County Fair

We ventured over to the Stanilaus County Fair to eat fair food and see some animals. We shared a corndog and a lemonade and then made our way over to the 4H tents to see all the baby animals. Levi loved getting up close and personal with the pigs and goats and chickens and we even went in the petting zoo! It was so fun to watch his excitement in all these new experiences.

Petting the rabbits.

Meeting the goats.

Riding a pony for the very first time!

Levi's a cowboy!

We had fun but this preggers is still a little bummed we didn't share any funnel cakes! :)

Houseboat with the Lockridges

Two weekends ago we met up with the Lockridge and Nordman families on the Nordman family houseboat on Lake Don Pedro. I spent many summers on this lake as a kid with my own family and our ski boat. We would go out from Memorial day to Labor day and ski, inner tube, wake board and camp and it was so fun to be back after a lot of years hiatus. This trip was a little different with Levi in tow and all the Mommy-type worrying that goes along with having a baby near open bodies of water, but we purchased Levi a life jacket- which he hated- but managed to keep him corralled on the many open areas of the houseboat. He loved the freedom of walking around, loved the water and being able to drop things off the edge, he loved the birds and the fish and all the boats and jet skis and noise that come with a busy lake. It was so much fun to watch him experience something new and for him to love something that I love so much was very special. Because I was so concerned with keeping him safe, I left my camera at home so these are a few pictures I stole from Auntie Christina's blog.

Levi and Mommy hanging our feet over the edge of the swim deck.

Dad and Levi swimming in the lake.

Uncle Charlie teaching Levi how to drive the boat!

We spent a great Saturday talking, swimming, eating, boating and enjoying each other's company. Levi took a 3 hour nap and we were so impressed we decided to stick around and camp out overnight on the rooftop deck of the houseboat. Levi went down at his normal bedtime without a peep and then was up at 2:30am until about 6am. He just couldn't/wouldn't settle and it was another stressful camping experience for Dave and I as we walked and bounced and wandered the boat trying in vain to get him back to sleep. I think we've officially given camping the good 'ol college try and we're done for a while. We'll definitely go out on the boat again, if invited, but we'll probably be making the drive home at night. We'll try the camping thing again when our boys are older!

More Summer Fun

We've been enjoying the great weather and the extra family time before school starts up again and all our teacher friends head back to work. My Aunt Shirlene from Australia was here for a month with her granddaughter Sarah so we were able to spend some special time with them before they flew back home last week. I'm a little behind on the pictures but here's a quick peak into our trip to Columbia a couple of weeks ago.

Twinsies!
Levi and Grandpa in their matching polos and hair cuts.

Smiles with Mom too!

Showing off our walking skills.
(This was the last trip with these tennis shoes before we figured out that the poor kid's feet had grown!)

Playing peek-a-boo

Enjoying Auntie Shirlene

Cousins Ashley, Sarah, Levi and Jack

Despite the very serious face, Levi enjoyed riding in the stagecoach and LOVED getting to pet the horses.
(Although he called them "dogs"!)

More summer fun to come...

5 on Friday

We've had some requests for pictures of the house but those will have to wait as we're still in moving turmoil over here. Thankfully, we're not living out of too many boxes anymore but we still have some painting being done and 3 (count 'em 3!) empty rooms. As in completely empty. No furniture. Looks a little odd but it's a work in progress. We'll take some pictures soon, or maybe we won't and that will just have to be your excuse to come and visit us! 

Here are a few quick pictures of what we've been up to:

The Lockridges came to visit last Sunday so we played (worked) in the garden a little and I got this great shot of Levi and Grandma. 

When I said "garden" I wasn't kidding! We have about 12 tomato plants, rasberry bushes, a peach tree, a lemon tree, an apple tree and this little fella that we found buried under some other foliage: a zucchini the size of my forearm! We're such great gardeners, huh? :)

We have an awesome park that is a block away and Levi has been enjoying the water feature on these HOT summer days.

We've been enjoying Concerts in the Park on Thursday nights (even if we only make it till intermission).
Here's cousin Jack, Grandpa and Levi.

Does this need explanation? :)
My boys enjoying the great weather and music!

We're keeping busy around here and enjoying our new home but definitely missing our old one. (Ok, I take that back, we do NOT miss the old house but we DO miss our friends!!!) Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday America!

We've spent the last 5 years celebrating the 4th of July in Southern California and have some great memories of fantastic fireworks shows from the Smarts Sheldon Street apartment (rooftop!), the Hollywood Bowl with the Blankenships and the best show ever thrown by a millionaire in the Redondo Riviera on a barge in the ocean. We have loved getting to see how different areas celebrate the greatest country on earth and this year we were back to our (my) roots for a down home Modesto 4th of July!

Most recent family picture attempt!

We start the morning off with a parade downtown. The menfolk go downtown way early to put out chairs and save our seats in front of the library. Levi and I got to sleep in a little and made it down to the parade route just in time for the action.  It was HOT, even that early in the morning, but we enjoyed the floats and the veterans and all the commotion. I wasn't sure how Levi was going to put up with all sitting and watching but he did great and clapped and cheered along with the crowd!

Cousins Ashley, Levi and Jack all ready for the parade in their patriotic gear!

