More Summertime

Well, I feel like the summer is flying by, and I guess it is since we only have about 2 months of it. Only one more month left! We have been so busy that I didn't even realize how many photos I was collecting on my camera. So here are a BUNCH.

We tried to go on our first hike a few weeks ago, but it was quite a challenge. The trail was pretty steep so it took us about an hour and fifteen minutes to walk about 3/4 of a mile. We also tried a short hike in Steamboat Springs which was much easier but still difficult to get the girls to walk the whole way. The trail was probably only a half mile or so.

Last week we all had the stomach flu but thankfully it was WAY less severe than the first time we all got it, when we passed it along to Kevin's whole family the week of his sister's wedding. The girls and I were feeling well enough to drive down to Hot Sulphur Springs and meet Auntie Joanie, Wendy, and Cindy and cousin Riss. The girls had a BLAST. They did NOT want to leave. At the resort they had 22 hot pools, 4 of which were open to kids. The girls loved them because they were only about chest deep for them so they could easily walk around. That same day our best friends Jonathan and Lisa came up from the Denver area. They have been living in Vietnam for the past year and are going back for another year or so. Lisa and I went for an awesome hike up to Rainbow Lake (we forgot our camera for that one) and squeezed in a couple of early morning runs. Kevin and Jonathan got to go mountain biking over on Buffalo Pass and they said they got their butts kicked by the mountain. We also went out to the Wildlife Refuge and saw 3 moose very closely, a lot closer than was comfortable so we had to head back to the car. Other than that we did a LOT of eating and cooking.

As far as development goes, Linnaea has learned how to say "I want ...", which is quite helpful for now as she can tell me when she wants something. Elise has come as far as saying "I ..." as in "I grapes" to tell me she wants grapes, so "I want" is just around the corner.

We also got a bike trailer to attach to my bike for the girls to ride around in. They love it! I'll have to get a picture soon.



Kevin and Elise on our hike to Zimmerman Lake (although we never made it to the top since it took so long).





There were still quite a few snow drifts towards the lake and the girls were so excited.





One of the views from the trail.





Linnaea playing in more snow.





A few weeks ago Elise had an obsession with lotions and she needed the bottles with her at all times.





Playing in the sprinkler. Keep in mind that the water out of the tap is darn cold, even in the summer. It's a great thing when you want a cold glass of water but not so great when you want to play in the sprinkler.





Linnaea warms up with Daddy.





Elise finally gets dried off.





I told you it was cold!





Our first popsicles.





With cousin Riss and Auntie Joanie at the hot springs.





The water was soooooo warm.





Eatin' lunch. Those Blasingames know how to picnic!





Playing with the lady bug and our new friend, Olivia.





The inflatable animals Jonathan and Lisa brought from Vietnam.





Mmmmm....pumpkin ravioli.





Chillin' out with Lisa in the backyard.





Elise wearing Jonathan's bug glasses.





Our hike to Fish Creek Falls in Steamboat Springs (thanks for the suggestion Jen and Colby!).





Where did that chipmunk go?

ABCs

This was recorded about a month ago. They've gotten a little better and don't leave out many letters now, and now Linnaea can sing the part at the end (Now I've said my ABCs, next time won't you sing with me).

Summer is Here!

Well, the summer has finally arrived. Last week we started getting temperatures above 80 for the first time this year! It hasn't been hitting 80 every day, but we get above 75 and we are loving every minute. It feels like we have so little summer left already. We go outside every chance we get. As a result, the house has gotten a bit messy. Day care is going well. When I first started dropping the girls off, they barely paid me any attention because they were so excited to be there. They always cried on the way home because they didn't want to leave their friends. However, this past week Elise has started to cry when I drop her off, and Linnaea has been "clingy" while at the Child Center. But the whole point of them going is to gain some independence, so hopefully these are just short term issues.

Last weekend we went to the Wildlife Refuge again. It's our favorite spot because they have a nice boardwalk that the girls love to walk on. Also it's only 10 minutes away and it is good to have some place to go to besides the park. Some pictures below are from there.

On Sunday we went to our town's annual parade. Elise and Linnaea LOVED it. It started with about 20 people riding horses, and had a bunch of floats with people throwing candy. Even the Shriners came! What's a parade without the Shriners? Kevin was cornered into dressing as Smokey the Bear. He was a real hit! Tons of people wanted their picture taken with him. Later that afternoon we went to our first rodeo. It was really neat. We got there in time for Steer Roping, Barrel Racing, and Bull Riding. Afterwards they had a kids' rodeo, where Elise and Linnaea each roped a chicken and won a dollar. They loved it!



Whenever I bring out the markers for coloring, Linnaea has more fun putting all the tops on her fingers.





Linnaea enjoying the view at the wildlife refuge.





We all had fun sitting down for a minute.





Our new jungle gym.

















Linnaea always says she needs help getting to the top. Elise is willing to give her a push.





Standing at the fence, watching the water flow through the ditch. It's irrigation season, so the mosquitos are out in full force.





This is the table they are NOT supposed to climb on.





At the end of the parade. In the background are the other twins in town.

Our First Camping Trip!

