Play Time...

Kate and I were unable to make it to the dinosaur park with the family but we were grateful to make it to dinner with them and then they came to our house to play for a bit.  The girls loved playing on the castle and blowing bubbles and Kate loved playing with grandpa.  It was a great night to be lounging outside!

Tanner!!

Tanner is just about 1!! Crazy how quickly the time has gone! Steve & Jodi threw an awesome party to celebrate his birthday this week!  They had blow up water toys, ice cream, grilled pizza and lots of fun!  I decorated this beach ball cake in about 10 minutes and yet I think it still turned out cute! Especially with it smashed in Tanner's face...he kept taking handfuls and stuffing it into his mouth! It was hilarious!

This man is quite funny...he is all boy.  He loves balls, banging on things, grunting, crawling/standing on things and water.  He is walking all over, tries to pet Kate or pull her hair (what is there)  and even fought her for a ball (proud to say she held her own ground!)! I can't wait to see him grow up and  for him and Kate to be buddies!

Bear Lake

Ray and I decided since we couldn't go to Ferron camping together we would go camping this weekend.  It turned out that Thurston's were wanting to go camping as well and had access to an Uncle's property for the weekend.  Horspool's and Blake were able to join us as well so it made for a really fun weekend!

We loved staying in our trailer and wish we could enjoy it more often! We enjoyed the company of course and having some down time together!

Kate was funny and grabbed the clothesline as Ray was standing by it and just hung on it! 

The day we went to the beach was cold, windy and rainy but we braved it.  We had hot dogs on the beach, played in the sand and water and got to enjoy a few warmer minutes after the rain passed. Kate loves water and digging in the sand!

She is such a great baby, we are amazed and thankful each day for her in our lives!

We went to a delicious pizza place on Saturday night and Kate was ecstatic to eat some crust (we are still very particular about what she can eat/when).  We boxed up the leftovers and she grabbed hold and kept licking the box wanting more!  Love this little gal!!

We had such a fun weekend and were grateful to be able to spend time with our friends!

Kate & Grandpa

We went to Salt Lake to finalize some house plans with my Grandpa for the house kit Ray is doing for him. While they went over plans me, Kate and Grandpa were able to play.  She actually got the hang of shaking both maracas at the same time.  I love how she would use her feet to help hold onto them!  Kate is wearing the dress my dad brought her from Brazil, it is so cute and so is Kate!

24th of July

I was going through Katelyn's drawers and found some cute ruffle bottoms and leggings that were begging to be worn.  I LOVE red, white and blue, the 4th of July, patriotism, and the flag and LOVE how these pictures turned out! I seriously spent 5 minutes coming up with this and I LOVE it! Kate was a good spurt about my impromptu photo shoot! I was so proud of myself..now if only I can learn to edit photos I would be in business (for me and only me!)!

We didn't do much to celebrate pioneer day, I had a graveyard hang over and dinner was a complete flop so we hit up Chili's with my dad.  We then went to a park and watched the Ogden Fireworks show and hung out with my dad and friends.  It was a great day!

Stapel Family Reunion

My mom did a wonderful job at planning, preparing for, and hosting the Stapel Family Reunion this year in Ferron.  We had great food, fun and location.  It was hard because Ray didn't attend with Kate and I.  He went to youth conference and I tried to manage a baby camping for 4 days by myself.  I would have failed miserably if it weren't for my mom, Jess and my Uncle Gordon (who loves babies and took Kate at every chance)!

Jess took me for a scenic drive to the lake, it was very romantic! Haha!  Ferron is teensy tinsy but so fun! Dessert to the east, mountains to the west and a lot of nothing in between.  We could drive the razr everywhere in town we went which was fun!

Kate loved swinging, even though she looks to be holding on quite tight.  We played a super fun game in the park after dark...every park should have one of these games! 

Briele was so good to play with and take care of Kate.

