Roommate Reunion

We recently had a fun get together with old roommates and friends. Jake and Tricia were visiting from California so it was the perfect reason to do something. Tricia and I were roommates the summer before we both got married, and Neal and Jake were roommates at the same time- along with Dave and Bryton. Dave graciously offered to let us use his place in South Jordan to bar-b-que, chat, and catch up on life for everyone. We met Jake and Tricia's handsome little boy, Sterling, for the first time. And they met Lydia for the first time as well. We're sad that they don't live closer so we can do this more often! 

The gang: Neal, myself, Lydia. Dave. Tricia, Jake, Sterling. Bryton

Our sweet, happy Lydia

Neal and Jake showing off their cute babies

Tricia and I with our babies.

Dave and Bryton were feeling a little left out while we were all taking pictures with our babies. They decided to take a picture as well with their own "babies."  :)

Camping

Last month we went camping with Neal's family in Eden,UT (near Pineview).  It was Lydia's first camping trip and, besides the sleeping part, went very well. :) We didn't arrive until after dinner just in time for dessert! What is a camping trip without roasting marshmallows and making smores?! Neal's dad also picked up some small containers of ice cream for Stephanie's birthday. We gave him a hard time about it because instead of the chocolate ice cream he thought he bought, one was coffee flavored and he is a bishop. It was so nice relaxing, eating, and visiting around the campfire. Lydia refused to go to sleep in the pack-n-play so she stayed up late with the rest of us. In the morning, after catching a few hours of sleep, we enjoyed exploring the area, eating a wonderful breakfast, and playing games before packing up and driving back home. We can't wait for our next camping trip!

 Mom, Stephanie, and Dallin

Enjoying the campfire.

Breakfast time! Neal and his dad made a yummy breakfast of pancakes and sausage.

Lydia was excited to be outside and liked watching the fire.

Going walking with Grandma.

June update

Here are a bunch of random pictures from June. I can't believe how fast the summer is flying by. We love the warm weather and spend a lot of time outdoors. :)

My grandparents came up from Texas and we had a fun get together at my cousin Robbie's place. Of course I forgot that I had my camera until I saw this cute little rocking chair on our way out. We love visiting with Grandma and Grandpa and enjoy each time they come up (especially as it is not too often). Quite a few of the Utah cousins and some aunts and uncles were there as well.

Stephanie also just had a birthday. I wasn't sure what to get her so I ended up making this cute little cupcake box (to hold a gift card). It was actually just a plastic cup with a snap on lid that I had lying around. I used cute paper to make the cupcake "liner", some tissue paper for the "frosting", and some fabric flowers for decoration. 

Neal's mom also took us out to Wingers for lunch. It was really good (plus I had enough food for lunch that day and lunch for Neal and I the next!) and Stephanie was nice enough to share the asphalt pie they brought out for her birthday.

We got Lydia a little toothbrush and toothpaste. She loves to brush her teeth with Mom and Dad!

I  have also been trying to get Lydia to feed herself with a spoon. She will take a bite or two with the spoon, but then she just holds it in one hand (or throws it on the floor) while using her hand to eat. So messy now, but hopefully she will learn soon.

Garden!

One of the best parts about house sitting is that we have a garden space!We were so excited to plant and grow our own produce to enjoy! The garden space isn't huge but we tried to make the most of it. We love watching it grow. Here is what we planted:

Our (mostly) green garden

 Potatos

  Pumpkins (a big one for Neal, and several small ones for just eating)

Zucchini and other varieties of squash

Corn

Tomatoes

Our growing tomatoes!

 Cherry Tomatoes

 The strawberries and raspberries were already here and we are definitely enjoying them! The strawberries are mostly very small, perfect size for Lydia to eat!

Unfortunately most of our carrot plants didn't come up, so we only have a few of those. Our peas came up great, but it got too hot for them and they are mostly dying out now. Still, we did enjoy a couple of good pickings from the peas before they went downhill. 

Lydia enjoying our fresh garden peas!

Annie's Bridal Shower

Neal's brother (Brent) is getting married next month so we wanted to throw a bridal shower for his fiance, Annie. I offered to host while Stephanie put together some games and Neal's mom and I did the food. I had a lot of fun making some  tissue paper pom poms to hang from the fan (find the tutorial here here ) and setting up the table. On the menu was: yogurt, fresh fruit (strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, kiwi, and grapes), mini muffins, and bundt cake. Yum! I had Neal snap a quick picture while I was setting up, and then I  forgot about the camera until the very end of the shower, so my pictures are not the best.   

It is always fun to get together with family and friends and I think a good time was had by all. We can't wait for Annie to join in the family, Brent is one lucky guy!

The food table 

 Just visiting after games and presents.

Lydia playing with her balls.

Regional Conference

Last month we had an amazing opportunity. Our stake was able to attend regional conference- in the conference center! Neal's parents took Lydia for us so that we could both sing in the choir. It was neat to see the conference center from the choir seats, although we could only see the speaker on the screen (as they were below us). I thought I was safe from being on the tv screen, as I was in the very back row and the camera's usually don't shoot that far back. However, I was also in the middle so when they showed the conductor I was also in the screen (so I was on tv basically all during the congregational hymns). Oh well. Neal's family also said that they saw Neal once or twice during the choir numbers (he was sitting closer to the front and to the right).

                                  
We had the privilege of hearing and learning from Elder Jeffrey Holland and Pres. Dieter Uchtdorf!  They both gave amazing talks and it was especially nice because with family watching Lydia, I was able to listen and take a lot of notes!

9 months!

I can't believe that Lydia is 9 months already! She is a very busy girl and loves getting into everything! She started crawling a bit before Easter but she has gotten really fast in the past month. She loves being able to go go go! She has also gotten really good at pulling herself up to standing and can even stand by herself in the middle of a room for short periods of time.  She is still very sweet and happy, especially when there are lots of people around to give her attention. Her first two teeth finally popped through (the first came through the end of April), but no signs of any others yet. 

Lydia loves to pull every single toy out of her box. I guess this time she wanted the container too.

Also at the end of April, Lydia discovered that she doesn't need to just lay down and go to sleep while in her crib. She has always gone right to sleep when we put her down, so I thought it was strange when she just kept crying. When I came in to check on her, she was sitting  up in the corner of the crib (top right pic). I had no idea she could sit up from lying down! She finally did go to sleep and the bottom right pic is how I found her after her nap. :) Luckily this crying phase didn't last too long and she is back to taking good naps- just in crazy positions now. 

Uh oh! Her new favorite activity is pulling each book off of the bottom two shelves. I think it is time for me to do some baby proofing. 

Playing with the dishwasher is almost as fun as the books.

Her hair is also getting longer and I was able to put it into her first ponytail (yes- it's super tiny)