Assorted cutes and funs

With only a month to go, Ellie is practicing her curtsy for Christie's wedding. We think she'll be just fine with the task of scattering flower petals, but she also demonstrates her classiness twirling Mish's bridesmaid parasol.

Thanks to Kyle's new (and almost old) job at RCWilley, we scored free tickets to Lagoon, Utah's prized amusement park and enjoyed an exhausting day there yesterday. Coming from Portland's ghetto Oaks Park, I was quite impressed with their repertoire of rides, as was Ellie.

Here we just flew down the log flume ride, similar to Disneyland's Splash Mountain, minus the music, characters, and magical ambiance. We still thought it similar to a romantic gondola ride, though.

Kyle and I embraced (me with reservations) every screamer at the park, and there were more than just a few thrillers. Fortunately for us, Mish shuns the roller coaster genre so was kind enough to watch the kids while we submitted to every moment of insanity these coasters offered, and let me tell you, human kids are getting harder and harder to scare...

These next few shots are Didi's first photographically-captured smiles. He is now at the age where gas has no relation to some of his smiles and we just can't get enough of those gums, not to mention the little dimples that emerge from his tubby cheeks. Speaking of which, at his recent doctor's appointment the kid weighed in at a whopping 13.11, which happens to be in the 90th percentile. It's quite a shift from our little runt of an Ellie, though we find both extremes to be quite adorable.



Last week Ellie experienced her first non-kiddie swimming pool, and the novelty ceased to wear off for the entire hour or so she was in there. She was the only person under 20 in the pool (it was my friend Kjerstin's birhday party) so she soaked up plenty of attention, too, which is what Ellie's do best, of course.

Bryce celebrated his 26th last Friday (the same day our darling new niece Nora was born) with a manly night out to steak dinner and the new Transformers movie and topped it off with this manly strawberry cake.

Only a week and a half until we make the finishing touches on our permanent departure from Provo... and Ellie's exploring that fourth of Chinese that must be in her somewhere. We can't wait to see her running around preschool in a chi-pow with a load of Asian babies. We think she'll blend right in.

Big Buddha

How about rubbing this belly for good luck!



I guess I'm not sure why I bother putting cute clothes on my kids at the beginning of the day. They much prefer nudity, but I guess I don't mind that either. I think this one is supposed to be a cuddle.


And this one's supposed to be a hug.

And this one a kiss. I think Didi's feeling the love.


And then when she DOES wear pants... sort of...

After five years of complacency, I finally relented to hike Y mountain. The arduous journey was no sweat, literally, for Kyle, while I huffed, puffed and panted my way through seemingly endless switchbacks until we turned a corner and there lay the loveliest slab of painted cement I've ever laid eyes on. It was a great workout, a wonderful view, and I just couldn't feel like a genuine BYU alumna without having hiked the Y. So, congratulations me! I am a real graduate now.

Kyle tried to get me to think we still had a ways to go, and I was still trying to get him to carry we the rest of the way, and then I looked up and there it was. Oo, if I'd have had a spare calorie of energy, I'd have jumped for joy.


oops, I meant to put in an aerial shot of Provo here, but I guess the parking lot will do.

Here's my victory Y.

4th of July was a fun but exhausting day, commencing with a community parade (quarter of a million people strong) and concluding with the Stadium of Fire fireworks show after dark. It was selling nachos at Stadium of Fire three years ago that Kyle and I first fell in love, so we have even more to celebrate at this time of year than the birth of America.