved to just play in the dirt, pick up rocks and then dump it out and do it all over again. Lots of time was spent doing this. He also enjoyed feeding the birds with the popcorn we brought along. Some went to the birds and some went in his mouth!

When it was time to get the fire going Blake was there to give his dad a hand.

And then the two boys sat back and looked at what they had accomplished. This was one of our biggest worries but Blake did really well with the fire. He stayed far away and we didn't end up with any injuries!

He and I cooked our hot dog dinner on the fire he had made.... and later

We made Smore's too. He was pretty excited about that treat.

After keeping him up WAAAY past his bedtime (hoping this would help him fall asleep in the tent and stay asleep - which worked) he was up early in the morning with the birds. Here he is with his "oh so happy daddy".

This is the face of a successful first camping trip.

And this is the face of one too... and very tired face... We were ready to head home! But we will do it again soon for sure.

Learning to swim

After a few weeks of crazy weather summer has finally gotten here and looks like it is going to stay. With that being said it means Blake got to start his swim lessons today.

We talked with a few people and heard that Ella was a great swim teacher. She also happens to be the aunt of a good friend of ours... so we decided it was a good choice!

We are not sure what we are really expecting Blake to learn being that he is only 18 months old...and can't really talk to us and tell us what he is understanding...but we want to just get him a little more sure of himself in the water and mostly teach him some safety things.





After his first lesson (which Papa got to be at since he didn't have to work today) Ella thinks he will be able to swim across the pool by the end of the summer. I am not sure that I believe her or not but we will see how he does. He definitely loves the water and is not afraid of it but he is still so little.

He did well listening to her today but he still needs to get to know her a little better and understand what she is wanting him to do. I am sure it will get better (fingers crossed).