Quack!

I have been wanting to take Presley down to the small lake at Wasatch State Park (just to the north and down the hill from our house) for quite some time but something else has always come up. Today We finally made it! Presley loved feeding the ducks even though she could not throw the pieces of bread very far--she kept creeping up to the very edge of the lake and setting the bread in the water just at the shore line. Lots of pointing, lots of "duck, duck!", and lots of "quacking" all from Presley--she is definitely into animals and all the sounds they make (her favorites include cow = moo, pig = snort, duck = quack, sheep = baaa, and dolphin = eee eee eee).

It was sure hot considering the days have been getting cooler but even with a red face and sweating Presley loved it--we even ran into a friend of Presley's from church who was also there enjoying the wildlife. This is something we will do again soon and I am thinking it would be a good time to head back down to Thanksgiving Point to The Farm for more animals to feed and a pony ride (maybe she will have more fun there now that she can walk and "talk" with the animals).

The Park.

With the summer drawing to a close Seven Peaks is only open in the late afternoon so my group of friends and our kids need to find something else to do when we set up play-dates. With the weather still warm we headed off to a shady park and let the kids run around and have a picnic. When we would go to the park last summer or even early this spring Presley would simply sit near me and eat the lunch I fed her while she listened to us mom's chat. Well, now she is walking and she finally, with some prodding from mom, wants to play on the playground equipment!

Today we started with the swings which she is familiar with (we have one on the back porch and so does Grandma) and then moved on to the smallest of the slides, and then finally to the actual playset full of bridges, tunnels, and more slides. It was so fun to see her walk around and check things out. She was having such a good time that she wouldn't even look at the camera! And thank goodness playgrounds have wood chips these days--the sand would have frightened her away for sure.

Oh Seat!

Presley has hit another developmental milestone. She now uses profanity! Just kidding, but really she has several words that come out sounding like S#!% . When Presley points to an object she will ask "Sat?" meaning "What's that?" or she will say "Seat." or "Sit." when she is in a chair or the couch or her highchair--all of these phrases/words sound like she is saying a naughty word. We all get a good laugh and proceed to tell her the name of the object in question--she is just trying so hard to learn about everything around her.

I finally went to the newly opened Ikea with my mom and sister Krista (Chris was so kind to babysit P all day long, and I do mean all day). Even though we tried to hurry through the store there was just so much to look at. I purchased a few frames and pictures for the front entry, a small pink table for Presley, and several little toys that I hoped would help occupy her during church (but the only thing they succeeded in was us frantically trying to pick up the pieces as she threw them under and around the pews). The best purchase though was a little chair (or "seat" as P calls it) that Presley loves to sit in--it is just her size and she can't stop playing with it. She will even puts her baby (Lisa Marie) in it and covers her with a blanket or feeds her a drink from her cup.

Fun with Food.

So with the fall approaching it means time to start eating all the good things that Chris' dad grew in his garden. Even with his busy schedule Grandpa managed to plant a terrific garden--and he won't even be the here to reap the benefits! Grandpa left for Switzerland this morning and I promised him that we would be sure to eat all the corn, tomatoes, peppers, peaches, and apples that his garden will produce.

The corn we had from the garden was delicious and Presley loved it! She and Grandpa shared a piece at first but soon she needed her own ear of corn. The corn was sweet and good and I can't wait to have more. Hopefully when we go to visit Grandpa later this fall I will be able to report that I ate all I could (and more I am sure)!

Fall Already?

As I am sitting here it is about ready to rain--the thunder is loud and close and the lighting is striking near by, scaring Presley and Roxy with the loud crackling. We are finally getting reflief from the heat today and maybe the house will have a chance at cooling off tonight. But I never would have guessed that a new season is about to begin. Presley brought me home the first orange leaf of the season--she picked it while out on a hike with her dad and Roxy.

I love the fall--cooler nights, pleasantly warm days, lots of sunshine with the occasional storm (like tonight's), the colors of the mountains where we live, and of course my birthday. I am not ready to give up the pool and the long summer days but I do love the change (if only I could find a way to make the winter only last a couple of months). The rain is coming down now--this will be a good storm to sit outside on the deck and watch . . .

Road Trip.

We are back! And we had a fabulous time on our little road trip! Presley did pretty well despite a 1 1/2 hour screaming contest she had (she was the only contestant) that lasted from St. George to Las Vegas (on the first leg of our journey). After that it was pretty smooth sailing. Presley did great sleeping in her port-a-crib and did well without too many naps for the week. Roxy, as always, was a great dog in the car--she mostly slept--and was good about being in so many new places with new dogs and people to meet.

SeaWorld

Wednesday morning we got back in the car for a quick ride to San Diego to visit one of my favorite places--SeaWorld. Many of you know that I have always wanted to be a killer whale trainer so being at SeaWorld helps me feel like I am almost there. Presley loved the park and I was amazed at how intently she watched the animals.

We caught the first killer whale show and sat in the "splash zone" so that we could be close enough for Presley (and me) to actually see the animals. We didn't get wet but this was definitely my favorite part of the day. These animals are sooooo big and so beautiful to watch as they interact with their trainers.

The other shows were fun too. The dolphins are always entertaining with the tricks they can preform and the sea lion/otter show tries to be funny but really all we want to see is the gigantic walrus at the end of the show.

