Family Pictures and all that fun!

This last Sunday we went up by Bigelow Gulch and took some family pictures. Nixon turned ONE on Tuesday so we figured a nice family photo was due. My WONDERFUL friend Konni Andersen came and took our pictures and she did an AWESOME job. We were so excited when we saw them and she was fast and we got ALL the shots... so some are funny and crazy.

We stopped off at Peone cemetary and cut through to the wheat fields first. When I think of Spokane I love to think about the amazing view of all the wheats fields so i figured what better picture of our family in Spokane than with those wheat fields.
We tried facing the sun for the first few pictures. I think our eyes were burning in about 10 seconds. But they are cute... and squinty.

Adorable Nixon.... a few days away froming being one here.

Ok isn't this the CUTEST face you have ever seen... I love it.

Gauge was of course not being cooperative. Having one little boy and two dogs to get all perfect for a picture was harder than we thought.

Lovin' the bark on this tree for these pic's.

Our little family.

Look at those wheat fields... aren't they great? Oh and those cute people too:)

Lovin' this picture of adorable Nixon... Grammy came and helped Nixon smile in the pictures, she obviously did a good job.

Nixon with the Red Radio Flyer Wagon.

These are some our favorites, because they are so funny of Nixon and Gauge. Gauge did awesome staying in the wagon and Nixon LOVES Gauge so it was perfect.

Darby wasn't so sure... but we caught this shot of all three of them.

Nixon and Gauge BOTH smiling.

We decided "heck with the shadows" and tried the wheat fields again at the end. I think they turned out pretty awesome with shadows and all.

Nixon on the cute tricycle.

I love when he started touching the wheat... it was picture perfect.

And of course we tried to have him stand in the wheat fields... isn't is cute!!!

Jon thought I was funny that I wanted a picture of our feet together.... but I love it anyway.

Thanks Konni, you are amazing and we are so happy with these shots.

Summer Fun!!

Swimming in the pool at Emily's was a lot of fun. Nixon wasn't so sure about this floatation device but he got use to the idea once he was in it... as usual.

Of course after swimming and laying in the sun to dry off you HAVE to have a popsicle. YUM!! This was Nixon's first popsicle experience at Emily's awhile ago and he LOVED it.

Frozen flavored sugar... who wouldn't love it?

I didn't even get a chance to have half... Nixon wanted the WHOLE thing.

Nixon and Dad at the softball tournament. It was SO HOT that day we didn't stay very long.

After opening the diapers and putting them away I looked over to see this. Nixon had decided it looked like a new toy we brought home.

Why are boxes so much fun.... cheap entertainment is always my favorite.

Earlier this summer we went to Liberty Park and ran into one of our friends and her little girl. Nixon and Jon were TWINS that day... how cute are they in their plaid and blue???

Jenny and Ellie and Me and Nixon at the Park enjoying the sun.

12 Days in Utah!

So I have been a slacker to say the least.
Sorry for this LARGE amount of updates recently but we have been busy.

In July Nixon and I took a plane ride to Utah to visit my family. The trip down was great, Nixon was an angel. We did get to have all THREE seats on the plane so Nixon had fun climbing all over and getting all the extra pretzels from the flight attendants.

When I took this picture Nixon was trying to get my camera... but it was so cute!
HELLO!

Prepare for landing....

When we got into town Papa Wally had a basketball game. The local cities got teams together and then played each other. Some of the teams were all young boys, and others had a good mix of the old with the young. It was fun to watch and cheer Papa Wally on.

Shoot and Score!!! The next day Wally said he would not be playing ever again, his ribs were very sore from taking a dive for a loose ball.

Nixon, Lilly and Bella.

Playing at Grandpa's (my dad) in the sandbox. When he saw their dogs he got SO excited. It was so funny to watch him love them and want to play with them right away.

I got him a baseball hat and I tried with all my power to keep it on him. If I could just distract him long enough to take a picture.

He loved throwing things into the empty tube in my mom's bathroom.

One day we had a Tea Party at Nana's house. All of us dressed up and had tea and little sandwiches.
This is Haily and Lilly.

Me with the girls.

Katie and her girls.

Nana, fixing our plates. Hats are a MUST at a tea party... if you hadn't figured that out yet.

The Tea Party. Aunt Connee was able to come too.

Nixon felt a little left out being the only boy at the table.

Nixon giving Lilly kisses. How adorable is that???

Casey and Chloe.

Bella, Chloe and Lilly!

