Monday, August 29, 2011

Working on a New Post

Yeah, the new one is currently under construction. I'm on my husband's laptop and it won't let me upload pictures when I want to, only when IT wants to. Frustrating!

We have had SO much adventure-filled fun the past few weeks, so I'll leave you with a sneak peek of our travels! 

(Everyone enjoys pictures more, right!?)

Warning: there are 24 pictures in this post! Woo hoo! They are also ALL unedited because they are on Mitch's computer, not mine! No cropping or anything!

First off, our car broke down on the way to Kansas City from our home in Rexburg. LUCKILY we pay the 68 cents/month for roadside assistance and our tow was free! This is Nathan in the tow truck, after waiting an hour in the hot sun/hot car. He was so red and sweaty we had ice packs wrapped up and on his legs!  It's a horribly unflattering picture, but still a fun one. If only he were a year older: he would've LOVED seeing that tow truck in action!

 We had to stay in a hotel while they fixed our car. Nathan loved climbing in and out of this dresser drawer and playing with his reflection!

 We joined my family and a family friend, Kate Naylor (who might as well be a sibling!) at an amusement park for a very hot, humid day of fun! (It was about 98 degrees with 80% humidity!)
 Nathan had plenty of ladies to swoon over him at my parents' house!
 We took family pictures (look at that little face!)
 Nathan had his first experiences with stairs at both our parents' houses and is now a climbing champ!
 Bonded with several great-grandparents
 Was a CHAMP in the car, like always, and made our drive of 28 hours (roundtrip) from Kansas City and back as easy as a drive that long could be!

 Learned how to climb up on furniture...what!? He's trying to "cruise" around stuff, but I'm in no hurry for him to walk!
 Bonded with his "GG" (Mitch's mom) in the sink...aka bathtub! He loves it when she bathes him!

 Haha I love this next little set of eyes peeking over...
 Discovered SAND for the first time and LOOOVED it! It was nice and warm in the shade and he just loved crawling around, trying to eat and hold the sand!

 We went tubing with Mitch's grandparents in Utah at Sand Hollow...this is me and my little sister-in-law, Jayna. She just started her senior year of high school! (One day I'll crop this down, but for now, just click on it to see it BIG!)
 Nathan's first boating experience! Mitch's grandparents and parents rented a houseboat so we could cruise around Lake Powell all day with a baby (and a ton of people) in comfort! There was an on-deck slide, BBQ grill, and tons of shade to keep us all cool! I love this picture of Nathan and his Aunt Dani. I forgot to change my camera settings from sunny to shady, but I love the way this turned out, almost like a silhouette!

Fun with mom and dad on the houseboat!


 We enjoyed jumping off the sides (and top) of the boat and sliding off the slide. People got really creative about how they jumped, and even Nathan got in the water! (And looked SO cute in the lifejacket...I was in the water, too, so I have no pictures of it!)

 We spent two days in Las Vegas. It was my, and our brother-in-law Danny's, first time there! It was amazing, and Nathan was pretty well-behaved considering how stressful it all was for him!
 We toured Zion National Park, which was absolutely breathtaking! We all hiked in our flip-flops and non-outdoor-ish clothes to Weeping Rock. Luckily it was only a 1/4 mile up to it, but it was a 1/4 straight UP...again, in flip flops! All the French tourists could not stop staring at us and wondering what we were wearing!
Well, those are the first 24 of about 500 pictures I have of our month-long vacation! It has been quite the adventure living out of a ton of suitcases for this long, not to mention eating other people's food (which we don't mind!) and sleeping in other people's beds (which also hasn't been bad at all!) Poor Nathan's sleep schedule is completely nonexistent at night. He sleeps maybe three hours at a time...we'll fix that when we get home this week!

Nathan is a completely different kid than the one we left with at the end of July! He has SO much personality and has really become a lot of fun! He will wave hello, give high fives, play peek-a-boo, and bounce ("dance") if you give him the chance! I can't believe he'll be ten months old on Friday! (And my little sister will be TWENTY!)

Maybe later I'll post a more detailed report. We had some really fun experiences on these trips and school doesn't start until Sept. 12th for me (and January for Mitch!), so maybe I'll find time! I was also able to shoot my first two senior portrait sessions! I loved every minute of them!