Confessions

This is my disclaimer. No, we are not dead; and no, I haven't boycotted blogging. My hard drive had a stroke at the end of June and it took 6 weeks for me to muster up the courage to call the Dell customer service. I knew that I would be on the phone for a while and most likely have to take my computer apart while on the phone. Having two little helpers at home made that a daunting task. But I'm proud to say that we are back on-line and ready to share some of our Summer adventures! Be sure to keep scrolling because I have posted several posts in hopes of catching up.

Bobbing Along

Landon discovered this fabulous swimming spot with the young men of the ward. He enjoyed it so much that he decided that it would be great fun for family home evening. We arrived at about 6:30 in the evening, so it was only about 80 degrees. Landon and Ella swam and swam and swam; Addi and I chilled on the beach. We area all looking forward to going again.

5 months old

Our precious baby girls is getting so big! She is displaying so much personality and is so expressive. We are constantly trying to capture all the many faces that she pulls (I'll save those pics for another blog). The new things this months are: she is rolling over and she is eating some solids. She decided three days before her 5 month birthday that she needed to become mobile on her own. I turn my back for one minute, and look what she does! And as far as the solid foods, she is just getting some cereal twice a day. That doesn't mean she is nursing any less, she was just ready for more! And look at that round face, she is absolutely thriving.

July at a Glance

The month of July began with a trip to Idaho. Landon's brother, Scott, returned home from his mission in Denver, Colorado; a perfect "excuse" for a family reunion. Sadly, it wasn't until we returned home when I was reviewing all our pictures that I realized that we don't have a single photo of Scott! I guess it has something to do with the fact that we slid into town just in time to pull into the airport to greet him as he got off the plane. Out camera was buried in the back of our vehicle. But we made it!

A family tradition that continues to live is to attend the Rexburg parade on the 4th of July.

Family fun wouldn't be complete without a picnic at Grandma Winter's and a Hydro-Rocket.

Okay, the rocket is new, but it was still cool!

Addi and Kambri having some fun.

Fireworks at the Winter's. Ella was really nervous about the sparklers at first, but she warmed up quickly.

An evening at Grandma and Grandpa McCracken's. Grandpa even warmed up the BBQ and served a picnic at 8:00 at night.

Addi turned 4 months old this month. Some of her favorite things this month were to talk . . . and talk . . . and talk . . . and talk. Did I mention she likes to talk? She is so expressive it always brings a smile to all our faces. She also is learning that she can use those two extremities to bring stuff to her mouth. Actually she uses all four extremities.

Ella had another year of swimming lessons, and did great. Her biggest accomplishment was that she would jump in all by herself! Meaning she would jump in "to" someone - we didn't just let her flounder. :)

Our good friends, the Bjorkman's, were in town for a couple of days this month. It was fabulous for all of us to catch up. One afternoon, we took all the girls to the Enchanted Forrest for a little fun.

It was a busy month, but packed with wonderful memories.

3 Months Old

Time continues to fly. Addi is growing and becoming more and more animated every day. Just like her cousin Natalie, her favorite past-time is to eat her fists.

What a cutie.

Joy

This was the scripture on the front of the program today at church; I think it's my new favorite:
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."
3 John 1:4

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

As I have been compiling some of my favorite pictures from the fabulous Memorial Day Weekend this year, I was tempted to just defer you all to my sister's blogs where they were much more prompt in the postings of this fun event. But I decided to be diligent and share with you some of my favorites.

As a I previously posted, Addi was blessed on Sunday, May 24th. It was the Sunday in the middle of Memorial Day Weekend this year. We planned it specifically for this particular Sabbath so that it would be easier for the family that decided to travel to be here. And to our delight, my parents and all my siblings made the journey! I couldn't blame them . . . who wouldn't want to spend such a weekend in Oregon? : )

Let me get on now with sharing with you some of the highlights.

Here are the three youngest McCracken grandchildren. From left to right: Ryker Thornton, Addi Winter, and Natalie Colton (from top to bottom: Natalie, Ryker, Addi)

On Saturday, we packed up the vehicles and journeyed to Silver Creek Falls. It was a beautiful day for a hike. And to add to the festivities, my youngest sister (Christine, a.k.a. Tino) and I prepared a surprise for everyone. We stayed up late one night the previous week to make tye-dyed T-shirts for everyone. Yep, that's right, we were all decked out in tye-dye, even the babies! Tye-dyed onesies are the cutest!

Grandpa and Ella enjoyed a game of frisbee. It was all smiles until Ella got bonked on the head (as you can see in the lower right). I guess that's what happens when you try to catch the frisbee with your eyes closed.

After the blessing on Sunday, we headed home for a nice lunch and then headed out again. This time we traveled to the beach. Everyone had a great time splashing in the waves. Ella particularly enjoyed digging for buried treasure. Aarrgghhhh maties!

Monday was filled with more adventures. The Oregon Zoo, the Portland Rose Gardens, and Woodburn Factory Outlets.

I hope you have enjoyed sharing in this fun time of ours. I am so blessed to have such a supportive family, and I look forward to making many more wonderful memories as my beautiful family grows.