Hiking

We went up to Mt. Lemmon today for a picnic and a little hiking up where it's not almost 100 degrees. It was so nice and we had lots of fun and decided we definitely need to go hiking a lot more often. Rachel loved it too-even the backpack carrier. When Jacob took over carrying her she started laughing and laughing. I think she liked the bounce in his step.

A new video

It's been a while since we've posted a video. Actually, it had been a while since we uploaded all our videos from the camcorder--there were 17 today when I finally got around to it. This was a really long video-probably 15 minutes total. I just turned it on and let it run while Rachel finished her snack. But don't worry, I edited it so it's only about 3 minutes--some of the highlights.
Rachel doesn't always eat shirtless, but she didn't want it on, and kept getting her dirty hands wiped on her shirt while she was trying to take it off, so I gave in and took it off.


And I think somewhere in those 17 videos there are some clips of Rachel taking steps. Once I look through them I'll probably post one of those for your viewing pleasure. :)

Religious freedom?

So, with the upcoming proposition 102 here in Arizona to add an amendment to the AZ constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman, there is a lot of talk about it at church. We are being encouraged to make sure we are registered to vote, and to participate in efforts to get others to support the amendment. I found this article linked to on the LDS newsroom and it made me a bit worried about this world. Apparently judges are deciding that groups cannot decide to live according to their own religious convictions, and when someone not abiding by the religious standards disagrees with the religion, judges think they have the right to dictate how the religion should operate. It's scary to think what could happen with our religious freedoms in the future.

Pigtails?

Yep. These stayed in for at least 5 minutes. Maybe even close to 10.

So besides superglue, any suggestions for getting them to stay in? I just realized that her hair would fit into mini pigtails and these barrettes were all that I had around to try. I'm thinking mini rubber bands?

Provo visit

We got back from Utah yesterday after a fun weekend. Here's a little look of what we did (with lots of pictures).

Rachel tried to go swimming with the ducks in the pond.

The ducks tried to eat Rachel's fingers, thinking they were bread.

Rachel loved watching the cats and chased them anytime she saw them.

The cats hid from Rachel anytime they saw her.

Ducks came to visit on the front lawn.


Rachel chased the ducks.


Rachel chased the ducks a lot.


Rachel played by our make-shift safety gate at the top of the stairs.


The little jail bird had lots of fun exploring grandma and grandpas house.

We had some fun family time and enjoyed the nice weather and grass.


We forgot to take a picture before Sharon went back up to BYU-I, but this is the rest of the fam (minus Cari, who's serving a mission in Alaska).


We played with Legos. A lot. Jacob had lots of fun. And Rachel liked them okay, too.

We got to go to Mark's senior organ recital. He did a great job! It was at the Cathedral of the Madeleine which has an amazing organ and it sounded really awesome there.

We also celebrated Lisa's birthday (unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures) and got to go to the temple (a 10 minute drive is so much better than a 2 hour drive).

We had a lot of fun up there even though it was just a quick trip. Rachel had quite the case of stranger anxiety some days with so many people around that she didn't know, so she was a bit of a mommy's girl, but she'll get over that one of these days (I hope).

hamper fun

Oh, the little joys of life...

If only I were as easily entertained as Rachel is.

Tomorrow we're off for a quick visit to Provo for the weekend. We're pretty excited! Woohoo!

Rubber duckie, you're the one...

You know how some kids have a comfort blanket, or a stuffed animal they love and carry with them everywhere. It turns out that Rachel's is a rubber duckie. It fits so nicely in her hand and she carries it with her when she crawls around and does stuff, and sometimes even when she's sleeping.

Rachel and duckie playing the piano together

Rachel and duckie crawling together

Rachel and duckie so happy to be standing at the couch together

And picture without the duckie: The bearded lady. Rachel sure loves her bubble baths.