First Steps & Green Chili Sauce!!!

I'll begin with the biggest news of the month:

#1- MaryKate took her first steps tonight! She's been walking holding on to walls & such but tonight she walked from me to James without touching anything! Crazy. Who would think a girl with such a large cranium would find enough balance? This means trouble. We'll try to video it soon.

#2- We are finished with ElderHostel tour guiding. Below is a picture of us moments before hot air ballooning during our final week of the summer.

#3- The day we finished, James & I went with a group of 8 others to hike Havasupai Falls for our 2nd time. Mary & Becca watched MaryKate for the 4 days we were gone... thank you to them! It was hard to be without her, but we did have a great time!

(It rained & flash flooded our first night there, so hence the brown water for a day.)

(Zoom in on this sweet pic of Ryan & Evan doing a simultaneous back flip off the new waterfall)

(Our entire group of 10 minus me jumping through the falls)

(After the hike out... we earned all that sweat!)

#4- MaryKate is eating just about everything! She loves food and scavenges for it all day!

#5- Last but not least- GREEN CHILI SAUCE!
All summer we had zero food in our fridge due to tour guiding. So on a Saturday we came home from Park City and picked up some dinner at Costa Vida. James loves green chili sauce so he got a few containers of it. We took it to go & drove home. James got MaryKate out of the car and picked up the plastic bag of Mexican food and headed upstairs while I started unpacking the car. When upstairs, James noticed the green chili sauce had leaked out of the container and out of the bag onto his arm and because he had his arms full with MK, he quickly licked the dripping chili sauce off his arm. Sadly it wasn't green chili sauce! MaryKate had been having some bowel troubles and had exploded out of her diaper something that looked very similar to green chili sauce. After gagging & spitting the pooh out, James washed out his mouth multiple times. :)

Happy Birthday John!

My brother, John passed away this February and today is his birthday. So in honoring him, I made this video that celebrates all the good he has brought our family over the years. Because his birthday is on the 25th of August, it was often overlooked by the excitement or dread of the first day of school and the hustle & bustle of back to school shopping. So this year I wanted to do something special for him to prove that I remembered.
I remember last year all he wanted for his birthday was to see his daughter, Megan's first day of Kindergarten and somehow he miraculously managed to get leave from Iraq so he could be there. This year for his birthday we are all wishing for him to be here with us and although he physically can't be, maybe again he will miraculously manage to get a short leave so that he can.
This movie was so fun to make because it felt like reliving my childhood with my family. If you watch it, pay close attention to our outfits and hair styles. Maybe your family had similar photos taken... but probably not the one of everyone in bathing suits though! I still can't believe my mom took us to the photo studio in our swim suits. Ha! Enjoy!

(If you have a slow internet like mine, you may want to push play & then pause, let the movie load, then watch. It's much better than starting & stopping. I also suggest clicking on full screen. Enjoy!)

Fun in California Sun!

James, MaryKate, & I took a needed vacation from ElderHostel tour guiding to relax in Cali with my sister's family, the Lees. We had so much fun. MaryKate is growing up so fast and so are Mary's kids.

We went to gymnastics with all the kids and had so much fun. I've always wanted to fall into the pit of foam!

We went to the Jelly Belly Factory to meet up with my friends, Lindsay & Julie. The kids came too and Tanner even ate Rotten Egg Flavored Beans! Yuck!

Julie, Lindsay, Ada & Me... it was so nice to see the girls. I just love them!

The girls!

James surprised me with a date to the city to see Wicked & to dinner at Basil. It was sooo awesome! I loved the surprise. We sat very high, but it was perfect! My first broadway show!

Cambria had her 3rd B-day party and MaryKate helped set up the tables... or should we say unset the table!

Happy Birthday Cambria! We loved your pink party!

Cambria convinced Mary to buy her and MaryKate matching dresses. Because they were on sale and Mary is MK's name sake she was a sucker for the darling dresses! Thanks Mary!

MaryKate & Cambria are so darling together. Notice that MK is standing, crawling, & walking with a walker much better!

Fun at a lake in Pleasanton... the paddle boats there were a blast too!