Nixon trying to steal Mac's food when he wasn't expecting it.

But then he decided to just eat the food off the floor instead because it was easier than reaching for the food off the table.

We decorated mini cupcakes at the tea party too.

Ok, this is Mac with a lot of banana in his mouth. Why babies do this I won't ever know. But if you give them a bunch or a bite it is all the same and gets put in their mouths.

After the AWESOME tea party we had a POOL PARTY, in Nana's backyard. The girls swam in the frog pool.

While the boys played in the bucket of water.... but WAIT....

They got a little pool too. YEAH!!

Again a picture with something in their mouths... shocking!!!

Crazy Cousin Fun!!

Nixon liked getting in and out of the pool... silly boy!

He is my little monkey.

Momma and Nixon... I was chilling at the pool party too.

LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

I brought a can of coke out and the boys both wanted it. It wasn't opened of course but it was definitly what they BOTH wanted at the same time. So tears were shed have the coke can....

Oh wait... there is something else to suck on... the sunscreen!!! At last the tears stopped!

It was SO hot while I was in Utah... so we swam A LOT to try and cool off. We were lucky enough to go up to my uncle's pool and have a pool day up there.
Katie's girls went down the slide for the first time. They are getting bravier each year.

Go Lilly!

Go Hailey!

Hailey would cover her eyes all the way down, it was adorable.

Lilly didn't want to get water up her nose, smart girl!

Bella wanted a big splash!!

Hailey being silly, me and Nixon.

We had had enough of the water so we sat on the chairs and had some chocolate gold fish and juice!

The girls got even bravier and went off the diving board. This is Bella!

This is Lilly!

Of course we went to costco... and while waiting (because there is always waiting at costco) we took some cute picutes.

Isn't he getting SO big!

We sing this "Slippery Fish" song and you put your hands on your checks and say "oh no..." Nixon will do this when he wants you to sing the song... but when he does it sometimes he finds his ears. Then he pauses and plays with them... it's stinkin' funny.

Nixon's cute feet!

"Oh No, the slippery fish got eatin' by..."

Wew went to dinner with Grandpa and Grandma too. YUM we had steak and potatoes and LOTS of applesause~

Riding on the saddle at Texas Road House... Yee Hay!

My mom has this old baby stroller that we use to put our dolls in. I put Nixon in it and pushed him around the house... he thought it was great fun!

Then he watched sports with Papa Wally.

We had cake and homemade ice cream at Gramsy's and sang to Katie and Nixon for their birthdays. Nixon LOVED homemade ice cream... I mean who wouldn't!

I made this hooded towl for my cousin BJ's new baby... It turned out kinda cute so I had to post a pic.

Eating lots of rice cereal with Nana.

Again we are outside playing in the water.

We even let him have a cake..... and celebrate his birthday a little early with Nana and his cousins.

Nixon knows what's good... cake!

YUM!

Messy Boy!

He even got it in his ear.. time for another bath!

A present from Nana. Tonka truck ramp.... YEAH!

I always do a random knitting project when i am in Utah. This trip I took some spare wool yarn and made me some flip flops.

They were HUGE of couse because you wash them after you are done knitting them and they shrink to fit your feet. This is Bella wearing them around the house, she thought I shouldn't shrink them at all.

She could run and slide really good just they way they were. Bella got to sleep over one night with me and Nixon. I think she had a lot of fun just playing with us all night and getting up bright and early for breakfast.

How can I not take a ton of pictures of this cute boy who wants you to sing to him.

Cooking breakfast!

Chloe reading Nixon a story.... a very important story about Gauge and Darby.

Chloe and Bella got their hair done by Nana and they were so cute about being "the same"

Nana put these syrafoam balls in their hair... it was classic! I hate to admit it but I use to put them in my hair when I was in elementary and I thought I was SOOOO cool.

Eating popsicles out on the patio. Nana got to spend a lot of time with Nixon in Utah. She had him sleep in her room and woke up with him every morning. I was spoiled and got to sleep in and not have to worry about him.

Mac and Nixon chillin' in their diapers.

When I first got to Utah Nixon wasn't very good at walking behind "Roney" but by the end of the week he had gotten so he didn't fall on his knees everytime he tried to walked.

"Roney" the lion helped ME learned to walk when I was a little girl too.

He is so close to walking by himself, but I am not sure I am ready for it.

Jon made us a sign to come home too. How cute is he? He was glad to have us home, Nixon had missed his best friend and so had I.

Thanks everyone for such a great trip. We will see you again in September!!