Vacations!

We just got back from our vacations to Oregon and California, where we had a wonderful but exhausting time! Sophie and I went to visit Nana for a week, flew home and then left the next day for a wedding in California. Sadly, I did not take any pictures when we saw Nana- not sure why, and kicking myself now- but took plenty in California. One of the highlights from our CA trip was going to the Pepperdine campus. Full of nostalgia, we toured the campus and decided that we should try to go back to college. It was unbelievably beautiful, and we could not believe that it's been 10 years since we graduated. Carl and Sophie walking in Alumni Park.

While we were at the hotel, we had some time to kill so Carl took Sophie for a swim in the pool. She was a little shocked by the cold temperature of the water, but happily played until her lips turned blue. Below is a video of her fantastic diving skills. We are certain that she will win a college scholarship for her belly flop skills. Prepare to be impressed.

This last picture comes from the mall. Sophie was thrilled to find a playground in the mall, where she could play with other kids. She was very cute to watch as she wandered around to all the different kids and watched them play. She then became fascinated by this blue car- of course blue- and thought that she was such a big girl driving it. We had a blast!

I Love the Sandbox!

We spent our first weekend of the year at the cabin. This was an especially exciting weekend, because Sophie got to have birthday cake! Oh boy, does she ever love cake and ice cream. It is lucky that she does not get it very often, because she did not take a nap due to all of the sugary goodness. Instead of a nap, we decided to take her down to the lake and let her experience the sandbox. This may have been just as exciting as the cake. After she had been in the sandbox for a few minutes it became apparent that she needed to be stripped down. She had sand everywhere! Even, we discovered during bath time, inside her belly button. She played for a straight hour, and cried when we took her out. We foolishly thought that she would try to take a nap again. Silly, silly, parents. With birthday cake and the sandbox, who has time for naps?

Happy Father's Day!

We celebrated Father's Day a week early because Sophie and I will be gone the following weekend. Carl got to plan the entire day- he slept in (till 7:30 wow!) then we went on a hike to Avalanche Lake, and went out to the cabin for a steak dinner. It was a gorgeous day- finally no rain, and we got to experience a Montana rarity- short sleeves! Sophie Loved the hike, she babbled to each person we saw, pointed and babbled at different things , and kept patting Carl on the back of the head and saying "Da Da." She absolutely loved the backpack. We were hoping that she would fall asleep on the hike, but no such luck. It was way too much fun. Here are some of our favorite pictures from our hike:

Nightly Activities

This is Sophie's new favorite nightly activity- walking back and forth between objects. She will start this right after dinner and do it until it's time for bath. I'm sure you're thinking that this must wear her out and she goes right to sleep, but no. She is so impressed with her walking ability that she can take up to an hour- or more- of playing in her crib before she finally goes down. Walking is just way to exciting. Also- notice the Pebbles hair-do, it's a BIG hit with all the old people at church and at the grocery store. She's kind of a big deal around here.