Apgar's 50th

This July marks the 50th year that Brett's family has vacationed in Glacier National Park at the Apgar camp grounds. We hadn't made it to Apgar during the family reunion since the summer after we were first married. Ellie had her first experience with staying in a tent with Dad. Adelaide and I roughed it out at the house in Columbia Falls ;)  (we did stay at the camp grounds for a couple of nights in the trailer but opted out of staying the whole week, instead we just drove in and out of the park each day). 

We ate lots of huckleberry ice cream from Eddie's, rode our bike's to West Glacier, rode the hot dog tube, kayaked, and relaxed on the beach at Lake McDonald for hours on end. We also decided to float the river in a big group (about 15 kayaks) and as I maneuvered over a beaver dam, I managed to flip... good thing I was almost the only person NOT in my swim suit. Honestly, it was just funny and a bit embarrassing because almost everyone in Brett's family got to witness it ;)  I did get to see a beaver though so it was worth it! I think Jeff got some picture of me, I'll try to add them later.

Ellie convinced her cousins to play SO many games on hide & seek while we were visiting. She also loved having a new audience to show all her tricks and tell stories to.

All the cousins with their Great Grandpa & Grandma Shaw.

Our travels home started off so promising. Our flight was out of Missoula, MT and there happens to be a Cafe Rio only a few minutes from the airport. I've been missing and craving Cafe Rio for the past 3 years so I was VERY excited and it lived up and surpassed all my memories :) 

We had a close connection in Denver that we were a little worried about so we decided to check both our car seats rather than bring them to the gate. Our hands were full as it is... We made our connection just fine, especially because lightning delayed our plane by about an hour. We were originally supposed to arrive in Houston around midnight so we could already foresee this becoming a very late night. We finally arrive in Houston and we wait and wait and wait for the luggage. We brought 2 carry on bags, and our backpacks, so all we need are the car seats. Well, around 2 AM it's finally our turn to be helped and they say our car seats are in Salt Lake City with a different airline. Nobody knows why, but my 2 overly tired screaming children and myself are feeling a bit frustrated... thank you united airlines... thank you. They let us borrow a car seat for Adelaide but they don't have a car seat that fits Ellie... so we put Ellie in a booster (not safe at all and illegal but we're running out of options here) and go to walmart and buy Ellie a new carseat that the airline says they'll reimburse us for and we begin our drive to Temple. All in all, we pulled into our garage almost exactly at 6 AM and everyone is so beyond tired, just call us zombies :) 

*also, Remus pooped all over the office so our house smells like cat pee... we missed you too buddy...

**We really are glad to be back home though and after a good night's sleep I think we'll all be happy again :) :)

Oh Canada: It's been too long

We took a 2 week vacation to Canada & Montana to visit Brett's side of the family. We started out in Canada where Ellie FINALLY got to visit Grandma & Grandpa on the farm. (we'd been counting down the days)

Grandpa spoiled her a bit by letting her ride a horse, meet his cows, feed the fish, pet more than 20 kitties, chase chickens, and so much more. Ellie was truly in heaven because she is absolutely obsessed with animals right now.

We also took lots of rides on the golf cart and quad, went up to the ridge to admire the view, and had a day in the city (Lethbridge) to get our fix of pierogi pizza and shopping. Brett also took me on a date to the Cardston summer theater where we saw 'Into the Woods'. It was by far the best community theater I've ever seen; I loved it!!

We also squeezed in a trip to Waterton where we hiked Blakiston Falls and enjoyed some Weiners of Waterton :) 

Not pictured are the hords of Canadian chocolate bars we ate and brought home, but here is Ellie with her first Kinder surprise. (she didn't care about the chocolate) Also, poutine, I guess we really enjoy eating out hah

 

Growing Up

Both Ellie & Adelaide had doctor check ups recently, and they are both healthy and developing right where they should be.

Ellie weighs 34.5 lbs (79th percentile), and she is 3 ft 3 in tall (87th percentile)
     Right now Ellie LOVES animals; her favorite thing to play is making up stories with either her small plastic animals or stuffed animals. She continues to be our little song bird and her hunger never seems satiated. *also, most of the time her animals are going to the pool or having a picnic, but she told me the other day that Mr. Potato Head was going to kill all the baby animals and that he was very bad. Where does she pick this stuff up...??

Adelaide weighs 12 lbs 14 oz (48th percentile) and is almost 2 ft tall (32nd percentile)
     She is constantly drooling over her fingers and whole fists if she can get them in her mouth. We've started a little bit of sleep training which is going well, so far she isn't napping in the swing or being bounced to sleep anymore. She likes to watch your mouth move as you sing and thinks it's pretty funny looking. Adelaide also has so. much. gas. Oh my goodness child; seriously... it's disrupting our primary class.

Lovin' these kiddos to death even though they keep us on our toes!

Brett is currently studying for step 2 which stinks, but it does mean one step closer to getting a job so that's a happy thought. He's also preparing to apply for a Psychiatry residency soon (probably a program with child & adolescent fellowship attached).

My parents just came home from their mission and they drove out to Temple to meet Adelaide for the first time and play with Ellie. I guess they talked to us too... ;) While they were here we had some good times at Cameron Park Zoo and Lion's Junction Water Park. I think Ellie's favorite part was feeding the giraffe.

March Madness

So the exciting thing coming up this week is that we are MOVING!! only a couple miles down the road, but it will be our first time living in a house and we are thrilled. backyard, garage, 4 bedrooms, and no shared walls - here we come! Also, fun fact, our new landlord owns a zebra and says we can all come visit :)

This weekend has been... hard. Mainly because I got mastitis. I never had any issues with Ellie but it's been a problem with Adelaide. It stinks because Friday night rolls around and Brett is finally out of school and I become a useless invalid. At lease mastitis isn't contagious I guess. The highest my fever got was 106.1 but I had waves of almost normalcy, did I mention mastitis stinks? On the other hand, my husband, the most wonderful human being in the world, somehow took care of me, an infant, and our three year old.

On a happier note, I'm still so in love with my calling as ward choir director. Today we sang "I Stand All Amazed", and I couldn't sing with them as I directed because of the love for my Savior that they helped me feel. I am so lucky and blessed to be able direct these people who have such strong testimonies and such great voices.

We celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary this month so that was cool.

Also, my tiny little Adelaide is not very tiny. 2 months already - it's hard to believe.

Ellie turns 3!!! & Adelaide Photo Montage

Ellie turned 3 this past Tuesday and I'm over here feeling guilty. Ellie loves Adelaide and is extremely helpful (when she wants to be) and thoughtful, gentle, and kind. But... it's also true that she's become really whiny and she is back in diapers at night because after 3 consecutive days of accidents I couldn't handle the laundry anymore. Needless to say, I pray for patience and parenting guidance with my girls every day.

All that being said, it was my sweet Ellie's birthday and I wanted it to be special and not overshadowed by her new baby sister and not with a mom that always seems frustrated. She asked for a pink cake and balloons and presents. The night before Ellie's birthday I got mastitis... fever, soreness, the whole shebang (it sucks). I think I gave her something like applesauce and a granola bar for dinner... At least she is probably too young to remember and be disappointed right?