Getting in some love and smiles with Mom and Grandma!

Excited about the veterans, flag waving and the loud cars.

We left a little early when Levi got restless and came back to our house for family naps. We woke up refreshed and ready to go to the annual Harden 4th of July party! This was the only picture I took of the whole night but it's hard to take pictures when you're chasing around a fast 11 month old and enjoying yourself at the party. We had great food, fun conversations, lots of pool time and a fantastic fireworks show put on right in front of the house. Levi conked out a little early from all of the activity and he slept all the way through the fireworks. I felt like we should wake him up to see the show but figured sleep was probably more important... maybe he'll enjoy them next year!

Our little water baby enjoying pool time with Daddy!

Happy Birthday America! We're so blessed to have our freedoms and live in this amazing country. It's my favorite day of the year!

11 Months

 Levi Daniel is 11 months old!

This past month has been a whirlwind of activity in his little world and he has handled it very well. He has two more teeth that are mostly poking through in his upper gums and that has caused some major discomfort but he's also able and learning to bite some of his food now. He was definitely aware that something was going on as he stumbled past boxes in our crowded house and got a little clingy as either Dave or I left the room, but seems to have settled back into his normal easy going self here in the new house. He is sleeping well (through the night) in his big new room and is enjoying the freedom of all our new space. He often makes laps around the downstairs and loves to play hide-and-go-seek and peek-a-boo. He has learned how to stand up on his own without the assistance of furniture or people and has even begun to pop up with enthusiasm and a big smile, which is just the most precious thing. He LOVES his baths and any water he can find: cups of it, dog dishes, toilet bowls, pools, puddles, you name it and he's in it. It's nice that he's so fearless but a little unnerving as a parent to watch him run towards open bodies of water. We've signed up for swim lessons in a few weeks so hopefully we'll learn some new water safety techniques. His personality is coming through more and more and I'm seeing a stubborn streak that is going to give us a run for our money! He loves people and attention and doing things on his own, but you tell him "no" and he'll give you the funniest mouth-puckering face while fuming from the mouth. I really should get it on video to remember how ridiculous it is because I'm sure he won't do it for long. It takes everything in my being not to laugh when he does it but we're trying to reinforce good behavior, right? :) I can't believe that in (less than) a month my baby is going to be ONE year old. Time flies...

Love his cheeky little smile!

And honorable mention goes out to Dave who so lovingly gave Levi his "summer do" hairstyle last week. The party line is that "we planned it that way" but let's just say it's a little shorter than we had envisioned and we learned that baby haircuts are a two person job. Good thing it's just hair and that it grows and that he has a lot of it! Plus now he looks more like his Grandpas! :)

Moving Day

We picked up the UHaul on Friday morning and loaded up all our belongings in about 7 hours. We learned a few things: we had WAY more stuff than we thought we did, packing a truck takes WAY more time than you think it will, moving is NO fun. Thanks to Becky for taking Levi off our hands for a few hours so we could get things done without his "helpful" hands and "expert" walking skills. 

The packed truck.

After a long day of loading up the truck, it was filled! Unfortunately, our mattresses and other odds and ends were still in our garage. Uh oh! We decided to call it a day and pick up an extra trailer to fill up on Saturday morning. Because everything was packed, we spent the night in a hotel (Levi's 1st time!) and had a great nights sleep and woke up rested for another day of packing. Dave packed up the last of our stuff and then we headed over to a farewell BBQ thrown by our friends the Smarts and the Holmes. We had so much fun relaxing in the backyard, eating yummy food and enjoying some time with our great friends before hitting the road. We all had so much fun that no one took any pictures! I'm a little bummed that we didn't get one last picture of our group but I think it speaks to all the quality time we were enjoying instead of chasing everyone around with a camera.

One picture from the BBQ that I stole from Becky. :)

 After the party, we drove off into the sunset with our matching UHauls. Dave got the big truck and I got the car, trailer and baby.

That's a whole lot of stuff!

 We pulled into Modesto around 12:30am and were welcomed by a train downtown and a sobriety checkpoint. We slept at my parents' house and woke up bright and early to unpack the truck into our new house! We had lots of family that met us at the house and had everything unloaded in under an hour and a half. They had all the beds and cribs assembled by lunchtime, the closets unpacked and put away and the garage organized by the end of the day. It was an amazing amount of help that we were so thankful for!

One more random trip to the Home Depot. Levi is so helpful!

We've spent our first week in our new home unpacking boxes, cleaning and trying to find where everything was put. We had more helpers this week who helped me wrangle Levi and unpack our kitchen and even got two new chandeliers hung up. It's starting to feel more comfortable but still sort of feels like we're on vacation in someone else's home! 

Hannity and Levi are feeling right at home and enjoying all the space they have to run around and play!

We have had a great first week in Modesto, Dave has had fun setting up his office and we've enjoyed getting to see so many of our favorite friends and family already. We've gotten to swim at my parents' house, have a date night out, go to Concert in the Park, Dave's already joined a softball league with a great group of guys (they won their first game!), Levi turned 11 months, we drove to Fresno to see the Lockridge family and we got to celebrate the 4th of July at the annual parade and Harden BBQ. It's been a busy but super fun first week!