Christmas 2009

yep - finally getting around to posting Christmas. I can't believe how long I have pushed this off. We had a fabulous Christmas. This was the year of dollies - 3 of them. Pretty funny. But she loves dollies and takes them everywhere. They go in the car, in the stroller, in the bed, everywhere Angela goes, so does at least one dolly. This year she had fun, she wasn't quite sure about Santa because didn't spend a lot of time teaching her about him, but she got the gift thing. It was fun to watch her. And she loved her new Christmas dress. She will (and does) wear dresses every day. She has her play dresses and her Sunday dresses, and some that are both.

Happy Thanksgiving

We are feeling extremely blessed during this year. Angela has brought so much to our home and it is truly a joy - most of the time... smile. We are especially thankful for the comforts we enjoy... home, cars, jobs, food, clothes, warmth... the list goes on and on. We had a great Thanksgiving. Blake's family tradition is to go bowling in the morning. Angela had so much fun and had a good time with her cousins. She couldn't wait for her turn to knock down the pins. We then drove out to Lorena's sister's for dinner....mmmm.... tasty. She did an amazing job for 32 people.

Halloween

Wow, I can't believe how long it has been since we have posted. We are just busy doing the normal every day stuff... work, cooking, cleaning, playing, changing diapers, playing. Angela loves to be outside and sometimes we will stop at the park on the way home. Whenever we do this, it means I take her kicking and screaming from the slides. Whenever we pass a park or she sees a slide she instantly says, "slide." Pretty funny.

This is the first year Angela did trick-or-treating. We are not particularly Halloween type folk, but we had a good time with it this year. I made her costume - Boo from Monster's Inc. - the Disney movie. We went trick-or-treating on Friday at Blake's office, everyone loved her costume and made a big deal over her. She loves the attention, but acts all shy. The more they commented on her costume, the more excited she got. The Saturday, we carved pumpkins and did more trick-or-treating. Blake took her only to about five or six houses. She had fun. She likes to see the other kids in their costumes. As she was getting ready for bed she would run to the door every time the door bell rang, just so she could see the kids and help hand out candy. (It was sad not having Osa this year. Osa loved the trick-or-treaters. She would go to the door every time to see the kids.) I am sure that next year when Angela can voice her opinion more aptly, she will want to be a princess or Tinker Bell or something girly. She really likes to look cute and pretty.

visiting family - showing off.

Getting ready to go out.


at daddy's office

The Aquarium

So we were going through some old pictures and realized we never posted about our trip to the aquarium. We made the visit back in June - so her hair is a lot longer now. Why is it that time goes by so fast - and that it takes us forever to get our blog updated?

We all had a good time. It was so fun to see her reaction to the fish. There is an open tank where you can touch a stingray and other fish. At first she was a little apprehensive but the second and third time she couldn't get enough. Isn't that the way we all are. Only it seems she leaves kicking and screaming for more. At least she's having a good time.

Remembering Osa

Today was a day of great sadness. Our most wonderful chocolate lab of 13 years was laid to rest. We remember the day we picked her up. It was in December, she was the last female of the litter, and the chunkiest. That is how she got her name. Osa means Bear in Spanish. When she walked, her behind waddled like a little bear cub. She was an amazing dog. So good to everyone and wanted nothing but to be loved and petted. She liked being where the people were. She would play fetch, go for walks, swim in the pond, try to keep up with Jake, sit on her rug by the fire. When we brought Angela home she was so excited to see her and get to know her. Whenever Angela played outside, Osa would be there with her. They would lay in the grass together. Osa would sit under Angela's slide while she played.

Osa loved Blake. She would be right by his side wherever he was. She would walk with him as he mowed the lawn, play in the pond as his fished, go on hikes in the canyon, and just be by him. Blake also loved Osa. After 13 years of friendship it is hard to see it end.

Swimming with Angela

peering through the window

Rolling in the mud

hunting

Playing with Angela and Jake

Yellowstone

Two weeks ago we were in Yellowstone... our first time spending an entire week there. We started the week fishing on the Madison River with our favorite guide. It was the first time Angela was in a boat. She did pretty good. She liked to explore all the equipment and hang her feet over in the water. She liked it when her dad caught fish - which he did quite a bit. She even took a nap on the floor. There was a perfect spot for her in the back and she just layed down and went to sleep. We stopped a couple times and let her play and for lunch. All in all, it could have been worse with a 2-year old on the boat. Next time, I need to remember that fishing is not enough activity for a youngster.

We stayed at a hotel that had a great slide. Angela has spent some time in pools, but not enough to know what to do when she goes under water. But she kept wanting to go down the slide. So mom carried her up the steps and to the top, she still wanted to go down. So we had a quick lesson. Mom practiced plugging her nose while she closed her eyes, and down the slide we went. We did it two times and she loved it.

On another day we hiked to Cascade Lake. We got caught in a little rain for about 1 hour, but that gave us some resting time under some pines to eat our lunch. We played around the lake and then hiked out. It's a pretty easy hike through a meadow and some pines. Angela took it in the backpack where she enjoyed her nap.

on the boat

hello fishy

lunch by the river

nap time

Dancin' Queen

Angela loves music. A few weekends ago the UT symphony was playing at Deer Valley. We thought it was just going to be the symphony playing ABBA tunes but there was actually a cover group that sang the songs. The original guitarist, keyboardist and saxophonist from the group were also there. We had so much fun!! The half-hour before the concert started it poured rain. We tried to wait it out but decided it wasn't worth it so we went and got our place on the hill and ate our picnic dinner. We weren't prepared for rain so we did the best we could. A few minutes before the concert started the sun came out and we had a chance to dry out.

When the music started Angela put down here dinner, held our hands and got up and started dancing. She did not stop the entire night. We weren't sure how she would be, but she loved it. We went with some family so there were also some cousins there and that made it even more fun. We cannot keep her still when there is music going.





Click play to see her dance.