September wrap-up

But first... A little something from August.

I forgot to blog about this.  Dan's younger brother Jake got married to beautiful Ailin (pron. Eileen).  Here are a few shots from the blessed day. :)

Three darling cousins with matching dresses (Whitney, Kate, McKenna)

The happy couple!

With all the nieces and nephews

On Sept. 16th, we said good-bye to Dan's youngest brother Adam.  He's leaving to serve for two years in the Stockholm, Sweden mission!

McKenna and I also had a quick trip to the Utah State Fair!  Check out this sculpture made of BUTTER! 

Big pumpkins too!

McKenna turned 11 months!  

I'll list her many new skills and accomplishments next month when she turns 1 (sniff, sniff).  But for now, just enjoy her sweet face and some of her new "tricks."

I love how vocal she's becoming.  She really seems to be telling us something. :) 

Three of her new tricks.  She was a little camera shy at first, but performed quite well in the end.  1.) Playing with her lips  2.)Clapping (on command)  3.) "So big!"

Trick 4.) Tongue clicking  (listen carefully).

This was taken after she was obviously done performing for the camera.  However, it's fun to listen to her jabber some more.  You may even hear a "what" at the end of the video. :)  

First word??

CA Vacation part 7- Playing at the house

Throughout the week

Are you tired of reading about our CA vacation yet?  Sorry- I'm just trying to document for posterity's sake. :)  Here's the LAST post/photo dump about our trip.   These are just some fun pictures from hanging out at my parent's house.  

Dylan and McKenna- 5 months apart, but the same size.

Grandpa lovin' the babies, and they love him!

Kaitlyn put these stickers on everyone's head.  Funny two year old!

Grandma bought this awesome ball pit for the kids to play in.  It was a hit!

We had some fun with the air mattress Dan and I slept on.  Never mind the baby whiplash.  You can tell she was having fun by her squeels of delight! :)

The joys of living on a farm.  Good morning Mr. Lizard!

Daddy/Daughter time

Sweet baby bum

Hello!  Man I want to eat those cheeks!

She discovered that if she drops things behind her head, they disappear. 

We got a little preview of what McKenna's 1st birthday might look like.  She LOVED to demolish the mini muffins at the hotel breakfast.  

She had her first "whale spout" hair-do.

She learned this new trick: "How big is McKenna? SO BIG!"

My mom's parents (Grandma and Grandpa Condie) also drove out from UT for a visit, since we were all together.  We just had to eat out at Olive Garden!   

More cousin fun!

This was one of my favorite stuffed animals growing up.  Mom saved it and McKenna seemed to like it too, right? :)

We had such a FUN trip!  It was wonderful to be together!  Thanks to everyone who made it possible. xoxox

Now I can update about what we've done since we've been home... stay tuned.

CA Vacation part 6- Zip Line (Canopy Tour)

Friday (Sept. 4th)

We ate and swam at the hotel, packed up, and headed out for one more adventure!

The last day we were on the coast was definitely our most daring!  My sister found a Canopy Tour where you zip line through the Redwood trees.  It was pretty pricey but SO worth it!  Mom and Dad were kind enough to babysit the four grandkids so we could play in the trees!  THANK YOU! 

The instructor taught and trained us on the ground first (we went through drills of clipping, unclipping, calling out safety checks...), so when we were up in the trees, we could be on our own (kinda).  

     Dan getting "suited" up.  These were very comfortable harnesses, right honey? :/

Me and my three siblings.  (Mickelle, Jonathan, Emily, Me)

The cute couple ready to go! 

I was the first to climb up, mostly because I didn't want to have to wait, then get scared and chicken out.  :)  It was a 70ft high climb to the first zip line.  That was the hardest part by far!  I need to work on my upper body strength, I guess.   

(This is actually my sister, Emily, climbing.  So you get the idea.)

  Here's everyone else down on the ground.

The view across the first and shortest zip line.  (Note: The longest zip line they had was 100ft)

My sister Emily coming across!

This is my other sister Mickelle!

The four siblings together on the lower platform.

Dan!  Check out his  l o n g  legs comin' across!

ME!  (Never mind the screaming.  It really was a blast! 

Dan and Laura sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.  First comes love, then comes marriage.  Then comes the baby in a baby carriage!  (Note: We really did kiss while we were up in the trees.  Cheesy, I know.) :) 

CA Vacation part 5- Kid's museum, Fern Canyon, Trinidad

Thursday (Sept. 3rd)

We went to a Children's Discovery Museum.  Not nearly as nice or updated as the one in SLC at the Gateway, but still nice.  McKenna LOVED this toy piano and probably would have stayed there all day if we let her.  But we had her explore some other things.  

She felt so big standing by herself (holding on though for balance).

Port hole

"Get me outta here mom."

Going down the slide with cousin Kari

At the checkout stand.  Don't worry, I could never put a price tag on McKenna! ;)

Fun ball ramp and loop

Later that day, we saw LOTS of Elk (we saw more later, but didn't take pictures of those)!

We did a little hike in Fern Canyon.  It was gorgeous!  It reminded me Jurassic Park scenery. :)

Try to spot Kari...she's very sneaky with her camo shirt.

So Green!  So many ferns!

Dan was having a Man Vs. Wild moment.  Bear Grylls would be so proud of this perfect lean-to shelter...cue British accent..."I've got to build a fire; cause if I don't, I'll die." 

That evening we went to see Trinidad Beach.  It was also quite a sight and very cold!