Visitors!

My dad and aunt came out to spend some time with us.  Emma just loves having people stay at our house.  She is like a little shadow.

chillaxin'

We just had to go to the zoo, of course!  We picked a great time (Sunday morning).  It 

wasn't very busy and the animals were quite active.

from Emma's perspective

taking a break in the eagle's nest

Rizzo was putting on quite the show for everyone.

This was the most active I had ever seen the brown bears.

We love the giraffes!

It wouldn't be a trip to the zoo without ice cream.

lynx

The tiger was even making noises...

The playset is complete and up and running!

We took my dad and aunt to watch Emma's swimming lessons.  She loves

those pink goggles!

riding her bike around the deck

Playing at the sand table can be dangerous...

Thanks for a great visit!

Swimming 101

Emma started swimming lessons last week.  She is a Starfish (level 2).  It is so fun to see her enjoying the water.  It's amazing to see her progress in just the short time she has been in lessons.  There are 4 other 3- and 4-year olds and the teacher is really working on getting them to feel comfortable in the water.  Emma especially loves her pink goggles from Grandma Sherry (picture to come).

going down the Nemo slide

patiently waiting her turn

She always has a smile on her face.

More swimming pictures to come...

Camping in the Uintas!

Andy and Emma ventured out for a couple of nights of camping in the Uintas last week.  Abigail and I stayed home, again, but plan on getting out as a family very soon.  Emma had a blast, of course.  She is definitely an outdoors girl.  She loves sleeping in the tent.  When we all go camping, we will have to bring 2 tents:  one for Abigail and me and the other for Andy, Emma, and Cooper.  I guess we'll need to look into purchasing a bigger tent soon.

hanging out with Avila and Larry

fishing!

It was a bit rainy for some of the time.

Cooper was in doggy heaven.

It's amazing what you find to play with while you are camping...

More Summer Adventures...

Summer has been one big adventure--concerts, hiking, and the 4th galore!  We continue to feel blessed to have two wonderful girls and share our love of the outdoors with them.  Emma and Andy could spend hours outside together working in the garden or playing on the play set.  Abigail seems to get bigger and stronger each day.  At her 2-month check-up she was 11 pounds and 24 inches long.  It's no wonder she is already in 3-6 month clothing.  As for sleeping, last night she slept from 8:30 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.  Wahoo!

Graduate school continues to go well.  I really like my summer classes:  Multimedia and Web Tools.  I have learned TONS about Adobe Photoshop, Flash, and Captivate.  I am also in the process of building my own webpage (from scratch) using coding.  Fun stuff!!  A few more weeks of classes and then I will have a 3-week break before fall semester starts.  It is crazy to think that I will only have 2 semesters left.   I will also be starting my big Capstone project (a requirement for graduation).  I am trying to get everything organized (and get ahead of things) during the summer, before school starts, so I don't feel quite so overwhelmed.

enjoying Holy Water Buffalo at the Deer Valley concert

Emma and Avila had a blast!

Abigail zonked out during the second half of the concert.

The wagon is the way to go to the concert.

4th of July:

trying to stay in the shade on another warm day

After the parade, we ventured over to City Park to listen to music and play on the playground.

That's our mayor on the left in the hat.

Abigail slept during the entire parade, music, and playground.

The next day, we took the girls to the cabin and hiked up to Lake Mary.

It is a pretty steep hike.  Emma walked over halfway up and then halfway down.  What a trooper!

on the way down...

Notice the Home Depot apron.  This is what she wears (minus the helmet)

 when she helps Andy outside in the garden.