Latest Faves

I have been having waaaaaaay too much fun with our fancy new Photosmart printer/scanner and accompanying software. My love of photography has been re-energized, and though I'm still not up for buying a $5,000 camera, my appetite for creative outlets is somewhat satisified -- for now. :)

Here you go, then -- a few of my latest faves. (And many thanks to my parents for their awesome backyard. It's definitely an improvement from the normal background of my tired old carpet!)

And man!!!! Is our daughter cute or WHAT?!?!?!?! :)

Memorial Day Weekend at Big Bear

Every year, we try to do it up on Memorial Day weekend because it's our "onofficial" anniversary (when we started dating). This year we took a weekend getaway to Big Bear Lake . . . which was awesome because I have a ton of childhood memories up there. We got to relax (an art I'd almost forgot), all the while:

Hiking the trails with our fancy new backpack . . . . but the "easy" trails aren't so easy at the 8000 foot elevation! But it was beautiful and certainly worth the effort. And it was all a part of our new, get-healthy fast daily routine :) Abby LOVED looking at the gazillion lizards with Daddy . . . seriously she was really into it! Hilarious!!! Now she is a professional lizard hunter. LOL.


Boating on the lake . . . and can I just say Jim is seriously boat-smitten now. So don't be surprised if we suddenly announce one day that we bought a (modest) boat. It really was fun. The day was beautiful and clear, and the scenery perfect as you can see below. Abby giggled and laughed the whole time. Well, at least until she got restless and wanted to jump in the water . . . or pick up the anchor . . . or run around while navigating someone else's wake . . . .

All in all, the weekend was a much needed respite from the craziness that has been our life lately. Finally able to breathe a bit :)

Catch Up . . . .

Ok, so the last two months have been ridiculously hard, as many of you all know. I'm sure it comes as no surprise, therefore, that this blog is sorely out of date. BUT, this is my last week off of work so updating it with all of Abby's latest and greatest is on my "quick-hurry-up-and-finish-before-Monday!" list. So here you go!

With Jim being sick and my medical issues, I honestly have a couple month gap of meaningful family pics (with the exception of her birthday, of course), but here's a few that I managed to capture:

Februrary (Big Smiles Month):

March (Wrestling/Dancing with Daddy Month):

April (I'm 1 yr-old Now and Can Do Whatever I Want Month):

May (I'm Just a Silly Kid -But SOOOO Glad My Mommy & Daddy Are Doing Better Month):

Abby's 1st Birthday

Abby turned 1 on March 19th! Crazy!!!! Her party was the following Saturday -- we celebrated with lots of friends, family, food, and CAKE (more on that in a minute). My dear friend Carrie and Abby's Aunt Desiree were kind enough to take pictures so I could enjoy the party. Carrie's are here in the blog, while Desiree's will be featured soon :) Thanks again!!!

The setting:

One awesome cake!

The birthday girl!:

During "Happy Birthday!"

She could hardly let the ball go -- her favorite toy EVER

The cake eating:

Not too interested (I had to feed her the cake)

Decided she didn't like it at all!

She just wanted strawberries (the mess on her face was Daddy's doing for a good picture, lol)

The friends and family:

Abby loves her Aunt Desiree

Aunt Desiree, Cousin Dianna, and a grumpy birthday girl :)

Baby chat

Grandma, Mommy, and Abby

Little Riley Grace

Big Hayden

Greg and Maddy K

Mylee -- the biggest little one :)

Updates

I know, I know! As I was reminded today by Angela, this blog is sorely in need of an update (many updates!).

The biggest reason it was unattended for so long is . . . . I'm pregnant! We found out not long after New Year's, and until a few weeks ago, I was oh-so sick. Ugh. But, I'm now feeling better and ready to keep the fam and friends all updated :)

Soooooooo, here we go!

Since Christmas, Abby has:

1. Cut her 6th tooth!
2. Started WALKING (at 11 months)
3. Decided baby food is yucky
4. Started dancing every time she hears music
5. Added "kitty" to her vocabulary
6. Had a visit from her brother, Brandon, again
7. Had an awesome 1st birthday party!!!

But enough with the words . . . pics are coming in just a minute . . . . :)

Christmas Wishes To All of You!

Merry, Merry. Merry, Merry Christmas!!!!