Busy July

We have had a very busy July. When Lena was blessed on the 4th my parents were at Island Park, so we got to spend some time with the Moores. Gary came that weekend and we were able to take him to Yellowstone and he could spend some quality time with Michelle, who learned quickly how to say his name. I took Lena to meet my Grandma and Grandpa Moore in Utah. Then we trecked the long journey to Washington where Michelle loved every moment and Lena got to meet her Great Grandma Reese, her Grandma Jackson, her Grandpa Jackson and her Great Uncle Gary. The girls traveled well, considering it was a 12 hour drive each way, and Jim and I enjoyed being back home in Washington, if even for a very short time. Following are some cherished pictures from the month's escapades, in no particular order (organizing them takes too long!)

Picking blueberries in Steilacoom, WA.

At the stink-pots in Yellowstone with Uncle Gary.

Putting makeup on Aunt Madison (the makeup belongs to Trevor's girlfriend, Brooke)

Uncle Trevor carried Michelle up from the hike to the brink of the Lower Falls.

Hanging out in West Yellowstone with Uncle Travis and Grandpa Moore.

Dancing with Grandma Moore.

Lena meets Great Grandma Moore.

Meeting Gary in Centralia, WA (halfway through the STP).

Lena meets Grandma Jackson.

Great Grandma Reese holds Lena.

Great Uncle Gary talks to Michelle.

The girls meet Grandpa Jackson.

Michelle woke up on Saturday the 3rd to her Uncle Gary and to a new box of Legos he brought her. They enjoyed playing together for quite a while.

Lena's Blessing on the 4th of July

Lena was blessed in the church on the 4th of July. She was beautiful in her dress made by her Grandma Thompson. It was also a weekend full of family visitors and fun.

Mommy! Where is Lena?

She was being passed around to all the family that came.

Thanks everyone who came so far to see our beautiful little girl!

Michelle at the Big Kid Park

The good news is there is a park close enough for me to walk to. The bad news is, it's an elementary school park, so all the toys are for bigger kids. No swings for Michelle, really the slides are too tall for her too. But we still go about once a week and she still has a roaring good time.

As a family we have also been frequenting the River Parkway. It is beautiful down there by the river and we enjoy the trails. Michelle likes the grass. I wish we had a yard for her to play in every day, but it will come in time . . .

Jim's new company provides a "wellness coach" for its employees and he told her he would be going hiking once a week. So far we have hit two weeks in a row, hopefully we can keep that up. We discovered Kelly Canyon last weekend and it was beautiful. It is also ATV central, but there were some trails for hikers too.

My two little girls are so sweet!

They grow so fast!

Lena is already holding her head up straight and trying to roll herself over. She is getting so big too! She has outgrown her newborn clothes and diapers. She is in her hand-me-down cloth diapers now (and going through them rather quickly). Instead of washing diapers every 3 days now we have to wash them every two! But that's okay, because she is so darn cute. She can even wear bows in her hair, something Michelle STILL can't do. She had one in in the picture here, for church, but this is the end of the day and the bow has come out. (I think with some help from Michelle). Her church dress, by the way, was an ordeal to find. We went all over town, to all the stores, Kohls, Target, Sears, JCPenney, Ross, even Gymboree, and none of them had a dress with sleeves in the 3 month size. Finally we found this one at Macy's.

Swimming Lessons

Michelle started swimming lessons this month. She is not exactly "a fish to water," but things are going "swimmingly". Jim gets to swim with her while I watch from the observation deck with Lena. It makes for pretty lousy pictures, so the only good ones I have are from the first day before they tracked me down and made me go upstairs, and they aren't really that great. Still . . .

Sisters

We took the two girls to the zoo, and while Lena mostly slept and didn't have a clue where she was, Michelle had a fabulous time and really enjoyed looking at and playing with the animals. (And she discovered how disgusting the food is they let you feed them at the zoo, because she thought it was for her to eat too!)

Michelle loves her sister! Now that doesn't mean she knows exactly how to SHOW her she loves her, because sometimes she is very rough when she gets excited, and she usually gets excited to see Lena. However, sometimes she does it right, and it is pretty cute!

Getting Settled

We are starting to get settled into an apartment in Idaho Falls. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom with vaulted ceilings. It has less storage than our house, so we are storing some things until we buy a house here. We are still hopeful that we will be able to sell the house in Show Low this summer! Anyway, as we have been getting settled I have neglected a few things, like phone calls and mail and blog updates. Having TWO babies has contributed, and not getting more than 3 hours of sleep at a time also has something to do with it I suppose. They keep us busy, but they are sweet and we love them very much. I will share a few more photos with you all. Most of them were taken with my phone as it was easily accessible.

Michelle played with old toys in her new room as we unpacked (as you can see, so did Jim!)

Lena enjoyed her new crib.

Michelle had a good time driving the "truck" when we went to Toys R Us to buy Lena's crib. I had to work hard to keep Jim from buying more toys we don't have room for!

Michelle got VERY tired during the long trip from Show Low to Idaho Falls.

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