Sunday Drive

So it was a gorgeous day, Amelia had a super nap, and Mark and I were both home on a Sunday at the same time! We decided to hop in the car with my Mom and just start driving. Those who know me well know that this kind of drive is my most favorite activity. Sunroof, sunshine, music, and the open road! We headed South not having a particular plan and ended up having a perfect Sunday drive. We headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon where the views of the river were awesome. There is something about watching the flow of water rush by that is so calming for me. The steep mountains were so lush and green and just so serene. The road led us up and across Guardsmans Pass. We felt like we were driving on top of the world - which is such a cliche' but I don't know how else to describe it. That feeling also created quite a panic with my Mom so I had to be sure to drive nice and slow, but that made it even more breathtaking. We continued down through Deer Valley, ending up in Park City to walk around Main street for a while. It was perfect in every way and just what we all needed! I couldn't help but think of the lyrics to my favorite hymn while trying to write this post to describe how I felt. "When through the woods and forest glades I wander, and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees, when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze, then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee, how great thou art!" Perfect Sunday drive.

17 Months

What can I say about 17 months? She's perfect, hilarious, brilliant, and gorgeous! She got her first little bike this month and has to take a ride in it everyday. I think I'm on the phone too much because she is perfect at pretending she's on the little phone that came with the bike. I cracked up the first time she used it. She's loved going to different parks and feeding the ducks, and had a blast up the canyon with my family. Walking has become her new favorite thing and she cruises around the house all day long. Her baby cheeks are gone and the pudgy rolls in her arms and legs are now lean and toned. Where did my baby go?! So enjoy the many pics of our little toddler!

4th of July

We had a packed day this year! It started off bright and early at 6am with my insane idea to run a half-marathon. Didn't I learn my lesson the last time I ran one? Apparently I forgot how bad my feet start to hurt at mile 11 or how my lungs start to burn at mile 9 or how mentally I check out at mile 7. Maybe it's like childbirth...you do it over and over because you forget how bad it was the time before! Notice in one of the pics that there is a wheelchair conveniently parked next to a stop sign. Oh how I wanted to take the hint! It was a gorgeous route though and it was overcast and cool which was a total bonus. My Mom was so super cute to wake up early with me and be a little photographer along the way. She is my biggest fan. ;) Mark and Amelia met me at the finish line which was just the motivation I needed to keep going. My nieces even made big posters which made me laugh so hard. It was so cute. It feels like I've been training forever for it, so I'm just happy it's over. We went straight to a breakfast BBQ with Mark's family and then home for a nice long nap. My Mom had even decorated my house with balloons and posters for running the half - it was really sweet. Amelia must have known I needed a good nap too because we all slept for 3 hours! It was heaven. Then we had a little shindig at our house with steaks, Brazilian lemonade and lots of fireworks! Amelia was more into the fireworks than I thought she would be so it was a blast to watch her take it all in. She is my little star and I love her so much! Happy Independence Day!

Finally!

It's been a couple of days since she really figured it out, but I wanted to wait to post something about it until I had a good shot on video. Oh wow I love her SOOOO much! Each day gets more fun with her in our little family! How could it not when I get to look at her big blue eyes everyday?!

At The Pool

Last Friday was the first time Amelia experienced a big swimming pool. And I have to say, she is a natural fish!! She absolutely loved every minute of it and was not happy when it was time to leave. I took Savannah and Sydney along, as well as my Mom who was the designated photographer. Our friends who live in the Condos in our ward were nice enough to invite us over - their little boy is just a few months older than Amelia and they are buds. The pool was the perfect temperature, super clean (thank heavens), and we were the only ones there which was a total bonus. She LOVED being twirled through the water, thrown in the air, and when I dunked her she didn't even freak out! It was so much fun for me to watch her discover all the joys of swimming since I grew up as a fish in my Grandparents pool. I have a feeling this is the beginning of a lot of pool time for us and I couldn't be happier about it. Her facial expressions speak volumes of how she felt about it, so enjoy the plentiful pictures - I couldn't just choose a few. I was thinking...we do have quite a lot of room in our backyard...what to do with it???