Welcome to our World

While in California we spent a day at Disneyland with some of Danny's family. This was Kaelah's first trip & Dan & my first trip there since before our missions. Of course we met lots & lots of Disney characters. She liked the Pooh ones best because we used to read her classic Winnie the Pooh stories (I'm assuming). Eeyore was Kaelah's favorite since she's in love with cows & horses & donkeys right now, but I thought this picture was cuter. The only repeated ride was the carousell. I mentioned she liked horses, right? lol. I guess you can't live in the same house with me without being an animal person. Kaelah loved the characters as long as they stayed out of her personal bubble. Bullseye jumped in at the last second.... I highly recommend eating lunch at Celebration Ranch. No reservations are necessary & you can enjoy the petting zoo next door while you wait for your table. Kaelah got to pet a cow & goats that were the exa...

Last week we had the blessing of meeting most of Danny's family in California. It was wonderful! Above is a shot of the 3 youngest cousins after getting their sunblock on before swimming. Here's Ashlee a few hours before her team won the El Segundo softball championship! On Saturday we got to watch her game & her 2 brothers with their baseball games as well. And of course we had to eat at In & Out Burger in between. I've never hung out at Huntington Beach before and thought it was terrific. The only bad part was that it was pretty breezy so Dan didn't notice he was getting a horrible sun burn. Other than that, we could have stayed at the beach all day long. Here's a picture with Ruby's in the background. It was for sure Kaelah's favorite place to eat while we were gone. And when she's happy I'm happy. I love being her mom so much! On Monday night Most of the group got to go to a Dodgers/Mets game. They lucked out -- extra innings. ...

We've had a lot to celebrate in May: my parents' birthdays, Mother's Day, and Dan completing his Embedded Systems certificate from CU! Yes, it isn't fair how stinkin' spoiled we are. All this led us to take a day trip to the Colorado Railroad Museum the day before Mother's Day. It was a big hit! Both the real & model trains were great, but the best part was being able to ride the Galloping Geese -- basically really big old cars that were retrofitted for rails during the great depression to keep the Rio Grande Southern Railroad solvent. That weekend was the largest reunion of Geese since 1952 went they went out of business. Plus, moms got in free. Best weekend to go for sure! And here's a couple shots from our most recent trip to the lake. We love it there! The lake gets called "waatee" because well, it's a lot of water. And here's something else that gets called "waatee" -- Kaelah's watering can. (Hoses, drinking glass...

Kaelah is such a lucky girl -- her Grandma & Grandpa have birthdays the same week -- which means two sets of singing & cake! My mom's was butter pound cake with whipped cream, strawberries, & blueberries at our house. The pictures were horrid b/c Dan & I refuse to buy light bulbs for the dinning chandelier we hate. Once they are all burned out we promised ourselves we'll buy a new one. Aren't we silly? My dad likes eating at Country Buffet so he had his cake there -- 3 different kinds! There were lots of laughs that night. Not sure how to pin point the one above.... Since we had already practiced with Grandma's birthday, Kaelah was excited to blow out Grandpa's candle. Isn't he sweet to share? Happy Birthday!

Kaelah & I have been attending the parent/toddler class held at the school I used to teach at. It's been fun to be on the parent side of things. I think being a teacher is easier! Anyway, we had an extra special day last Thursday. The May Faire had been rained out the Saturday before, but it made it oh so easy to simply stick around after class to watch the festivities. Here is Kaelah posing for Danny once he met us at the school. Can you spot Lady Spring? All the classes did a great job with their music & dancing presentations. And the kindergartners were angelic in their observation! I adore having my family with me at the school and seeing the students react to Kaelah. One day I had to carry Kaelah out of the room because she was having a temper tantrum. They were shocked that MY daughter would ever need to cool off outside! Or need to be reminded to wear her hat.... Speaking of hats, Dan bought me a perfect one at Target. The 4th graders did a magnificent job...

We stopped off at an empty store during the drive from Williamsburg to Amherst. Kaelah isn't used to driving a long way & made us. (; Beautiful, though, huh? Except for the first day, VA was nice enough to only rain while we were in the car, asleep, or eating at a restaurant. Talk about hospitality! Kaelah meeting my half-aunt, Doris. Since she doesn't travel anymore, this was the first time I saw her in almost 8 years. How time flies! The fountain at the Linden Row Inn. I loved this hotel! Edgar Allen Poe grew up here back in the day and they have crow statues hanging out on one of the tables. Sweet. While Kaelah napped in the stroller (which was almost every day while we were gone) I got to look around the many gardens. On days when it was just me & her these times were so invigorating. If there is one thing I've wanted to bring back to CO from VA it's one of those gardens I got to be in!!! I love the bridges in VA. Don't worry, the water was only 2 inche...

1607 here we come! Aboard the recreated Susan Constant. I freaked people out continually by letting Kaelah climb stairs -- and they are everywhere in VA! Kaelah's really good at it & didn't fall down once, but I had lots & lots of middle aged women giving me the eye or telling me to watch her. Deciding where to go first at historic Jamestown. They say if you blink your baby will become a teenager.... Smiths by John Smith. Looking out toward the James River. Kaelah loved putting Grandma's pennies in the donation box. Pocahontas got lots of "wow"s out of Kaelah. What wowed me was that we were walking around a place that began only a few years after Queen Elizabeth's death and during Shakespeare's lifetime. Wow.