We went on a field trip to the "Little Grand Canyon" and we did "Lion King" on the rock per cousin Mindy's request. We also went and saw hieroglyphs on the cliffs, Mindy serenaded Kate with her ukulele and Kate could not stop laughing and clapping! We saw an adorable little family of mountain goats trying to run up the hill. The mom kept showing the baby how to do it but he just couldn't quite get it so he found an easier route.  It was fun to watch the thought process of the baby goat as he found his way.

We played lots with cousins, glow sticks, Uncle Gordon and she LOVED eating a plum! She was a mess but just dove in and sucked the plum til it was half gone!

We went to the funnest water park in Castledale.  It had an awesome lazy river, waterslide and playground!  Kate loved swimming and splashing and I loved playing crazy with the little girls while Kate slept for a bit!

Madison was brave and went under the water again and again and again...as long as I took a picture! She is getting so brave!

I took Kate on a water slide which she thought was fun especially with the big splash at the end!  My mom even went on the waterslide and loved it and proceeded to go several more times!

It was a super fun trip! My mom was a great host/planner! I am excited to take Ray back to Ferron one day to show him the fun things around there!

Dinner...

It's not often that we get to have dinner with the Moyes family but each time we do it is very fun!  We love El Matador and they love El Matador which works out great! They also love Katelyn and smooch on her which both me and Kate love.  She really does love her Aunt Brenda and is always quick to give her a smile.  Ashley is fun because she is obsessed with Kate and loves to do everything with/for her, it is cute!

Kate now loves straws and the below picture illustrates what happens if  I take her straw away...it was devastating...but no worries I quickly returned her straw!

7 MONTHS!

This girl rocks my world.  She is just incredible. I can't believe how fast time is going, soon she will be one!! Yikes!!

Sunday Drive...

We took a Sunday drive to Idaho Falls, it was long. But it was still fun to be all together for the day.  We first attended a cousins baby blessing which was great, we love when we are able to see the Lawson family. Katelyn did great on the drive.  We enjoyed feeling the wind in our hair while Raymond measured a house he will be providing cabinetry for.

Notice how I said "we enjoyed wind in our hair"...yes that's right.  Little one officially has a mohawk.  I love it!

We had a bit of a redneck picnic in the back of the explorer with Burger King in Malad so Kate could wiggle for a minute. She was in heaven with a bag and ketchup packets!

When we got home Ray had that bright idea of watching a movie but him and Katelyn were out cold within minutes of it starting! Raymond has been working so incredibly hard for us!  He worked 35 hours in 2 days! Poor man, he deserved to sleep!

Weird occurrence: I drove all the way to Idaho Falls and pretty much the whole way home.  I never drive. Ray took a nap and entertained the baby.  Our rolls are way reversed now due to my severe motion sickness! It was kind of crazy, it was probably the longest I had driven (with both of us in the car) with the exception of our trip to Missouri, in our ENTIRE marriage.  Yeah, I suck.

Girls Night...

Jess, my mom, Briele, Kate and I had dinner together and played.  We had a blast. Kate is so funny and will kick her feet up wherever she can and just relax.  The poor girl got her head with her fingernail and got a pretty sad scratch. I love that Briele calls us her "buddies" or "friends"! I know her and Kate will always be best buds!!

Cool Girl...

Jess & I went shopping with the little girlies and Kate got some cute new accessories!  She got a couple pairs of shoes and some hot pink glasses! My favorite part of the glasses is that she will leave them on for 4+ minutes before she takes them off and plays with them! It is so cute! I finally found sandals to fit Kate-size 1-her feet are so long and skinny that all baby shoes are usually too wide for her!

She LOVES the music table and couch at Jess' house, she played on it forever!

We tried out her highchair for the first time and she screamed hysterically! She just wanted to be held by her mom, we tried it the next day and she seemed to like it much better!

Birthday Bash...

My family gathered at the park for a picnic on behalf of my birthday! It was perfect weather, delicious food and fun playing with the girls!  Katelyn loved the swing and watching Tanner.  Briele, Lexi and Halli couldn't hold still for the life of them!  They were ecstatic to be playing!

SHOES!

