Home Sick?

Stratton and I headed up to Idaho for some cooler weather and some family time. Matt had to stay behind and run the gallery :( I didn't realize how hard it would be to be away from him this long. I especailly miss his help with Stratton! But the heat in Scottsdale right now is unbearable, and one of my best friends from high school is getting married the 8th, so it was a great time to get away. So Strat and I caught a ride with Emily, Nate, and Samuel. It was a super long drive from Arizona, we stopped in Albuquerque to see Melissa and her fam, and then went through Denver to drop off some equipment for one of South's construction sites. It took us 3 days to get up here, but the drive was so beutiful and the babies did really well. I was so excited coming through Colorado and up through Jackson, the mountains were so green and amazing, some still had some snow on them! This was the longest I had ever been away from Idaho (7 months- I know it's kind of sad!) and it is great to be back for a couple of weeks. In Arizona I get really home sick for here, but up here I'm really home sick for Arizona (especailly for my husband!!). I guess it's good that it's starting to feel homey there. So, that's just an update on what's going on with us. I'll have some pics and stuff to post later...

Killer Whales and Killer Hair

We started out Stratton's 1st birthday with Stratton's favorite breakfast: pancakes. I know the "S" is backwards, but that was the pretty side (and I didn't realize until someone asked if it was a 2). After breakfast, we packed lunch and loaded up for a day at Sea World.

Stratton got his first hair cut on his birthday eve. Matt did the honors. Strat did pretty well, except that he is really ticklish, and the clippers made him cringe and shudder every time they touched his head.

Stratton's new 'do. He feels like a rocker with his little mow-hawk. This is on the way to Sea World. Stratton loves his new "big boy" car seat, and he brought his friend "Silky" to his birthday party.

Stratton loves the view from on top of Matt's shoulders. Matt claims he is developing 2 little bald spots on the sides from Strat holding on.

I haven't been to Sea World since high school, and last time there were hardly any crowds. Because of the holiday weekend, the place was packed! We had to get to each show (that was about 20 min long) about 30 min early just to get decent seats! But the weather was beautiful, and it was so much fun! I can't believe how nice 75 degrees feels after a month of 110.

I had left Stratton's hat in the car, and was worried about his little head getting sunburned. The pant-hat only lasted a few seconds...but at least the people behind us got a good laugh.

The killer whale show is always one of my favorites. During this show, they had the audience put our hands together interlocking our thumbs, forming a whale fin. Then they had us raise and lower our arms chanting "Shamu! Shamu!" I got kind of creeped out, thousands of people chanting and doing the arm thing.

They did this really cool Cirque du Soleil show out on this stage area right on the coast. They had clowns, acrobats, and trapeze artists. It was so great!

Stratton finished his day off with pasta and mashed potatoes (2 of his favorites). We couldn't decide where to eat and were driving around aimlessly. We stumbled upon the same Applebees Matt and I ate at on New Years Eve on our honeymoon! It was a lot of fun...the honeymoon and Stratton's birthday :)

Cruisin' for Chicks

This was 2 weeks ago. We got so lucky, Melissa ans her fam were headed from Tucson to Albuquerque and Emily and her fam were going from Florida to San Diego. So they all stopped by here for the weekend! It was so great. All spring I prepped myself for this long, hot summer and not seeing any of my family, but things have worked out several times for me to be able to see some of them. It's been such a great blessing, and prevented my going crazy and running away to Idaho. This picture was taken at the grocery store in one of those cute little carts. People always tell me how much Stratton looks like my bro Bridger, but it wasn't until I looked at Strat's hair in this pic that I realized they're right :) Also, it's the first good picture I have of Stratton's first 2 teeth. They sprouted up 2 months ago.