On The Move

It's official! Our baby is mobile! This weekend, Evelyn mastered the art of the army crawl. She's still working on crawling on her hands and knees, but, have no doubt, she gets where she wants to go!

I think I can, I think I can...

Got it!

So proud of herself!

A Day at the Park

Saturday, while wasting time, waiting to pick Bama up at the airport, Evelyn and I walked to our neighborhood park to play for a while. We spent most of our time on the swings (as usual) but we also went down the slides a couple times! It's a little interesting trying to get this 32-year-old body on to a slide designed for children WAY more than half my age. It's even more interesting trying to do it while holding a child WAY more than half my age. It wasn't pretty, but we made it work.

This girl loves to swing!!

She's a big fan of the slide too!

Lazy (NOT!) Days of Summer

Miss Evelyn is napping and my work day is getting a (much) later start than usual. So, I thought I'd sit down and update you on our summer so far. This spring, our summer calendar started filling up one weekend at a time. Then we stepped back and looked at the whole - the craziness started in June and we won't have a free weekend until the end of August! Where is our summer going?

It all started June 17, when we attended the wedding of our friends Michael and Amanda, which took place in Creston. It was Evelyn's first wedding and, with only a couple minor meltdowns while being stared at, poked at, and goo'd at by strange women, she did great! Grandma and Grandpa left the party early to take Evelyn home, which meant that mom and dad got to enjoy the evening with friends!

The following weekend found us in Creston, yet again. This time, we went to a BBQ at our friends', the McKie's, Friday night before Ethan and Corey played in a golf tournament Sat. and Sun. Now, this is no ordinary golf tournament, and keep in mind, we're in Iowa. The big prize for winning here is PORK CHOPS! For all of you Northwesterners, these are not the pork chops you're thinking of. We're talking the biggest, tastiest, most delicious pork chops you've ever laid your eyes on, Iowa Pork Chops. At least 2 inches thick of moist (yes, I said moist) tastiness that is the other white meat. Now, ususally, I wouldn't go on and on about how wonderful pork chops are, however, due to my husband's amazing golf skills, I now have a freezer full of said pork chops. I have to keep reminding myself how good they are so I don't get tired of them!

While daddy was out golfing, Evelyn took a dip in the pool with cousin AJ. As we sat in the shade of a tree in the back yard, Evelyn in nothing but a diaper and some sweet shades we found at Grandma's, we shared an afternoon of laughs.


For the 4th of July, once again, we made the trek to Creston. Our wonderful friends Amy & Pat were in town from Colorado. We only get to see them once or twice a year, so we take advantage of every opportunity we have. Saturday was a beautiful day and we spent the entire afternoon poolside at the Coen's. Unfortunately, there were too many big kids in the pool and they were too busy making whirlpools, so Evelyn didn't get to take a dip. However, she did get to go for a swing. This girl LOVES to swing!

We headed home on Sunday so that Ethan could help out with Waukee's festivities. However, this year we had a very Northwest 4th - cool and drizzly all day. No parade, no concert and no fireworks. That didn't stop us from having fun though. We had friends over in the afternoon, Ethan grilled under the eave of the garage and, once it cleared up, we watched fireworks in the distance from our driveway. It was a perfect way to spend the 4th.

Monday, Waukee tried again. This time, we got in the parade, but again, concert and fireworks were cancelled. Evelyn got to go to her first 4th of July parade and was such a good girl. You can just see all the excitement on her face!

Here, your Waukee Park Board members slave away to keep the crowds at bay.

Last weekend was supposed to be our "free" weekend in July - no so much. We ended up in Creston... AGAIN. This time, we attended a party for our friends Lori & Quentin who are getting married in August (I almost forgot about that one - there goes our free weekend in August!) Once again we had a great time out with friends while Grandma and Grandpa watched Evelyn for the evening. I headed home "early", around 11 (which is about 2 hours past my bedtime these days!) and Ethan shut down the bar and wandered home around 2:30. The following morning, Ethan woke up with a headache and growled "I should have come home with you. When will I learn?" Fortunately for him, he'll have plenty more opportunities this summer.

We are headed to McCook, NE on Friday for the Owens' family reunion that happens every 3 years. The last one took place two weeks before we got married, so neither of us were able to attend. It will be great to meet the entire other side of the family. I will post as soon as I can when we get back. There should be enough comic releif to go around!

6 months old!!

My, how time flies when you're having fun! Evelyn "turned" 6 months old back on June 20, and our summer has been a whirlwind ever since! We did manage to make it to the pediatrician, so here are the latest stats:

Height: 27 1/2 inches (99th percentile)

Weight: 22.2 pounds (99th percentile)

We are all off to Nebraska this weekend for the Frick'n Owens reunion (that is the Frick family and the Owens family (Grandpa Larry's families) - the Frick'n Owens family!) this weekend where Evelyn will meet all of her aunts, uncles and cousins from Grandpa Larry's family. We will post lots of pictures when we get home!