Katelyn has refused to stand since birth.  Whenever I try to stand her up she hoists her legs in the air every time.  My mom bought some shoes for her (which are GINORMOUS but adorable) so I stuck them on her and guess what...she stood!  She has no idea what to do with her butt, it just sticks out and she is left bent over like a little old woman but we are working on that.  She looked so cute with her little chicken legs!  She locks her knees and concentrates so hard while she does it!  I love to see her learning new things!!

My family...

I love to look at pictures of my family. They are my world.  Raymond was absolutely amazing and stayed up late one night to sew my new nursing poncho...which I love!! He did so good and it was so sweet that he was willing to do it! I can't believe how big my baby is getting, she is growing up right before my eyes and is learning so much! She is so fun!

Hyrum Dam 2013

We had a great time at Hyrum Dam for the Whipple family reunion.  It was a nice get away and a fun chance to take our trailer out for its first real camping trip. I headed up Tuesday to camp with Jess & Kip since Ray would be working late on Tuesday and working Wednesday morning.  The dear man didn't want me to spend my birthday sitting at home waiting for him so instead I made a last minute decision to join Jess & Kip and left the house and all of our camping supplies a complete mess for him to take care of.  Sweet of me, huh.  Even sweeter of Ray because he did take care of it all.  He is really quite good to me.

We had a great time hanging out, relaxing, having a water balloon fight, we painted our toes to be festive 4th of July.  Jess & Kip spoiled me with my favorite dutch oven breakfast and then we had sushi for lunch! Katelyn played with a water balloon for the first time and thought it was quite fun, even when it popped and soaked her!

Raymond joined us Wednesday afternoon and treated me nicely for the rest of my birthday. Ray got me a waterproof camera which resulted in some fun pictures below.  He even bought me a Coldstone ice cream at the fireworks.

Sidenote: I can't believe I am 27!  Wow! I don't know how it happened!





We enjoyed the fireworks with the Whipple family.  I always used to/still think how lucky I am to have a firework show on my birthday. It is a pretty fun way to celebrate. It was especially exciting because Rodger was able to attend the fireworks show this year to listen to ABBA music. The music was great and there was lots of dancing going on in our section!



This was Katelyn's first time seeing fireworks.  She was mesmerized by them, didn't even flinch at the sound.  She was SUPER tired and kept trying to fall asleep but then would sit up and make sure they were still going, watch for a minute in complete awe and then lay her head back down.  So glad my girl loves fireworks as much as I do!

 One night we had a fire, smores, and of course lots of singing and dancing.  Singing around the fire is Camille's favorite tradition.  The kids love to request and help with the songs and I am amazed at how many new/old ones that they know.  Katelyn loved playing with her glow stick and watching the fire, she started "singing" along with everyone else too!



 We spent lots of time playing in the dam.  Katelyn loves water (another happy joy from her mother!!)! She loved sitting in the water and playing in the mud, she kept rubbing her heels in the mud and picking up rocks and yelling/talking. I thought it was hilarious each time she was  in her stroller (awake or asleep) she would kick her feet up on the tray!



Katelyn loved riding in the kayak with her dad! I love the big squeezes and kisses that she gives me!



Raymond made 8 gallons of homemade root beer--it may have been a little much for our igloo--it kept spewing all over but it tasted DELICIOUS! And it was gone in 2 days. Zac LOVES babies and was always talking to and playing with Katelyn.



There was lots of water fun with kayaks, paddle boat, speed boat with a water weenie, rafts and a giant floating island.  I loved how much time was spent in the water this year!



Our happy little water baby!



For the most part we had great water except for our last night.  We were all lined up for a family picture when a giant gust of wind came out of nowhere and we watched it rage against our camp.  It was then a mad dash to save anything we could! Most of the adults took off running to save the camp, the kids all started bawling and Katelyn couldn't stop smiling and looking around! She thought it was great! She loved watching the wind blowing in the trees! The whole scene was somewhat hilarious!!



 All in all it was a great year at the dam.  Rodger was able to attend the entire thing which was wonderful and it was really just a great year! We definitely liked being up top again versus the group site!