POSTS!

Okay, so we have been really busy lately and we just haven't had time to put up any new posts in the last 3 1/2 weeks. So there are literally 16 new posts on this blog, not including this one, so make sure you go back and look at them all! Thank you to everyone in Utah that gave Rachel a gift: Kami, Nicole, Jenny, Janel, and all the family! We miss you all already. We really wish we could be closer to everyone!

Hopefully we will be able to post while we are in Alaska so everyone doesn't have 10 million pictures and posts to look through! But we hope you can appreciate them all, and how much are BEAUTIFUL little girl has grown! At her 2 month check up she had grown 3 inches and 3 lbs 8 oz, in just 6 weeks! Now she is up to 2 feet and 12 lbs 13 oz! Here she is with Daddy at the end of her Tummy Time!!

We love Daddy

Rachel and I agree that Daddy is #1. He's been such a big help, a blessing. I don't know what I would have done if she would have been born during hockey season. It's been so nice to have Mark at home, to help with the cleaning, dinner, laundry, and especially Rachel. It will be so hard for the three of us when he goes back to work, when yet another season of our life begins. We love him very much. Rachel just sometimes expresses it in a louder way...like yelling!! The funny thing is that she's not actually mad in this picture, sometimes she really just likes to yell a little!

Museum of Natural Science

We all headed to the Houston Museum of Natural Science with Cat after Dad headed back to California. We had a lot of fun watching a IMAX movie about the Grand Canyon and wondering around the museum looking at Dinosaurs and interesting science stuff! Don't we look great in our 3D glasses! Cat, Thanks so much for everything! We are so glad we got to spend so much time with you. Rachel had lots of fun and so did we. Hope you had tons of fun in Costa.

Galveston Beach

We went to Galveston Beach with Dad and Cat on Friday. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe and then went Jet Skiing! We each took a 1/2 hour ride, Mark and I and Dad and Cat, they other watched Rachel. Mark and I went first and just as we got back, Rachel wanted her Mama! Luckily I made bottles the night before. I love the picture of Mark and Rachel under the umbrella! We forgot to bring a hat for Rachel, so Grandma Cat bought her one at Rainforest Cafe, which worked perfect! Rachel wore her adorable bathing suit that Aunt Jujubee bought her, and we headed for the water. Luckily for her the Gulf of Mexico has warm water, it was about 87* that day and only about 98* outside! Mark dipped her feet in and we made sure to get off this cute picture with the Grandparents. Don't mind my mascara, I just finished jet skiing minutes before!

Dad and his Girls

It was so good to have Dad come and visit. I know it is really hard for him to get time off from work right now with the busy job he has going on, so it really meant a lot for him to come out. We all wish he could have stayed longer, Rachel really loves her Papa!




Dad and Rachel sleeping...




Dad and Cat with Rachel...still sleeping...







Dad and Rachel yet again...



Dad and Rachel "Hang Loose"... Dad and Me!











Dad, it was so good to see you and we are so glad that you came to visit. Rachel was so excited to play with you and we have the videos to prove it. Thank you so much for everything. Hopefully we can see you for Christmas. We love you.

First Flights

So, Rachel seems to be an amazing traveler so far. She loved the sound of the plane and slept the whole time, except when she was eating. Even then, she only made a slight noise to let us know she was hungry. It was so nice to have people come up to us after each flight and let us know that they too thought that she was, "Such an AMAZING traveler!" We think so, we'll see how she does on the trip to Alaska!

Trampoline Fun

So the night before we left Utah we had a BBQ at Dad's. After eating the great burgers that Kim made and Dad BBQ'd we all jumped on the trampoline. Bethany, Clayton, Leslie, Mark, Aspen, Shalom, Dad and I. Thankfully we all jumped at different times, for the most part! Don't ask me what I am doing in the picture with Leslie and myself, apparently something was really funny!












Mark had so much fun chasing the kids that they finally just decided to tackle him, with the encouragement of Pappy of course. Then they made a game out of stealing his beloved Cubbies hat and running around the trampoline with it yelling,

"Catch me, catch me!" They all had a lot of fun, and Mark's hat was returned unharmed! Shalom tried helping Mark by distracting Clayton and Aspen, but only Clayton was falling for it, Aspen was stuck to Mark like glue!

After the kids were done tackling Mark, Dad and Mark decided to play a game of who could jump the highest on the trampoline. I think that Dad won, but Mark insists that he did.

Acceptance

So Mark and I are pretty sure that the family has excepted Rachel, considering that they had to be holding her at all times! Especially Aunite Peaches and Pappy! Clayton even tried to hold her, but settled for putting his arm around her while Leslie held her. Rachel too is a big fan of the family, all smiles...almost all the time! There were plenty of times that Granny is holding her and calming her down or putting to sleep that for some reason we did not get a picture of, but we know they all love her!

Rachel with her Great Grandma and Papa

Grandma and Papa were able to drive down to Salt Lake to see us, in reality we all know they only drove down to see Rachel, but we like to think they wanted to see us too!

Rachel wanted to tell Grandma her story...

she was listening to Papa tell her stories...











she was playing with Grandma, she loves to have her mouth open...

she was in the middle of a story with Papa when she saw the camera!









We were able to get a picture of the five of us before they headed back to Idaho. It was so much fun to see them and to watch them play with Rachel. They have always been Great Grandparents, this just proves it! We love you both!

More Wedding Pictures

Here are a couple more: Mo and Mark, Leslie, Joey, Aspen and Clayton, Dad and Mark, Rachel, Mark and myself! We just couldn't resist adding these pictures too!

The Big Day!!

This is the reason that we made sure we were in Utah!





Mo was a BEAUTIFUL bride and Pete didn't look too bad in a tux. Aspen was a flower girl and Ethan and Clayton were the ring bearers. We had so much fun, it all went wonderfully! Truly Mo couldn't have found a better guy, they are so happy!

Getting Ready

The morning of the wedding all the girls came over to Dad and Kim's house to get their hair done. Since Mo is in cosmetology school, she and a couple of friends did everyone's hair. Rachel tried to get in on the action, she just doesn't have enough hair yet! It was a lot of fun! Kim made sure that we all had plenty of fruit and bagels to eat.

4th of July

For the 4th of July we all headed to Salt Lake for a Bee's game. Notice the Old Navy 4th of July traditional shirts. They


don't make matching ones for newborns, so Mark just tailored Rachel's to fit! He does come in handy!! It was Rachel's first baseball game, well the first that she's in the pictures, we did go to a Cubs/Astros game the day before she was born! Clayton couldn't take his eyes off the field and Aspen couldn't take her eyes off of Rachel! Mo and Pete are so cute! We all had so much fun at the Bees game, the fireworks at the end were great! Here are the pictures to prove it!!