Katelyn Elizabeth

Katie turned 5 months on Aug. 28th. I want to post a few favorite pictures of our happy little girl. When she's not laughing and smiling at everyone she meets, Katelyn loves rolling onto her tummy, stuffing her favorite pink blanket (pictured above her head!) into her mouth, or hanging out in her saucer.

Storm Baseball

Jonas and the kids joined his parents for a Storm game on July 4th (I stayed home with Katie and unpacked), but we were all able to be there at one of the last games of the summer. The Storm stadium is very kid-friendly...there's a section where they can play and a giant lawn to run on. Grandma Jo Anne has box seats through her job which is also nice. Thanks for a fun night! Summer is just not complete without a baseball game. Oh, and Emma caught one of the frisbees thrown out at halftime!

Carlsbad weekend

By August, we'd camped in a tent twice and spent most of our free time this summer unpacking in our new home. All good but it was time for a truly relaxing getaway! I found an available condo thru Craig's List at the Grand Pacific Palisades resort where we had stayed three years ago. Emma still remembers it as her favorite vacation ever. We invited the Pleasnicks and Millers to join us and had a great time lounging by the pool and on the beach (San Elijo once again). The kids had so much fun riding the elevators at the resort and building forts in the San Elijo cliffs. Ironically, we were too tired by the last day to go to Legoland (it's right across the street), which was one of the main reasons we picked that place!

Safety Town

My friend Kathy Vance introduced us to this great program, Safety Town, put on by the Temecula Sunrise Rotary club. Anyway, it's a week long course for kids that teaches them safety skills in just about every major category: stranger, pet, vehicle, household, emergency...and they have fun learning. Local paramedics, policemen, etc. come and share with the kids and let them tour their vehicles. On the last day, they don caps and gowns and graduate in a cute ceremony.

Saturday morning at home

Jonas was at a golf tournament and the kids were still sleeping on a recent Saturday. Katie and I had such fun snuggling in bed, loving the view of the meadow behind our house that the cows graze in every morning.

Katelyn at 4 months

Katie is such a sweet, happy baby. She smiles all day long and brings so much joy to our lives. Here she is, enjoying her first taste of baby food!

Camping at Dogwood

This is the second summer we've camped in the San Bernardino Mtns. with my brother, Matt, and his family. The kids had a great time with their cousins, Megan and David. Kari and I enjoyed catching up while Katelyn played happily in her shaded playpen. We cooled off in Lake Gregory during the day, then the kids took our dog, Captain Jack, all around the camp area for walks in the evening and mornings. It's become a tradition to enjoy breakfast in Lake Arrowhead village on the last day and stroll around.

Visit with the Tracys

While Jonas and Caleb went to the shooting range with Poppa Walt for a belated Father's Day, Emma and I joined Jonas' mom, Jo Anne, and our friend, Jamie Rock, for a girl's day out. We had lunch at Islands and then each got a pedicure. Jamie was about 6 months pregnant at the time and looked fabulous! Afterwards, we all made patriotic cupcakes to celebrate July 4th.

American Girl Movie

I drove Emma and Lauren to the American Girl film "Kit Kittredge" in Corona, joining friends from church. Thanks for the invite Paula, we had such a fun time!

San Elijo in June

Two weeks after moving, we headed south to camp at San Elijo Beach...thanks to Amy, we had a oceanview site and asked my parents to join us for a few days. It turned out to be quite a gathering of family, friends and church family...the Tracys, Pendletons, Jassos, Emards, Schaffers, Blackburns, Lees, Millers, Dodsons, Shacks, and Steads were all represented! Katie just slept in her playpen and the kids kepts busy digging in the sand and catching sand crabs. Jonas tried to vacation but ended up spending more time than he wished on the phone troubleshooting work stuff! It was hard leaving, knowing we had soooo much more unpacking left back home...