Splash Pad Fun

Lately we have spent a lot of our afternoons & evenings at the splash pad just across the street from our house.  It is usually pretty busy in the afternoons, but evenings we sometimes have it all to ourselves.  Owen loves it!  Since he isn't walking yet, he crawl everywhere... and that ground is not soft.  His poor knees are always red when we leave, but no matter what I try, he won't stop crawling.  It doesn't seem to faze him, so I just let him be!  I can only imagine how next summer will be, when instead of wanting to crawl everywhere-- it will be run!

Someone is excited to go play in the water!

Not quite sure about the water at first...

But he likes it!

10 months

At 10 months, Owen LOVES sucking on anything & everything.  Toy of preference: rubber ducks, but most of the time, any toy will do.  I'm thinking some more teeth are on their way in!

 Loving those ducks, and loving his swimming pool at Grammy & Papa's house!

Excitement at Little Mill...

We went to Little Mill, up American Fork Canyon, last weekend for our first camping trip of 2011.  All of the snow we received during the winter is currently melting and causing record-breaking flooding all over the state as a result.  Of course, the weekend we picked over 3 months ago, just happened to be projected as the 2 days the rivers would peak to their highest points.  So much for fishing or wading in the rivers... but we were determined to have a fun time regardless.  Besides, this was Owen's first camping trip! 

The weather was beautiful, and except for a fun little run-in with the river... we had a great time! 

Story: When we arrived at our campsite, we noticed the site next to us was closed for flooding. 

Despite all of our efforts and insistance that they move us, the hosts refused.  A little nervous, we decided to make the best of the situation.  We had just cleaned up dinner and sent the men off to explore the reservoir.  It was just me, Owen, my mother-in-law, and sister-in-law left at camp.  I settled into the tent to get Owen to sleep, and my MIL & SIL settled down in the camper for some shut-eye.  Next thing we know 2 men were standing in our campsite shouting that the log had jammed and we needed to get out!  In a matter of 5 minutes, the site next to us went from this:

to this:

So 3 women and a baby (and a dog) were frantically trying to pack everything up.  Not to mention we didn't have the truck to move the camper, so some good samaritan neighbor decided to drive up the canyon to find the boys.  Amazingly enough, they found them up at the reservoir, and they quickly returned back to camp.  Luckily, after an initial quick rise, the river leveled out long enough to give us enough time to get everything out.

And wouldn't you know-- the same hosts who insisted just 1 hour before there was nowhere else we could go, that our site was COMPLETELY SAFE, suddenly found the best campsite in the whole campground for us to spend the next 2 days.  We re-set up camp and relaxed the rest of the time!

9 months!

At 9 months Owen is now mobile.  He has mastered the army crawl and my house is no longer baby-proofed!  I am quickly learning what I need to move up and get rid of.  We installed a baby gate at the top of our stairs to help keep him safe while he explores.  (Of course, a gate doesn't do you any good, if you don't close it... thankfully I caught him in time... but YIKES!  Scary moment.)

Owen is loving feeding himself and his favorite foods are crackers, corn, squash, bananas, any fruit really, and of course whatever Brad and I are eating at the moment.   With the exception of cucumber, we have yet to find a food he does not like!

He loves to wave bye-bye and blow us kisses.  He is just so sweet and it is so fun to watch his personality begin to show more and more every day. 

Height: 29 1/4 inches = 78%

Weight: 20 3/4 lb = 55%

Head: 18.1 inches = 70%

Tired after a long day of running errands with Mommy!

 

Of all his new favorite foods, Daddy's ice cream just might be his favorite of all!

Inch by inch, row by row...

(7 other new posts that are backdated!  I think I'm finally getting back into the swing of this again!)

...we're gonna make this garden grow!   That's the song I've been singing these past few weeks as we've prepped our yard for our first garden.

After 3 nights of digging up grass, 1 day of building the box, 2 trips to the nursery for soil and 1 trip for plants, we finally got our garden planted.   (We couldn't have done it without the help of our fantastic family!  Thanks guys!)

After all of the time and effort (and money!) we've put into it, I am crossing my fingers it doesn't fail.  Who knows with this crazy weather... it's the middle of May and still raining/snowing!

Playing at the park

One of the many things I absolutely love about our city is all of the awesome parks that are so close to home.  I have 4 within walking distance!   With the nice warm weather we've been having we have hitting up these parks almost every day.

Yesterday was our ward chili cookoff at yet another fabulous park here in Herriman.  We had a great time visiting with ward friends, trying all the delicious chili... and not to mention eating the biggest hot dogs I've ever seen.   Owen loved hanging out on his blanket & eating grass.   Man, that kid is already so fast at finding mischief!

Look at that nose scrunch... too cute!

Oh, and don't worry, it will be back to raining tomorrow.  Silly Utah weather!

I left my heart in San Francisco

Last week Brad headed out to San Francisco for a week of work training.  Since his flight & hotel was already paid for and Owen flies free, we decided to make a small vacation out of it!  Owen and I flew in on Wednesday and since Brad was still working I BART'ed by myself from Oakland into the city and then walked to our hotel with a stroller, diaper bag, backpack, and suitcase.  I can only imagine what people were thinking as they watched me walk down the street!

On the BART

Thursday came way too early since Owen did not sleep well in the roll away crib.  For the first time EVER he slept in bed with us and needless to say none of us slept very well.  Later that day I headed back to my old office to visit and show off Owen.  It was so nice to see everyone and we had a great time catching up.  On my way back to the hotel I stopped by Union Square & China Town and did a little shopping.  I was so proud of myself for not getting lost once!

Owen & Mayra

Owen & Vickie

Friday I started off the morning with a nice walk along the Embarcadero & piers.  It was a beautiful morning and was a great way to start my day.  We met Brad at his office for lunch and for him to show off Owen to all of his coworkers.  (This was the office Brad worked out of for the 2 years we lived in San Francisco.)

After lunch we headed out to explore the city.  We walked along the piers, checked out Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, and Ghiradelli Square.  Later that night we headed out to Walnut Creek, where we used to live, and that's where we spent the next few days visiting with friends and neighbors.

 Owen & Brad in downtown San Fran

At Pier 39 in front of Alcatraz

Pier 39- in front of the sea lions

Love those sweet kisses

Walking along the piers

Chocolate bar shake at Ghiradelli Square.  Yum!

The Hunts let us stay at their house for a few nights while were in Walnut Creek.  Here is Kay making us a delicious Mother's Day breakfast.  Owen absolutely loved playing with Eli, Klia, and Aaron.  Emma was sweet enough to watch Owen one night so Brad & I could go on a date!!  Thank you Hunt family!

Enjoying some California oranges at the Farmers Market

Saturday afternoon we met up with some families at the park.  Here is Stephanie & Brody, who is only 2 days older than Owen!

Of course, we couldn't visit WC without stopping to see Jim!  Brad home taught Jim the entire time we lived in WC, and he even spent one Thanksgiving dinner with us.  

We got to spend Sunday evening with the Johnson's.   Just another family we grew to love while in WC.

We headed back home on Monday and I was so glad to have Brad with me for this leg of the trip.  The airport is so much easier/less stressful with 2 adults!  Owen slept almost the entire flight home which was the best and allowed us both to get some shut eye too.

 'Mom this flying stuff is a piece of cake!'

'Wait, you mean to tell me that my seat won't act as a flotation device?'

I absolutely loved the 2 years that we lived in Walnut Creek and am grateful for the many friends we made while living there.  I know Utah is where we are supposed to be now, but I will always have such sweet memories of our San Francisco adventures!