4th of July

This year for the 4th we got to be in Seattle with my family. We try to get up there once during the summer and this year we opted to go up before Emma turned 2 so we wouldn't have to pay for another plane ticket. :) Like so many of Seattle's 4th of July's, it was a fairly gloomy day so we ended up just spending most of the day inside at home. But Emma still looked cute in her 4th outfit!

When we finally did go over to the fireworks, we didn't have a long wait until they began, but Emma took off to explore the crowds.

Then she had to rest for a bit.

And finally the fireworks began - it was so exciting and Emma was mesmerized.

By the time we got home she was worn out and asleep so it was off to bed, but she had a good time celebrating her 2nd 4th of July!

Father's Day

Well, once again it's been forever since I've updated the blog. No excuses other than, we have had a crazy, wonderful, ridiculously busy summer!! For almost 3 months it seemed that Dave and I never spent 7 consecutive nights in our own bed. Haha!! Well, summer has come to an end for us and although the fall and winter promise to be eventful as well, I finally have a bit of a lull in my time and decided it's time to get this thing updated!! :) So, here we go all the way back to June:

For Father's Day I wanted to do something special for Dave since he is such an awesome Daddy!! Both Emma and I love him so much and thought he deserved something special. So we packed up and headed for San Diego. We went swimming in the hotel pool, took Emma to her first baseball game and had a fun visit to the zoo. It was a fun time for the 3 of us to hang out and we even got to see a few friends and family along the way.

Emma really loved watching baseball - NOT!! But she did really love the food. :) She suckered Dave into giving her some ice cream and she stole my fries. She had a great time running around and eating food once we moved out of the sunny bleachers and onto the shady hillside.

At the zoo, Emma got to see a baby gorilla, bears playing in the water, some lovey-dovey elephants and she got to hug some goats. However, one of her favorite things was playing in the water right outside of the elephant exhibit. :)

We had a great weekend celebrating Dave and are so grateful for his presence in our lives. He's an awesome guy!! We love you sweetie!! :)

Stagecoach Music Festival

In April, we had the opportunity to go to Stagecoach for the afternoon. It was fun to get Emma out and listen to some music for awhile. She had a really good time there. She spent most of her time entertaining all of the people around us while we waited for bands to come on. She got so much free stuff from people too: ice, water, food. They all loved her - she was probably one of the youngest people there and they just thought she was cute.

Giving Daddy a kiss:

She took him off to get closer to the stage. She probably would have gone on the stage had she been allowed.

Looking cute on her hay bale:

It was a hot day and so we got her one of these water sprayers that they were selling. She LOVED squirting herself and everyone around her - nobody minded 'cause they were all hot too. She still plays with it all the time. We were in the desert on Sunday and when we got in the car to head home she was so hot so I let her have it. She soaked herself and then promptly fell asleep. :)

Grandma Turns 50!!

Two weeks ago we took a trip to Seattle to celebrate my mom's 50th birthday. We were up there for about 5 days and it was all a surprise to her. It was so funny to see her reaction when she walked in the room and all 3 of us were sitting there - she screamed and we all laughed. Even though we surprised my dad on his 50th birthday, my mom had no clue we were coming!

On one of the first days that we were up there, we took Emma to Kelsey Creek Park in Bellevue. I went to that park all the time growing up so it was fun to take her there. The main reason we went there though was because they have a little farm and we all know how much Emma LOVES animals right now!!

She looked at the big pig with Pa:

She also saw chickens and bunnies and we also had the opportunity to watch them bring the cows into the barn from the fields.

After we saw the animals, we went to the playground and played for a long time. Emma had so much fun!

Peeking at Pa through the big hole:

Riding on the teeter-totter with Pa & Grandma:

When I was younger, my siblings and I, used to slide down our stairs a lot. We designed a contraption with fold up mattresses and blankets to make us go really fast. We even used to take the cats down with us - they sure loved that! :) Well this time when we were up there, we decided Emma was old enough to be exposed to this and she really liked it. We went down over and over again and she even got Pa to go down with her. He's a sucker...

We had a surprise party for my mom on her actual birthday and once again she was very surprised!! To get her out of the house, Emma & I took her to get pedicures. This was Emma's first time getting an official pedicure and she had a really good time - it was very cute!

I probably won't be taking her again anytime soon b/c her's chipped off very quickly, but it was still a fun experience. She even got to have Starbucks with us before we got there!

After the party, Emma had a great time playing with the balloons. Here she is with all of them and her new sheep from Great Grandma Kelly:

It was definitely a busy few days, but we had a great time! My mom thanked us for coming up and for all the surprises and I told her we'd come back anytime she turned 50!! :)

Easter

Easter started off for us as a very busy morning. We decided to go to our church in the desert for Easter service, which meant we needed to be fed, dressed and out of the house by 8. It doesn't sound that early, I know, but when you have to get Emma ready it takes a little bit longer! :)

We woke her up about 7:15 and gave her her Easter basket. She was looking real beautiful in her half-zipped jammies and crazy hair. She liked her basket though and of course we had fun watching her dig through it! :)

Emma still doesn't do extremely well in the nursery at church, so we decided to try and let her sit with us through the service. She was pretty good...as long as she had food to eat to keep her mouth quiet. She was thrilled to get a donut! :)

Easter was beautiful in the desert this year and so after church we had trouble getting Emma back in the car. She kept running around in the grass and trying to get away from us. It was really cute!

Later in the afternoon, after we got back from church, Dave's parents came up to celebrate Easter with us. I think Emma's favorite part of the afternoon, we getting to find Easter eggs.

It didn't take her long to figure out that there was candy in the eggs (m&m's and jellybeans) so she spent a lot of time just eating the candy. :)

She was very happy with her treasures - we are still rationing them!

The day ended with a yummy dinner - Emma's favorite's were the ham and the rolls. It was fun to watch her enjoy everything and we had a great time celebrating Jesus and His love for us!!