Happy Pride!

This year for Pride we decided to go to the Family Picnic, the park, and the parade!  It was so much fun!

The Picnic is held at Como Park which is super close to our house!  It was amazing with all sorts of activities and food.  It was awesome to be there with so many other families.

They also gave us free tickets to ride the carousel.  You loved the horses...until it started to move.  Then you wanted nothing more than for the ride to stop.  You were crying, crying, crying, and when the music would stop, you would start clapping and cheering...but then it would just keep going and another song would start.  It definitely wasn't your favorite part.

We ended the picnic day with getting your second ever tattoo.  You loved it!

The next weekend we went to the festival in the park.  We met up with Gabs, which was awesome!

By the end of the day, though, you were all tuckered out...

So we headed home to rest up for the parade the following day!  We had a great time at the parade...just following your lead!

You loved being outside and spending time with friends!

You weren't quite sure how to take all of the excitement at first,

But got the hang of it in no time!

Pride was such a fun time this year, and I love our friends, our community, and our little family.

18 Months!

It's been such a busy month again, little Sophie!  I guess that's just how the summer goes.

Once school was out this month, you and Mommy spent all of your days together, and made sure you had lots of time outside.  You loved it.

The time spent inside was fun too.  You hung out with Ellie,

Worked on your coloring skills (you have finally started to enjoy coloring...YAY!),

Become acquainted with the potty (you have been ready for potty training for awhile now...mamas, on the other hand...)

You took up some light reading,

And often wanted to help Mama with work, especially when I had to sit in your room to do it in order to connect to the internet since the wifi wasn't working with my work laptop.  Have I mentioned how utterly difficult it is to work at home when you are just staring at me the whole time?  But I love it!  Who wouldn't love this face staring at them throughout their workday?!?

We all went to the Como Zoo together, and you got to ride on the train with Mommy!  You weren't the biggest fan, but eventually you decided it was okay!

With school out it does mean you get to see more of your favorite Aunt Enny!  You light up whenever she enters the room, and I'm happy she lives so close and can stop by often!

This month we said goodbye to Nana for the summer.  Right now where you'll be going to daycare in the fall is a little up in the air.  The choices are so hard, and we are considering all options at this point.  You love Nana and ask for her often.  

Due to the car troubles in South Dakota, we also needed to get a new car.  You stayed home while mamas went hunting and finally returned with...

Mommy even made a couple of new friends along the way!

Once we got home, we introduced you to the new ride.  I think you approved.

You continue to love (harass Ellie).  She loves you back.

This month was also mamas' eighth anniversary!  Who would have thought eight years ago that we would have such a beautiful, wonderful life with you!

As for things you like, you continue to love to try new foods.  Some of your favorites this month are tofu, mushrooms, and corn on the cob.  

You also love music and your favorite songs are "Rainbow, Rainbow" and "Pop Goes the Weasel."  Whenever they come on you stop whatever you are doing to DANCE.  Love it.  

While next month won't be quite as exciting (no Pride, no big family trip), I'm hoping for more down time to spend with you before the fall comes and everything gets crazy busy!

Love you, Blueberry!

Summer Trip!

This year we had a big trip planned over the Fourth of July.  We went to Sioux Falls for several days over the 4th and then traveled on to the Black Hills for a Ricks Family Vacation.

Traveling for over a week has always meant packing lots of stuff.  But adding a toddler to the mix?  Our pile of "stuff" easily quadruples.  This picture was taken before we had even packed everything we needed!

Somehow Mama managed to get everything in the car (including you AND the dog), and we were on our way.

We made a quick stop for lunch on our way to Sioux Falls, and you enjoyed your first Happy Meal.  I think you were pretty happy about it...

Once we got to Sioux Falls you settled right in - 

 Chasing the kittens,

Trying to eat their food,

Giving them lots and lots of kisses,

And introducing them to the Dinosaur Stomp!

We watched Noah put on an awesome fireworks display,

And got acquainted with the horses!

You refused to ride but kept insisting you help Ang take Noah for a ride.

You went on some long, country walks with Mommy,

And caught up with Aunt Ang and Grandma Moe!

It was sad to say goodbye to the Moe family (and Ellie!), but we would be back in several days.  And so, we began our adventure across the state of South Dakota to the Black Hills!  You handle the car rides so well, but we did stop a couple of times along the way.  We stopped at some "outpost" for lunch.  You were happy to be out of the car and loved shopping at a market that was connected to the restaurant!

Our second stop was at Wall Drug.  Mama had never been there before, so I insisted we stop.

You weren't actually a huge fan of the place (or maybe was just slightly fussy from being in the car for so long), but you did agree to post for a few pictures...

...until you didn't anymore.  And that was about the time we decided it was time to get heading on.

We finally arrived at our cabin - GORGEOUS views!

We had only been there a day or two when Mama went out to start the car and discovered it was dead.  Thus started the week-long stress fest for mamas as to what to do.

In the beginning we just had it towed to be looked at and tried to just enjoy the time we had on the vacation with the family.  Some of the highlights of what we did included going fishing for our dinner (Jordan was nice enough to help you catch your dinner!)

We went to a fish farm and fed fish in ponds,

And we went on beautiful drives, stopping several times for snacks and to explore the area!

We celebrated a few July birthdays,

And we went to a wild animal park, and Robyn, Dejan, and Kord made sure you didn't miss a thing!

We also stopped at the most awesome playground for little ones.  You loved exploring the huge park and saying hi to some familiar faces!

Our last full day in the Black Hills we went to a lake.  You hated the sand at first, but eventually warmed up to it.  You never did become a fan of the cold water, though!

The best part about the trip, though, was being able to spend time with the whole family!

We spent a ton of time in the car, but you really were a trooper through the whole thing!

You got to try out your first hot tub...I didn't know if we'd ever get you out!

 And you absolutely loved being able to be out in nature - exploring!

Unfortunately, as the week came to an end we were informed the car wasn't fixable, and we had to abandon it.  Sad, sad, sad.  The whole car thing kind of overshadowed the rest of the week, but we were so thankful it had happened there, with family around to help.  They all helped so much in their own way, and we appreciated all of it.  As we drove out of town, though, we waived a final goodbye to the car that brought you home from the hospital...

Jason and Grandpa took us to the airport to rent a car.  Once there, though, they told Jason he couldn't use his points for a car after all, so we started shopping around for the cheapest way to get back home.  Some nice car rental man offered us a steal on a 12-passenger van.  We couldn't pass it up, even if it was a little...big for our needs.

Once we got back to Sioux Falls we reunited with Ellie - or YOU did, rather - I didn't know how much you had missed her until you two were back together again!

And headed home.  It was so nice to be back home, even if it was only with one car.  I hadn't realized how acclimated you had become to your car seat until we got home and started unpacking.  We gave you a snack and you went and made yourself comfortable...in your car seat!  Oy.

While the trip was unbelievably stressful for mamas due to the car issues, it was an amazing trip with beautiful sites and fun adventures with the family!  It was so good to see everyone, and their kindness, generosity, and love meant so much to each of us.