Summertime is Through

School starts tomorrow.  The good news is, we'll be back to more of a set schedule around here.  The bad news is, we say good-bye to going out and doing something fun whenever we feel like it....oh, and no more sleeping in.

Here are some lessons learned from the summer of 2012:
--I should take Gardening 101.
--Finding a babysitter every once in a while is a good idea.
--Hiking with a toddler is not a good idea.
--Christmas trees come from Oregon.
--I miss my Arizonian brothers and their families.
--The "terrible two's" (so far anyway...) aren't as bad as I was anticipating.
--Seven Peaks Provo is better for little ones than Seven Peaks Salt Lake.
--Hearing Lucy sing is pretty darn cute.

I've posted some pictures throughout the summer here on the blog or on Facebook, mostly of the bigger things, so here are some other pictures of what went on with Lucy & Co.

This is what they call "Redneck soccer".  Lucy was terrified at first, but as you can see, she warmed up to it.

A hike early in the season; there weren't many more.

We had fun playing in our newly fenced-in back yard.

My family was all together for a week or so.  We definitely love having the older cousins around :)

Lucy's 1st haircut

Our friends invited us to go to Discovery Gateway which was awesome!

Seven Peaks! The first time we went, Lucy was pretty unsure about it, but she got used to it after a while.  The picture on the right is the splash made from Albert and Lucy going down together.  After that, Lucy went down that slide by herself....what!

We spent some time at Wheeler Farm.  Lucy is afraid of the tractors, but she likes the animals.

Going up the ski lift at Snowbird

Just went down the Alpine Slide...woohoo!

Lucy's a good mama

Straight hair

"Smile!"
(notice how there's not actually a camera on that tripod)

They still have these old rides at Liberty Park; so cool!

It's a Long, Long Road

Albert had a family reunion in Oregon which was a great reason for us to pack up and go on a vacation.  This is not something that happens very often (pretty close to never, actually) so Albert was very excited and I was very stressed.  How do you go on a long car ride with a 2 year old who can't even sit still during music time in nursery?  With a lot of people's help and advice, we were able to be pretty prepared...as much as you can be....and, well, I suppose it could have been a lot worse.  I'm glad we did it though.  I loved Oregon; it is absolutely beautiful!  

For the reunion, we stayed at Silver Falls State Park, so we were able to see quite a few waterfalls.  If you look closely at the picture below, you can see Albert's mom waving!

Lucy LOVED all the bridges...or "fridges" as she says.

Vegetation grows like crazy here.  We loved how even tree stumps have trees growing on them.

This is where we stayed.  It was raining on this day, but you hardly even got wet because it was just a mist--very cool.

The expression on my face was pretty common.  We got half way up to the main hall and Lucy needed to have her blanket all of the sudden; she's trying to teach me patience, but I'm a slow learner.

Albert and Lucy took a dip in the pool.  He's teaching her how to plug her nose.

Papa and Grammy

Grandpa Great
It's because of him we got to visit this beautiful place!

After the reunion we headed to Eugene.  Thankfully it wasn't a long drive.  It was Sunday so we decided to go park hopping. Lucy loved it of course...anytime you mention the words park or slides she's all over it.

The next day we drove to the coast!  It's been a while since either of us had seen the ocean and it was Lucy's first time of course, so we were excited.  First stop...Sea Lion Cave!

I felt bad for these guys because they would work so hard to get their flippers to climb up this rock, and then a wave would come and take some of the sea lions with it.

Lots more hanging out on the shore.  They looked kind of gross to me.

Hooray for the beach!! It started to rain a little bit, and the water was freezing, but it was so much fun.  All three of us were having fun; I think we stayed there for a couple hours!

Ready, Set, GO!

Happy Birthday Lucy!!!

Lucy is really into bikes, scooters, and anything else with wheels, so she got a tricycle for her birthday and we had a trike party.  She had lots of cousins and friends over to have races in our driveway.  The kids got to decorate their bike or scooter and then they were off!  It was a lot of fun and Lucy was LOVING trying out all the different scooters, bikes, and wiggle cars!

                                   

Almost Two

 

    Our little Lucy is almost two!  She is definitely full of it and practicing for the "terrible two's".  I was looking for a 4th of July shirt for her and I found one (unfortunately too big) that said 'Miss Independence'.  It would have been perfect if there was one her size.   Thank goodness there are good moments too.  She's pretty darn cute is is always making us laugh.  As it has been for the last 2 years, she is always learning so much and it is so fun to watch.

Some things:

--Her favorite word is two/too.
     --"Mommy drink too", ""Daddy done too", "Grandma coming too".
     --She always needs "two ice" in her drink, and requests two of other foods like crackers, marshmallows, etc. (usually the initial two is not enough however).
   
--Lucy LOVES our neighbors.  She feels pretty comfortable going up to their front doors by herself.

--She is going though a cautious stage.  Things she loved last summer (and even earlier this spring) she gets really nervous about now--swings and slides are the biggest culprits.

--Still doesn't like the vacuum, but at least she accepts it.  She HATES lawn mowers and other big machines.  Apparently she begged my mom to put her down for a nap the other day because she wanted to feel safe from the lawn mowers.

--Speaking of naps, she still takes two naps usually, but I think this is going to end very soon.  She just recently started the "no nap" and "no night-night" phase.  Bedtime used to be such a pleasant time.....

--Lucy loves people and is good with names.  When the Primary kids got up to sing on Mother's Day, Lucy saw our neighbor and called out, "Hi....Danni!".  Another Sunday there was a baby blessing and as they were getting ready, Lucy yelled out, "Hi...Bishop!"  Cute, yes.  A little too loud and thus embarrassing, yes.

--Sometimes I call her the Shoe Police.  She is a little obsessed with who's wearing shoes and who's not wearing shoes, and is concerned when she sees shoes lying around.

--She's working on growing her hair out.  I'm always amazed when I see girls Lucy's age with "real hair".  It makes them look so old.  Lucy still has "baby hair", but fortunately it's still curly which makes it easier for me to do.

Here are some pictures of the girl.

My nephew in Arizona read Flat Stanley in his class and then sent Flat Stanley to visit us!  We took him to some key Utah sites--Training Table being one of them.

Easter in Salina 

Albert's mom got all the girls these pink overalls--so cute!

Daddy got Lucy all ready without Mom knowing, and took some cute pictures for Mother's Day.

Part of her obsession with shoes is trying on her mom and dad's shoes.  

Snack time.

This picture was taken a month or so ago.  She loved slides then; not so much now.

Occasionally,  when the carseat is in between cars, Lucy likes to just hang out :)