Mount Rushmore

Here are more pics of our Memorial Weekend trip. This is the gate where you enter Mount Rushmore. It was very rainy and foggy there and we were nervous that we wouldn't be able to see anything but the clouds parted and we had good views.

The group looking at the mountain.

Cool dude.

We spent the morning at Reptile Gardens where we saw an alligator wrestler, snakes and these giant turtles. One of them was over 150 years old.




The water park was alot of fun. This picture was taken after I almost drown Brooklyn as she slipped off the stair and into the water. She was under for a few seconds until I could get to her and fish her out.

Emma loved the "toilet bowl" and was great at steering her way into the hole.

Memorial Day Trip

Emma lost her first tooth last night. It needed a little help from Daddy but came out pretty easily. (Thank goodness he's a professional). She is growing up so fast.







For Memorial Day weekend we decided to go to Rapid City and Mount Rushmore. My parents met us there and we had a great time. On the way there we stopped at Jewel Cave and had a tour. Emma is going through a concrete square that you have to be able to fit through to go on the spelunking tour. We saw a lady try to go through it and she declared that it felt just like a mammogram.

The cave walls

The next day we went to bear country where you drive through a park filled with wolves, mountain lions, rams and, of course, bears. Brooklyn was enthralled and spent the whole time grunting and pointing. It was neat because the bears came right up to your car.

We thought it was so fun to see this bear in the tree relaxing.

After this day my camera ran out of battery, of course. When my mom sends me her pics I will post some of the water park, reptile land, and the big finale, Mount Rushmore.

Another hodgepodge

Ellie after she received her art award at school.

Grandma and Grandpa Lambert were here taking care of the kids while we were in Hawaii. After we got home they stayed for a few days. This is a sweet picture of Grandmother and Granddaughter during Emma's soccer practice.

Isn't she cute?

Ellie's art was also chosen to be in a display in the mall. Here is her masterpiece.

Daddy's big 35th birthday.
The staff at work put a little party together for him. We went bowling. You can see Destiny (his hygenist), Candy (front desk) and Kathy (assistant).
What form!
The girls and I bought Kyle a treadmill for his birthday. This is the condition it is still in as we have not put it together yet. It better be up and running by his next birthday!

Hawaii

We had a great trip to Kauai. Kyle's parents came to watch the girls and we met my parents and four of my siblings. This is a picture of Kyle on the Zodiac along the Na'pali coast. He looks relaxed but the ride was anything but relaxing as they had to hang on for dear life (pregos weren't allowed to go so I just heard stories).





On their boat trip they were taken into caves along the coast. This is inside one of them. They also got out and hiked to an ancient Hawaiian village and went snorkeling.






We rented Kayaks and went up the Wailua River. Notice how my shirt is dry in this picture. It did not remain that way as a few minutes later, after watching my brother and sister in law get flipped in rapids, Kyle decided that we should try. We actually did worse as after we flipped I was trapped under the Kayak for a few seconds. Funny story now, but scary then.







After we recovered from flipping we relaxed on these rocks and jumped off a rope swing into a pool of water below.






Kyle and me at the Fern Grotto. There are alot of other great pictures but I am having trouble accessing them for some reason. This will have to do for now and then I will post more when I solve the problem.

Emma's talents

Emma's going to preschool at the 'Rez'. Which is short for Ressurection Fellowship Evangelical Church. She loves going and is learning wonderful things. This is a sampling of some of her learnings. As an added bonus you learn the sign for #2!

Also, Ellie won an award at school for Oustanding Aritstic Creativity. She was thrilled as she wants to be an artist when she grows up. Congratulations Ellie!

A little of this and a little of that

I am very aware that I yet again have neglected this blog but am determined to post more regularly. This will catch you up on some of the things that have been happening in the last month. Feb. 8th was Brooklyn's first birthday. She was not so interested in the cake.



Ellie was trying to entice her into eating it but she just thought Ellie was funny.



Emma wanted to be the statue of liberty so she has her crown, book and torch.



Emma just started soccer for the first time. This is her first soccer practice.



She's a pro already.



Kyle's sister Maryn, her husband Jamin and their daughters Audrey and Millie came for a visit.
This is a day at the park.



We took them to Denver to the aquarium.
This is a huge eel.



Emma and Ellie climbed the tree to push the buzzer at the top.

Update

I know it has been awhile since I've posted so I thought I would do a quick one to let everyone know that I am still alive. First of all, was that Superbowl awesome or what? It was so exciting. These are just a few pics of us watching the game with some friends. It was great to have Stefanie and Kevin McMinn come watch with us. They were dental students in Pittsburgh when we were there and it was fun to have other Pittsburgers to help us cheer on the Steelers. The other two families are friends from the ward. One of the guys was a noisy Cardinals fan so it was sweet victory when the Steelers won.

We got a new camera for Christmas and I hadn't put in the new memory card. So just as I was trying to get pictures of everyone cheering, my memory was full.

The reason that I haven't been blogging for awhile is that I have been deathly ill. No it wasn't a disease or a virus, it was a little thing called pregnancy. We were surprised and excited to find out that I am expecting in the middle of August. I have been very sick but am starting to feel better. My mom came to take care of me for 2 weeks which was very helpful. I am definately over the worst of it which I am very grateful for.