Danny's Birthday

Dan had a birthday two weeks ago, and I haven't posted it yet.

We had a blast. I surprised him and we went to the Linn County Fair.

First we saw a balloon man show, it was this crazy guy who had this giant balloon. He blew it up with a leaf blower and then stick it on his head. Next, he started putting his whole body into the balloon. I know this sounds crazy, that's because it was. Sorry no pictures.

Second we saw the Rhinestone Ropers show. This was an awesome wild west show. The guy is the world champion in trick guns and his wife is also in trick rope. They were both amazing. They had a well trained horse, their whole show was funny and great. So for the finale they did the wheel of death. He said that many people have heard it but only few have seen it in real life. His wife is on the wheel. And yes, those are bowie knifes.

Makyra tried a little trick roping too.

After meandering the fair for a while; taking Makyra to the terrifying petting zoo (she isn't too fond of animals) and looking at all the booths we headed for a Craig Morgan concert. He sings country, "What I Like About Sundays", "A Little Bit of Life", and "International Harvester." Our seats were great. We just got in with the price of the fair, which was free anyway, and then put our little blanket down to save our spot while we played.

Madison (our neighbor and Makyra's best friend), Dan, and Makyra during the opening act. They were taking turns jumping on him.

A picture we took of Craig Morgan from our seats.

Our wonderful family self-portrait. This was the best one because everyone was actually in the picture.

The stage from where we were sitting/standing. Dan took this so he could see over everyone's head. It's nice having someone tall enough to reach the top of the top shelf.

And lastly, a little video of Makyra dancing during the opening act. She is so funny, I love to watch her dance. I want her to take dance lessons, but she can't start until she's three. Nothing starts until she's three, swimming, dancing, karate (her grandpa is a third degree black belt in Tae Kwan Do, good thing I found that out AFTER we were married, or it would've been a little intimidating.)

What a great day, and a great way to celebrate Danny's Birthday. We will definitely do this again next year.

Front Page Debut

Makyra got the front page picture today in the Polk County Itemizer-Observer (our local newspaper).
We were at the park the other day and the ice cream man asked if he could take the kids' picture for the paper (he gave them free ice cream).
So here it is folks:
http://www.itemizerobserver.com/images/7404.jpg

This is in the archives now, so this link reflects that.

Our Crazy Day

So I've been really slacking on the posts. I have a bit to catch up on. We've done some BBQing, some camping, a wedding for Dan's sister, etc. But for now, today...

Today we drove up to Portland to pick up some friends from the airport. The way up was eventful as the temperature gauge kept climbing higher and higher. We pulled over to the side of the road and popped the hood. there was antifreeze spewing out of the radiator cap. Great. So we called our friend who has a car lot and he said that if we just keep the engine cool enough then it should be fine. So we drove with the heater on full blast the rest of the day!! I think it was 100 degrees today anyway. Needless to say, we were dying. As soon as we got home Dan ran into the house and grabbed the swimming suits. We then headed down to the pool for and hour and a half.

Makyra swam around the pool for probably about 45 minutes straight. She was wearing a life jacket but didn't want us to touch her. Those little legs were moving so fast. We went from end of the pool and back again, then to the other pool, swam around that one, and on and on. She even jumped off the side into the deeper water. Her favorite pool is the 5 foot pool, but even in the shallower ones she doesn't want to touch the bottom.

On the way home from the airport we stopped by the Portland Temple. It was closed but we were able to get a few shots of Makyra in the summer dress that I made her.