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!

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).

Disney Date

WARNING: Photo Overload...

We went to Disneyland and there were a TON of us. I thought it was going to be a disaster... with kid and adult meltdowns... long lines... arguments over what rides we were going on... and just pretty much the "happiest place on earth" coming to life... but we had a great time. The kids were awesome. We had a few issues with diapers, and needing new clothes for a certain little boy, and it was super HOT but overall it was a great day and we did a bunch of stuff and made it onto a ton of rides. SUCCESS!

Blake, mommy and Minnie

Lori, Jordyn, Minnie, Brad and Kaitlyn

Blake and Jordyn....two peas in a pod. They were so fun to watch during the day and became such great friends.

Blake and mommy on the "merry-go-round" at California Adventure

Auntie Laura and Jordyn on the "merry-go-round"

One tired little boy....one of those kids who falls asleep at Disneyland...you always wonder how that can happen!!!

Blake hitchin' a ride with Al

Blake in his Mickey Mouse shirt.... ready for a full day at Disney

Blake doing some coloring while some other are waiting in a line

Auntie Boo (Carey) on Dumbo with Jordyn

Time spent with family

For the first week of May Blake and I had the opportunity to spend a week with Auntie Laura and get to know some of our relatives just a bit better and hang out with them in CA. It was so much fun and we loved getting away for a bit and I think it was fun for Auntie Laura to have us there so she could get a chance to hang out with Blake too!

Our family from Canada were coming into town so they could go to Disney (and who would want to miss that chance) and we thought it would be fun to see them especially since we hadn't met their little girls and they hadn't met Blake either... It seemed like a win-win situation.

It was so much fun. The kids had so much fun hanging out together. Disney was a blast (HOT, but fun...photos to follow)...and we had a great BBQ, and just a wonderful week thanks to a great hostess.

Lori and baby Kaitlyn (who started walking for real at Auntie Laura's house)

Blake getting some love from Auntie Laura

Jordyn trying to stay cool....but her red cheeks say otherwise!

Blake watering up

Jeri (with her crutches), Al and Kaitlyn

Grandma Jeri and Kaitlyn

Waterboy

Grandma and Grandpa's pool is still too cold to go in, but the hose works just fine for Blake. This kid LOVES water! He loves to run in, loves to play in it, loves to try to eat it; it is so fun to just watch him enjoy himself.

It was hot and Grandpa didn't have to work so we decided to spend the afternoon hanging out in the backyard playing with the hose and in the water. Blake was in heaven!