Rubicon Trail Hike

When my mom was here we all hiked a portion of the Rubicon Trail on the California side of Lake Tahoe. It's a gorgeous hike with stunning views of the lake......it just never gets old!

We started off with a picnic lunch on the beach.

Playing with Grandma

FYI: Carrying an extra 27 pounds on a hike makes for a good workout.

My mom loves to hike but doesn't get a chance to do it very often.  So I'm pretty sure she enjoys hiking whenever she comes to visit us!

Who are they looking at???

"Hello there!"

Mom & Me

I just have to brag about how well Owen did on this hike! There was very little whining and we hiked for a LONG way.....especially for a 4.5 year old! What a great little hiker he's turned out to be!

Little Chefs

For Adler's birthday, Micah's parents bought her a play kitchen and my mom made her an apron and matching chef hat. She and Owen both love play cooking and have already been enjoying their new toy.

Adler & Grandma!



Owen already had a cute apron he received at a birthday party.  So my mom made him a chef hat with matching robots on it!

I'm pretty sure this is the cutest apron and hat I've ever seen!  I think my mom should go into business.

Miss A......such a little sweetheart.

Adler's 2nd Birthday

For Adler's birthday party we kept it simple, had some friends over for a lunchtime BBQ, and entertained the older kids with a toy-filled pinata. Miss A was little overwhelmed by all the company at first, but warmed up fast. My mom also flew to Nevada for a long weekend to help out and help us celebrate!

My mom made her this cute "2" shirt for her birthday.  We also went shopping for some adorable fall clothes!



The older kids lined up for the pinata!  Adler refused to play, but all the other kids had a blast.



Adler had a blast opening all her gifts this year.  She would gasp and run to one of us to show us what she received.  She especially loved the play jewelry and pop-up castle.



She wasn't quite sure what to think about everyone singing to her.




Mmmmmm......yummy.  This kid definitely has a sweet tooth.



She adores her front yard swing, especially when daddy swings her HIGH!

Thanks for coming to help celebrate, Mom!



She was wiped out after the party and ready for a nap.




Watching a Sesame Street mini-episode on the iPad with Owen and Grandma.

Adler went to the doctor this week for her 2 year check up. She is 33.75 inches tall and 26 pounds, 3 ounces (about 45th percentile in both). Dr. Wessels estimates she will be about 5 foot, 7 inches as an adult. I asked her about Owen because I don't remember Owen getting an estimated adult height.....his is 6 feet, 3 inches tall!

Patio Project

At the beginning of the summer Micah and I came up with a plan to brighten up our back patio. We painted our wooden table bright yellow months ago. But then I decided to find some vintage metal patio chairs and it took us a while to find some that weren't too expensive. It's only taken us 3 months to complete our little project, but at least we finished it before Adler's birthday party!

This is how the chairs looked before we refinished them.  The light green chairs came from a garage sale, the white chairs from Craig's List, and the dark green chairs I've had since college.

And here's what the chairs look like now, after being sanded and re-painted.

My love for these chairs began years years ago when I was a child.  I have fond memories of sitting in similar chairs at my grandparent's house at the Ranch.

It's a shame we won't be able to enjoy our new patio for longer.  Fall seems to be arriving quickly, so I'll hope for a long autumn!

Who is Two?

Happy Birthday, my Adler Joy.  I love your smile, your laugh, your spirit, and your affectionate neck rubs.  You have added so much happiness to our family and we can't imagine life without you.  Thank you for giving us the honor of watching you grow from a baby into a little girl.  We can hardly wait to see what you do next.

Reno Balloon Races

We attended the balloon races early Sunday morning and it turned out to be a powerful way to remember 9/11.  It was nice to be at a large, patriotic event, with a thousand other people in attendance.  At every moment in time where something took place 10 years ago (i.e. first plane crashed, second tower fell, etc.) a bell would ring and the announcer would tell what just happened and then have a moment of silence.  It was moving and emotional.

Made it there before dawn.

Adler is a happy girl, even at 6:00 in the morning!

Sunrise

The fly over right after the National Anthem

After the first fly-over, the planes flew back in the missing man formation, in honor of all the lives lost on 9/11.  Immediately after this,  a flock of geese flew directly over in the exact same formation......one of the geese flew off by itself.  It was very intense.

watching all the balloons blow up

My fun family!

The Darth Vader balloon was new this year and so was the soccer ball (Owen's favorite)

This butterfly balloon was really cute!

I just love this event every year and now it's great to see the kids excited about it too!