Silver Lake

The Saturday after we arrived in Utah we went on a walk around Silver Lake with my dad.  My mom offered to stay home and take care of James while the three of us went.  I think Elise really enjoyed all the attention from both of us and had a great time exploring and walking on all of the "bridges". 

Walking with Grandpa

He made sure to stop and help her look for all the fishes in the water.

It was a gorgeous night!  I sure miss these mountains!

Not the greatest light, but proof that I was there too :)

Elise and Grandpa, or as she says, "Prampa".

 

We had a great time!  We love you Grandpa and are glad we got to spend some time with you in Utah!  We know how busy you are with work and being Bishop too!



Enderis Splash Pad

As I've mentioned, we live across the street from the park.  There are many great things about this but one of them is that we are in walking distance to a fun splash pad! It isn't open for very many weeks in the summer but we still had a blast when we went!

 Elise would make a buddy every time we'd go and would follow them around and copy what they would do.  She's so funny! The other kids were fascinated with this drain, so of course, she was too.

 

 Elise loves the water!! 

 

 Having fun running under the "rain"!

 

 It's already closed for the season

 but I imagine that when James is 1 next year we'll spend many more summer afternoons here!

Wisconsin State Fair

After living her for two years we finally made it out the the Wisconsin state fair last Friday!!  The fair is a really big deal around here so we were happy that we were finally able to go and see what all the fuss was about!

First things first, we had to get ourselves a cream puff!  These things are delicious and about the size of my face. We got one and shared it between four of us and that was plenty!

Our friend, Hemal, was able to come with us too! Here we are in front of the cream puff building.  Inside they show you the step by step process of how they are made.

 

Me taking the first bite!  Yum!

Elise's face says it all :)

 

Elise's favorite thing at the fair was seeing all of the animals!!  She has always loved animals but has been super into farm animals lately, so this was perfect for her!

Checking out the chickens with Daddy!

Prize winning cows!

Kissing the goats!

All this farm business has spurred many rounds of singing "Old MacDonald" over and over and over again.  But it's pretty worth it to hear her sing "E-I-E-I-O".

 

Back to the food....some other delicious things that we tried were:

This yummy bowl of a french fry/potato chip twist topped with cheese and bacon!!  So good!

Delicious butter dipped corn on the cob!

And we finished the night off with a chocolate covered bananas with sprinkles and nuts.

 

They also had a bunch of fun rides to go on, and shows with the animals but most of all we had a great time getting out of the house, eating and people watching.  It was a great night and we are so glad we finally made it out!  Until next year!!

Pioneer Day

I was really excited that I would be in Utah over Pioneer Day!  There are always so many fun things to do and I was lucky to be able to spend it with most of my family.

We started the celebration a few days early by going to the parade preview.  All the floats that are in the Days of '47 parade are brought to the expo center so you can see them up close and personal!  The kids all had a great time!  Elise especially loved getting a balloon elephant.

Here is the float that my home stake was in charge of making. They did a pretty awesome job!  I'm so impressed with all the floats- it's amazing what some people can do!

On the actual day my family spent the evening at Butlerville Days over in Cottonwood Heights.  Here is a picture of me and Elise with Grandma Marie enjoying some watermelon.

Elise really loved playing in all the bounce houses they had set up!  We got her tickets and she went on a few of them and had so much fun, she hated it when her turn was up!

She also got another balloon made for her, this time a giant flower. She was so proud of it and would show it to anyone we walked by!  We had dinner there and also got to do other fun things like watching a magician!  Very cool!

 

When we got home and the kids were put to bed the adults enjoyed some yummy home-made strawberry ice cream and watched an awesome firework show from our front porch. It was a great day!

Swimming Lessons

While we were in Utah my sister Nicole suggested that we put Elise in swimming lessons with her girls.  She got to be in the same class as her cousin Ali and had a great time!  She struggled a little bit on the second day but that was her only hurdle and she was awesome after that!

Elise took her lessons at the same pool where I learned!  I hadn't been back in so long, it was fun to be back there and watch her have a fun time. 

In her beginner class they practiced jumping into the water, asking permission to get in the water, kicking and putting their head under the water. 

Here are Elise and Ali with their teacher practicing their kicks!

We have really seen a difference in her swimming and comfort with water since she took these.  Her instructor said she was ready to move on to the next level next year!  We are so proud of our little fish :)

A big thanks to Nicole- she took Elise several times for me so I could sleep, feed the baby, get dressed, etc.  It was so nice to have help and I know Elise had a wonderful time too!

4th of July

This year we kept our 4th of July festivities pretty low key since James was just over a month old.  We considered going to the local parade but with my middle of the night feedings and getting everyone up and ready in time...we just stayed home.  There is always next year!! I did manage to get the kids dressed in their best patriotic colors!  They looked pretty adorable! 

I took about 8 pictures of this same shot and this is the best I could get.  I guess that's how it goes when you have little ones!

I love this one of her giving baby brother kisses!  So sweet!  She loved that little flag that my mom got for her when she was in town!

 

After naps and playtime at the park, we headed over to Fred's house for a BBQ. By the time we got there most people had left which left the pool and all the food for us :)  We had a great time and Elise loved having daddy all to herself in the pool.

When we got home our neighbors were roasting s'mores in the fire pit and lighting up some sparklers for the kids. Zack and Elise joined them and I came inside to feed James.  Fireworks are my favorite part of the holiday but this year I had to settle for watching them on TV!  It was a fun and relaxing day!  We all had a great time! 



A Name and a Blessing

Our sweet boy James was blessed this past Sunday by his father, grandfather and good friends.  It was a beautiful blessing and we can't wait to see what kind of personality our little James will shape up to be!  Among other things, he was blessed with a kind heart, to serve a mission, to marry in the temple, to look for opportunities to serve, a willingness to always share the Gospel, and know that his family will always love and support him in whatever he pursues.

Besides Zack and Grandpa Evan, the other men in the circle were: Colin Rogerson, Lyle Christiansen, Dominic Ratto, Daniel Lindsay and Tanner Fullmer.  They are all our good friends and fellow med students with Zack in our ward. We were glad they were able to take part in James' special day. 

We had such a wonderful time with Zack's parents here for the weekend!  I wish I had taken more photos of them playing with Elise and holding James but we did get several taken from the blessing.  Getting a good family photo was nearly impossible, but after about 30 takes we have one or two that worked.  Here are some pictures from his special day!

 Cute family of 4!!

Handsome boys

 Mom, Dad and James

 I love these sweet little shoes!

 A good shot of his adorable outfit

 Group shot of us with Zack's parents! Thanks again for coming into town to spend time with us.  We had a blast, especially Elise.  Can't wait to see you again in a few weeks!