Big Springs Hike

Yesterday we decided to go on a little family outing... Abby successfully fought through another bout of croup early in the week and had been cooped up for too many days.  Kristen and I both came down with a little bit of a cold as well, but we thought it might do us all good to get outside for at least a few hours.

We headed up Provo Canyon to the Big Springs trailhead and hiked up about 3/4 of a mile before Abby had had enough of being carried.  She got down and started "hiking" up and down the trail, tumbling now and then, but mostly being very entertaining - and impressive on that uneven ground, I might add... :)

We took a few pictures and enjoyed the cooler weather and decided that we'd had enough success with the hike, so we headed back down in time for Abby to get just a touch cranky before we got to the car.  Practically perfect timing!

It was a really fun afternoon, and a lot of fun discovering Abby's natural gifts as a hiker.  Looking forward to more outdoor adventures with her in the future - at least we know she LOVES being outside!

Portraits of Abby, Round One

So, we've been meaning to get some nice shots of Abby since she turned one...  Turns out that she really wasn't in the mood to sit still today, but we had some awesome natural light coming through our sliding glass door this morning, so we tried.  There will be a round two...  These took some heavy editing, but show potential.  Good thing I have such cute models (who are also really patient)! :)

Timpanogos Hike

Yesterday morning Jon and I decided to take the one-year-olds on a hike.  Holly just had their second boy a week ago, and Kristen was catching up on some school work, so they were unavailable - and disappointed they couldn't come...  The kids have both done really well in the past and LOVE being outside and together.  We started from the Timpooneke campground (I first saw this camp labeled as Timpanooke and have had the hardest time changing my mind about it...) on the north side of Timpanogos and just hiked up a couple of miles.  There were TONS of people on the trail and quite a few of them were trail running to the top - bunch of crazies - just my style!

The picture is at Scout Falls - maybe a mile and a quarter up the north side.  Abby loved the whole experience and even got in a super deep nap on the way down.  I had to slow down and walk carefully so her little neck wouldn't get too sore from the bouncing.  Jon (and especially Chase) both enjoyed it, too.  I think we've decided that unless we want to be self-labeled has-beens, we need to get out and do stuff outdoors a LOT more!

More Birthday, Lavender Days, Sun River, and More!

It's been a busy couple of weeks...  A few more pictures from Abby's birthday party are in order to show you just how much she really loves birthday cake, plus there are a few from Lavender Days, which we went to down in Mona, UT the weekend before Abby's birthday.

Abby and Uncle Jon (we think...) :)

The serious Birthday Girl...

Held by Aunt Linda and fed by Dad.  Can life get any better?!

Eat it or wear it.  Or maybe both.

Enjoying her new wading pool from Uncle Jon and Aunt Holly

At Lavender Days

Not so sure about the pony ride.  We'll work on that.

Kristen and Abby have spent some time in California and Oregon the last couple of weeks (I was only able to get away from work for a couple of days last weekend).  I'll let Kristen post about California and the time they spent in Oregon when I wasn't there, but I had a BLAST in Sun River with most of Kristen's family last weekend!  

I got in Saturday evening after a long, early day of work.  Kristen and Devin picked me up at the airport in Redmond, OR and drove me back to Sun River.  We stopped at a couple of caves that are right by the Redmond airport that I remembered seeing on one of my runs there almost two years ago and explored for a few minutes.  Wish we'd had more time, more flashlights, and that I wasn't wearing slacks and a white shirt!

Sunday we went to church and enjoyed some great people from central Oregon and in the afternoon went on a walk - okay, so that was the idea, but Kristen and Abby and I ended up "walking" for somewhere around two hours... I've decided you're only lost if you don't know where you are going.  It has nothing to do with knowing exactly where you are! :)  To our credit, we did follow the sign that said "Benham Falls," and we did end up at Benham Falls eventually.  It was just a longer walk than planned.  Shoulda' know when Kristen said she had done it with Nate (Ogden) as a quick run that it would end up being pretty long... :)

Monday we canoed/kayaked down the Deschutes river and had a lot of fun swinging off rope swings into the water and cursing ourselves for not bringing fly-fishing gear!  There were trout rising everywhere!

Oh, yeah...  Abby had her first run-in with the law on Monday, too.  We had decided to go on a bike ride.  There were a bunch of bikes and a bike trailer (for kids), so we loaded up most of the girls and took off down the trail.  I saw a bike officer approaching and thought, "man, I'm glad I got Abby to wear that helmet," only to turn around and notice that it was nowhere to be seen.  Don't ask me how that officer saw through the mesh panel of the bike trailer and spotted it so quick, but I was sent packing with Abby in one arm, and pushing the bike with the other... which worked fine until Abby decided she wanted to walk, too.

All in all, it was a great escape for a couple of days to enjoy being with family, great food, the outdoors (I saw more deer than people on my morning run), and NO WORK!

Hopefully Kristen will post some of the pictures she took from Sun River.  I basically came straight from work, so no camera...

Abby turned 1!  We made it.  It has been such a fun and eventful year full of lots of laughs, adventures, miracles and learning experiences.  We are so grateful for the joy she brings to our family.  To celebrate we had a small "My Little Pony" party (that is her favorite and only show she watches:)  Abby enjoyed her cake, but LOVED her ice cream.  (Like father, like daughter.)  

 

 In honor of Abby's Birthday, here's a few of our favorite things about her..

She has CRAZY hair!  I try to put it in pony tails, but by the end of the day she pulls it out and it sticks straight out on each side. She also stills loves her food...

She has turned into a climber and loves sitting in boxes, especially her toy box...

She thinks her Cousin Chase is the coolest and wants to to EVERYTHING he does..

She ADORES her dad.  It's something new she just started, but she gets so excited when Nate comes home from trips.

Our good friends the Ridings came to town and Abby had a blast playing with them, she really doesn't know what to do with other kids except pull their hair, but she gets so excited to see them. (But who doesn't get excited when the Ridings come to town?!:)

She thinks she's in Heaven when her older cousins give her any attention, she can't wait to spend more time with them this summer.

She always wants to help in the kitchen or fold clothes..

She has the BEST smile ever and loves spending time with her all her Grandparents.

She's traveled a ton this summer and has been a trooper each trip.  One of the trips she had to say goodbye to Aunt Emily as she ventured off to Baton Rouge for her mission.  I can tell she misses her already, but I am grateful for the great example she is to Abby and the influence she will have on her life.  

Last thing, she is very determined.  When she makes up her mind to do something, it happens.  For example, she randomly started walking on her 1 yr Birthday.  She never really tried on her own until that day and just picked herself up and walked across the livingroom.  It was so fun to see.  

We're excited for the future birthdays and adventures! (just hoping none of those adventures involve anymore hospital visits:) 

 

Independence Day!

I guess it's time to catch up again... :)  I told Kristen last Sunday that we really ought to be able to update the blog once a week, but it's amazing how things come up and make it difficult to get accomplished.  Okay... I admit I didn't even think about it again until today, so here we are!

We're going to break up the last couple of weeks to get caught up, starting with the Fourth of July.

I was on call from the 3rd through the 6th and TOTALLY lucked out and was able to be home until the 6th.  Kristen took Abby swimming at Aunt Linda's in the afternoon and then we all went to Jon and Holly's for dinner and then swimming, followed by ice cream and fireworks.  It was a bit more tame than years past for me, but when the kiddos have to be asleep before it's even dark, the light displays are just not as intense...

We had tons of fun - it was nice to just be able to be together and celebrate our independence!