This weekend we actually went camping for the first time as a family of four! The location we chose was the Vedauwoo Recreation Area, just west of Laramie, WY. We wanted a place that wouldn't get too cold at night plus had lots of area to explore with the girls. We met our friends Jen and Colby and their 3 1/2 year old twins Jordan and Connor. It couldn't have been a better weekend. It was in the 60's both days and didn't get terribly cold. We got up there about 3pm Friday afternoon and set up camp. The area is well-known for rock climbing, so there were tons of big boulders everywhere. That gave the kids lots of things to do. We had dinner and ate s'mores, then tried to go to sleep. Unfortunately, the sun doesn't fully set up here until after 9:30pm, so our girls didn't fall asleep until that time. Then they were up a lot, keeping us awake, in addition to the random gunshots we'd hear throughout the night. Hey, it's Wyoming. What do you expect. Then the sun rises about 5:00am out here, so that's about the time Elise was up. That made for a pretty long day with two tired 2 year olds! We did get to do a short hike in the morning before lunch before we headed back home. All in all, it was a very successful trip and I can't wait to go again.



Linnaea climbs a boulder near our picnic table.





You can see the camp sites were quite large with a lot of room to roam.





Elise tries the boulder and follows Daddy's directions of "using all fours."





More bouldering.





Elise on our first hike on Friday afternoon.





Linnaea and Mommy on the hike.





Elise and Mommy.





Linnaea throwing one of her MANY tantrums.





Elise helps Daddy start the camp fire.





Jordan and Elise chillin'.





If I can't stop laughing at this picture, doesn't it mean I'm a bad mother? Elise got nailed in the head by a log Daddy was carrying. It wasn't pretty. But don't worry--it was nothing a mini Hershey's bar couldn't cure!





Linnaea enjoys her first s'more. That was after her two roasted marshmallows, her two regular marshmallows, and a graham cracker.

Counting

This is how Linnaea counts:

"One, two, fwee, foa, fie, sick, nie, sick, nie...."

and she keeps going. I think "seven" throws her off because it has two syllables. If I ask her how many of something there are, it's always "Sick? Nie?"

I help them practice counting by looking at books and counting the items, then letting them say the last number. With Elise, it usually goes something like this:

Me: "One, two, three..."
Elise: "Six!"

or

Me: "One, two, three, four..."
Elise: "Six!"

Do you see a pattern here?

Also, we went to the doctor for their two year check up on Monday. Elise is 32 pounds and 36". That puts her in the 96th percentile for weight and the 95th for height. Linnaea is 26 1/2 pounds and 36 3/4". That puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and also 95th height. The doctor says they are doing very well, so hopefully we won't see him again for another year!

Our Second Birthday

We had lots of fun this week and are super excited about how nice the weather has been. Every morning we wake up to sunny skies, no wind, and warm temperatures. We usually get to do an outdoor activity, like the park, then the afternoon thunderstorms roll in during our nap. It usually doesn't actually rain much, it just gets windy and cool and the sky gets really dark.

On Thursday, we were invited to come visit a petting zoo that the high school FFA (Future Farmers of America) was putting on for the elementary school. They had two llamas, a colt, a mama cow with her baby, a few sheep with a baby, a few goats with a baby, and two rabbits. They did this in the parking lot next to the school buses, which was very exciting for Elise since she has a school bus obsession. Come to think of it she is obsessed with most modes of transportation: bicycles, big trucks, dump trucks, tractors, planes, motorcycles, boats, etc. Anyways, after visiting the animals we went to the park next door. A few minutes later we saw a sheep go sprinting through the school parking lot, followed by a few high school boys with ropes, followed by a few guys in pickup trucks. I think they chased that sheep all over Walden but I don't think they ever caught it because they all came back empty handed.

On Friday, we usually go to story hour at the library (or li-be-a as Elise calls it). We made cupcakes and brought them to share with all the kids there and they sang us happy birthday. Then we got to play in our sandbox, and after our nap we opened some presents.



As you may have guessed, Linnaea's favorite animals were the bunnies.







I still don't know why Elise was holding her hands over her mouth. All of a sudden she just clapped her hands over her mouth and wouldn't move them. The sheep were bleating really loudly, and I think maybe she wanted them to stop. I really don't know!





Her close up with the school bus...still with her hands over mouth.





...hands still on the mouth...





She never actually touched the cow.





This baby cow was so tired by the time we got there that afternoon. This was the only time we saw him move.





In our super cool galoshes from Grandma Sue and Grandpa Las.





Backpacks for day care next week...from Kitty and Papa.





And don't forget Cookie Monster, Elise's new best friend.





Chowing down on our first cupcake ever.





It appears that Cookie Monster is thinking about switching to cupcakes...





After cupcakes we drew went outside to do some sidewalk chalk.





After the library we played in the sandbox while Mommy made lunch (thank you so much for the sandbox Aunt Carolyn) with the sand toys from Grandma Sue and Grandpa Las.





Kevin left Elise alone for 5 minutes with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Las's birthday card. It had stickers from Madagascar in it. Like I said, it HAD stickers from Madagascar in it...