Four hour nightmare

Scrapbooking isn't fun when you do it by yourself, I've discovered. Tonight I about had a meltdown. :) It's our wedding album - I finally started it a couple weeks ago, having never tried to scrapbook before, I quickly became addicted... Now I'm stuck.

In the infamous words of our three year old nephew,
"I can't know how!"

Ashleigh, come home soon - I need some help getting the creative juices flowing again... Any of you have scrapbooking parties? I'd love an invite. I'm totally open to having one here, too. Let me know!

To Grandma's house we go!

Grandma Mona's house in Show Low
Peter, Ashleigh, family doesn't it look great?
I love the new paint job!

Sydney loved playing around in nature...
she's always a fan of grass. :)

Grandma's cat "Jezebel" - hilarious, Mom calls her a tramp :)

Sydney received her first piano lesson
...more like she banged on it.
Hey, we all gotta start somewhere, right?

Here was our favorite part - Mountain rains...
Sydney had never been in the rain before!
She had a FABULOUS time getting SOAKED.

"Wow!"
Check out this video - I don't know who was more tickled pink
Sydney, or me and Grandma!

Drying off... Her face:
"I don't know what that was, but it was awesome."
Grandma Mona WE LOVE YOU!

Kimmie, we gotta get you and Clark up there!
Michale, you and the boys... let's go sometime too!!

Point and Click Miracles

I had to take some pictures while driving (literally) up north.
From on top of the Rim through Heber and on into Show Low
the scenery was such that (lucky for me) I could just point and click.
Even areas once damaged by forest fire now appear completely majestic.
What an escape
(for a couple hours - Sydney slept most of the way!)
Click on these - the views are heavenly.

Oceanside, CA

Little Vocabulary Building

I love the new words and sounds Sydney is learning... It brings a big smile to our faces to hear her first bits of verbal communication. Doesn't it just make you excited, this stage??! Here are a few little words she has picked up between Grandma Mona, Baby Signing time and Mom & Dad reading to her. They are:
1. Bird! She spotted pigeons in Cali and would say bird, run over, or just watch for them in the sky. This is one Grandma Mona helped her with while reading her a book before we left.
2. Beach! That was a fun one... I'm sure she was meaning bEAch... HA!
3. Whoosh! Again, a sound from one of her favorite stories, The Ugly Bug. She turns to that page and looks at me while making the sound. That and OOEEAAH! for the monkey :)
4. Dad! She has said it for a while, only now she has added the sign for Dad. It's especially hilarious because I'll prompt her to say Mom which I know very well she is extremely proficient in saying and signing... So I say Mom and she immediately sticks her thumb to her forehead and smiles, "Dad!". Cracks us up!
5. Lastly, our favorite! "Read da book!" Yes, my friends, in the wee hours of one California morning, she came to our bedside with her little book in hand, handed it to me and said in her little voice, "Read da book". Pace and I flipped. It was so SPECIAL!! It is so fun to watch them grow, isn't it!

I'm ready for the beach, Mom!

Sunday we leave for our annual Rawlins Family Oceanside Vacation. We are excited! No one moreso than Pace, except maybe myself. Something about the beach... refreshing, calming... a true vacation. LOVE IT!

Fetch, I Mean Catch