Sasha turns 1!

I can't believe that Sasha is already a year old!  She has kept us on our toes right from the beginning (jaundice that required extra hospital time when she was born and a bili bed, enterovirus when she was 2 weeks old that included a 2 day stay at Primary Childrens, and H1N1 in November  - all that and she was only 3 months old!!) We still can't get enough of her and we are so glad she is part of our family.  She loves to laugh, loves being with mom, says dada all the time and thinks she is just as big as the other girls.  I love her strong and very sweet personality.

Sasha soaking up the sun at the splash park on her 1st birthday

We started the day by waking up to Keira singing "Happy Birthday" so Sasha in their bedroom.  Too cute!  We had to sing again when everyone was awake and then again when we opened a present.  We kept singing to her throughout the day just because her reaction was so cute.  She would get excited and then a big grin would spread over her face and she would pretend to get all shy and try to hide in my arms.  It didn't get old.  Keira REALLY wanted Sasha to open a present just as soon as we were all awake.  I think she was more excited than anyone about Sasha's birthday.  She was such a good helper with decorations and wrapping and making sure the cake was finished.  That girl loves birthdays.  To celebrate the day we went to a splash park in the morning and had a great time playing in the water with cousins.  In the evening we had family over for cake and presents.   A few pictures of the day.

Zoe and Lauren at Old Farm Splash Park in Riverton.
I love their hair!

Keira running through the water at Old Farm Splash Park

This turned out to be the favorite toy.  She wanted to play

with this and didn't want to keep opening the rest of

her presents.

Keira and Zoe "helping" open her present.  

Before shot of the cake

Aftermath - she mostly liked just the frosting

Squishing the cake through her fingers

All that chocolate frosting will make you thirsty

Cove Fort

On our way back from California we took a small detour and stopped at Cove Fort.  In the mid 1800's it was the midway point between Fillmore and Beaver and travelers would stop to stay the night.  The Hinkley family lived there for a time and would rent the rooms out.  I loved seeing the rooms furnished in period pieces and hearing the history of how it was built.  The trees behind us are the original black locust trees.  Father Hinkley would gather his family twice a day for family prayer to help guard his family from the outside influence of farm workers, even in that time he was worried about worldly influence on his family.  We also got to tour the huge barn and blacksmith shop behind the fort.  I had my eye on the huge garden they were growing as we were attempting to do the same at home.  Our sad little green beans however looked nothing like those we saw there, but I took heart that most everything else was at least recognizable.  It was a nice break in our traveling to get out and move around as we toured the Fort and then we were off to finish our journey home. 

Southern California, Part 2

The rest of our California trip we camped near the beach and headed to the water during the day and sat around the campfire at night.  We were there with family and cousins and our kids loved running between everyones campsites and getting all the treats they wanted from Grandma and Grandpa's trailer. 

Naptime was a little rough for Sasha. I hadn't seen Kevin for awhile and I was headed to relieve him from baby duty.  Kevin was the only one with the magic touch and this is how I found them one morning, both  snoozing away in the tent.  What a good dad :)

We didn't get a lot of sun while on this trip, it was cool and cloudy most the time.  It didn't stop us from getting in the water, playing in the sand, and generally having a great time.  This was at Oceanside where we spent a very windy day.

Another day we went to San Clemente.  Sasha discovered she loved the water and even let me bury her legs in the sand.  We tried to keep eating of the sand to a minimum. 

We visited one of my best friends from college who has kids the same age as ours, only hers are all boys and we talk about marrying them off when they are older....aren't they cute?  It was an enjoyable evening with pizza and a tasty strawberry dessert while the kids played and we caught up.  Thanks Rasmussens!

We loved our trip to the beach and can't wait to do it again!

Southern California Trip Part 1

 

Zoe and Keira after the birthday party.

  In July, we went to Southern California for a week to celebrate the 90th birthday of Kevin's grandmother and attend the first ever family reunion on his mother's side of the family.  We left on  Friday afternoon and headed down to St George where we spent the night.  The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast before going swimming with the kids.  This is a big treat for them as they love the water, but because Zoe has had tubes for the past  few years we have stayed away from most pools except when traveling.

 


I asked what they were doing and I was told

"plotting to do something to Uncle Marty"

 

Afterward we continued our journey to Redlands, California where the birthday festivities were being held that evening.  This was our first real chance to test out the new GPS that Kevin got for Father's Day. It was great!  We had taken it with us to Lake Powell but pretty much knew most of the roads.  In California we had no idea where we were going and having the GPS was awesome!  The birthday party on Saturday night turned out wonderful.  We got to know everyone and had yummy BJ's Pizza and treats.  It was sooooo hot!  I think Redlands was about 105 the day we were there.  It cooled off in the evening but not by very much, so after the party we headed back to the hotel and went swimming with everyone.  

On Sunday, we attended church before heading down to Old Town San Diego to check out the Mormon Battalion Museum with Kevin's sister and her family.  The girls thought it was great to spend the whole day with their cousins, which makes me laugh because these same cousins live only 1/2 mile away from us and we see them all the time, but they were still so excited to be together, it's cute.  

The Museum was really interactive and fun for the kids.  The pictures on the walls talked and you moved from room to room in the presentation, learning all about the people who were part of the battalion.  One room was like a wooded camp area, another was full of soldier gear where we learned that some sayings come from firing a musket such as "flash in the pan" and "lock, stock, and barrel".  Afterward there was out outdoor area where the kids could wash clothes on a washboard, pretend to fire bricks, pump water and pan for gold.  The weather was considerably cooler next to the ocean and it was a perfect way to spend a Sunday.  We headed to San Mateo to set up camp for the next few days and get ready for some time at the beach.  

Growing Garden

Our garden is growing and I am so amazed!  I know I shouldn't be surprised that anything is growing but, really I am.  It has been pretty cool to see the plants start as seeds, flower and produce.  Thanks mostly to Kevin, we have been able to keep it weeded and watered which has been the biggest reason it is doing so well.  The kids love going out to see if anything new has grown.  Keira wants to know if we can go pick more food, and then lists everything she can possibly think of that might be growing out there.  

Lake Powell

We headed down to Lake Powell with some of our friends for a few days of fun in the sun.  What a great time we had.  Lots of swimming, playing in the sand, skiing and hanging out with friends.  Kevin tried the wake board and had a blast.  Zoe loved the water and wanted to swim all the time.  Keira had a great time playing in the sand her buddy Tracy and flagging for whoever was skiing.  Sasha loved the boat and especially watching Kevin ski.  She ohhed and ahhed and clapped for him.  Adorable!

We saw so much of Lake Powell, I had never been before and it is just gorgeous down there.  We had a great time camping and lucked out with a shady spot where we hiked up to a cavern with a pool full of tadpoles and had fun yelling just to listen to the echo of our voices.  We stopped by Rainbow Bridge, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and took a few pictures, made a stop at the marina for gas and ice cream and enjoyed driving through lake.  We had a great time with our friends the Bollingers and can't wait till our next adventure with them.