Presley loved the interactive tide pools where you could reach in and touch bat rays and hold bat stars. With the first star I handed to her she brought it right up to her face, looked at it, and then gave it a kiss! It was so sweet. We had a hard time putting all the bat stars down but eventually (with some tears) we were able to move on.

Hopefully we will get to go back to SeaWorld soon--I am still waiting for them to pick me to come participate in the shows (I just might jump in and see what happens).

Huntington Beach

Chris likes the beach and I love it so I thought for sure Presley (being a water lover) would be in heaven at the beach. Well, it was quite the opposite. Presley cried the instant we put her down in the sand and it didn't stop until she was safely back on the towel. She hated the sand, the waves, and pretty much everything about the beach--maybe she will grow into it and enjoy the beach on the next trip.

We also went to the beach one evening for a bonfire and dinner with Chris' friend Brian and his extended family. Presley again would have nothing to do with the sand and didn't move from the safety of her little beach towel.

Presley warmed up a bit with a shovel and pail but still would not budge from that towel! She redeemed herself as a water lover on the trip home--we stopped in Las Vegas again to visit with Chris' friend Mark (and his new wife and baby) where we went swimming at the pool. Presley couldn't stop from splashing, blowing bubbles, and jumping in the water.


Around Town

One of the great parts of this trip was just getting to relax and do what we wanted. We loved taking out the beach cruiser bikes and riding up and down the beach. On Tuesday night Main Street was closed for the weekly farmer's market so we stopped and got dinner and I of course had to buy a big basket of local, fresh, California strawberries (which only took us one sitting to eat).

Chris and Presley made a great pair touring around on the bikes. They even got a few stares--P was in the backpack screaming "wheeeeeeee" as we rode around.

I love how there were so many local shops and places to visit within riding distance--the taco shop (Chronic Tacos) and the Sugar Shack (for a yummy breakfast) were definitely the culinary highlights of our trip. Chris will argue that he loved In and Out but I am still partial to good old Utah local Burger Supreme.


Dog Beach


Finally Roxy got her day in the sun! Huntington has a pretty big section of beach where dogs are allowed and unlike Presley she loved running in the sand and playing with all the other dogs. Roxy however was not to excited about the water--she only ventured far enough to get her little feet wet.

Manhattan Open (AVP)

On Friday we made it to Manhattan Beach for the AVP tournament. We were able to watch the world's best volleyball players in some of their qualifying matches. It is amazing how strong these athletes are. Presley enjoyed the beach from dad's back again (this time in the backpack) and she beat the heat with a Jamba Juice (which she drank most of).

Home Again

The whole family had a great time at the beach--it was a trip that I hope we will make many more times. Thank you to everyone who made it possible (Brian, Mark and Dierdre for the places to crash, Brian's neighbors John and Julie for the bike and trailer).

We made it back without too much trouble. The windshield held up (we got a big rock chip about 20 minutes into the trip) and the flat tire problem never returned. Presley is still talking about Jack (Mark and Deirdre's 5 month old) and Thule Brian's dog. For now we are going to take a few days off and get back into a routine.

County Fair.

Part of living in a small town means that it is easier to get to the local, down-home things that go on all summer long. For instance on Thursday nights you can head into 'town' and go to the local Farmers Market--where we like to eat sweet fry bread and chicken kabobs--or you can catch one of several local parades and festivals that happen nearly every week.

This weekend we attended the Wasatch County Fair and by the looks of it you can tell that it was hot but we had fun chowing down on Philly cheese steaks , hot--fresh out of the oil--mini donuts, and Texas lemonade.

Chris' favorite are the livestock exhibits but unfortunately we came on the last day and all of the sheep, pigs, and goats had been packed up. We did get to see the horses and cows that were going to be in the rodeo later that night. Chris says he won't be truly happy until we own a sheep farm and learn to make our own cheese. Maybe someday . . .

PS--We used the fair to test out our newest purchase. The KangaKid backpack. So far it is a thumbs-up. It will hold a child up to 33 pounds and Chris said it was pretty comfortable--hopefully it will come in handy on our trip to California this coming week! (On sale at the REI outlet online, not a bad price)

Rub-a-dub-dub . . .

Today Presley not only enjoyed a long, hot shower with me but she also got to spend a good chunk of time in the big tub in our master bathroom. I wasn't finished getting ready and so while I put on a bit of makeup and brushed my teeth Presley literally swam in the tub.

It is a very large tub (we only filled it a bit) and Presley was on her belly swimming around, blowing bubbles, and wriggling like a fish. The tub is right next to my sink so I had my eye on her the whole time (conveniently, I could even see her in the mirror's reflection). Too much fun!

Yikes!

Can you see it??? I was outside this morning with Presley and Roxy, enjoying the cooler mornings we have been having, trimming the plants and weeding a bit, when this Praying Mantis scared the pants off me! I am not a bug person--my least favorites include grasshoppers and moths--and I was not at all prepared to have this gigantic, neon green, scary bug nearly crawl up my arm.

I backed away and will probably never get that particular plant trimmed down. Hopefully this bug is doing something productive like keeping away spiders!

New Food.

I know this new food looks like throw-up but Roxy loves it so far (and it smells nothing like it looks--think dehydrated camping food). How could she not love it when the ingredients are hormone-free chicken, organic flaxseed, potatoes, celery, sweet potatoes, apples, alfalfa, organic kelp, honey, zucchini, green beans, cabbage, bananas, papayas, yogurt, basil, garlic and rosemary. She licked her bowl clean!

Mmmmmmmm!