Norah and Papa

My dad, at the awesome age of 59, and Norah, almost two months old.

I sure do love these two. Now I need to get some good pictures of Mimi and Norah.

Happy 30th

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband, the father of my girls, the man God knew fit me best. My very own Superman.  I don't know why God saw fit to bless me so greatly. 

Happy 30th, Bryan. I love you.

Sweaters

My sweet Aunt Betsy sent me these beautiful little matching sweaters a few months ago.  Her daughters Erin and Meghan wore them when they were little, and now my girls get to wear them.  They fit perfectly now, and I finally remembered to get a few pictures of my girls wearing them. 

I'm always surprised how hard it is to get two little people to look at the camera at the same time, while smiling nicely.  We got a lot of shots like this.  One child, perfect.  The other, not so much.

And then of course the good pictures are blurry.

This one is pretty good.  Chloë decided to go for some fake laughing, which looks surprisingly real.

Elaina thought it was funny.

Hand gesturing is always a must.

My girls.  Elaina, 15 months old, and Chloë, 2 and 11/12.

California, part 1

We got back from our fabulous vacation to California a couple of weeks ago.  We had signed up for the Southwest credit card last year, and finally decided to put all of those free miles to good use.  We paid virtually nothing to fly to LAX and back.

Both of the girls did relatively well on the flights, which was a merciful answer to prayer.  Chloë was totally excited about all of the juice and peanuts.

When we landed in LA, we had to take a shuttle bus to the car rental lot.  Chloë was thrilled.  She had never been on a bus before.

We spent some time at Bryan's grandparent's house.  It was fun watching Bryan survey the house and yard for memories.  And of course the girls had a fabulous time doing some of the same things their daddy did when he was a little boy.

Elaina, discovering Spring. 

Both of the girls loved playing in the sprinkler.

Especially Chloë.

It was snowing when we left Idaho, so being in 80 degree weather was spectacular.

Elaina still likes to taste things.  She did not approve of the dandelions.

The girls' great Aunt Bonnie and great Aunt Becky had some birthday presents for the girls to open.

You can see that the girls just enjoyed the sunshine and warm concrete.

We even managed to get a decent group photo. L to R: Chloë, Bryan, Bess, Aunt Bonnie, Gramsie, Grandad, Elaina, Jeffrey, Michael, Becky, and Scott.

Chloë had a serious staring contest with Michael, her first cousin once removed.

Elaina snuggled up to Jeffrey, her first cousin once removed.

The day before we returned to Idaho, we got to see my Aunt Denise and Uncle Craig, and introduce their great nieces to them.  We had a lovely dinner, and Chloë showed them her dance skills, and Elaina demonstrated her walking skills.

We had such a lovely time visiting with so much of our extended family in California.  And of course we didn't mind the warm weather.

Iowa and Family

My family.


Everyone except Uncle Matt (thanks for taking pictures, Uncle Matt!).


Grandmother and Chloë. The little tin cup had been in the back of a closet for some 40 years. Inside it was a note scrawled by my Great GrandPolly, stating that the cup had a little hole in it, but maybe it would be good for a little plant.


My siblings at the Marcus pool.



Adding Chloë's mark to the closet door.


Helping Mimi make hummus.


Anna and Elizabeth crank out a batch of cookies.


With my dad, grandmother, and youngest daughter.


With my mom, my sister, my grandma and my girls.


With Elizabeth, Anna, and Katie.


Dad reads one of our childhood favorites to Chloë.

Iowa Outdoors

The weather was perfect while we were there.

Chloë loved exploring and running around barefoot.



For a walk on Papa's shoulders.


Swinging with Daddy.


Chloë got to drive a pickup.


Checking out the glorious creation.


Some of the guys roasting hotdogs.


Anna and Elizabeth found a baby bat at the base of the silo.


Bryan, Samuel and Daniel caught the world's largest spider, which happened to be missing two legs. I don't usually mind spiders, but I let out a little shriek when I saw this shelob.


Playing in the warm rain.


Chloë helped Uncle Samuel split firewood.


Bryan was a huge help tearing shingles off the old barn.


Chloë helped Papa drive Alice, the tractor.


Then she had to do it by herself.


I'm so grateful that I get to take my children to this place.