Swimming & Chatting

Blake has been talking about "wimming" ever since we got back last weekend from camping in Rapid City. Bob had a dinner & golf tournament for work, so Blake & I tagged along for a quick camping trip. We stayed at a KOA there, so there was a really nice pool where Blake got to swim quite a bit. She also had pancakes every morning! They made the coolest pancakes for kids. She had Spongebob the first morning, butterflies the second and a teddy bear the last morning. Anyway, once we got back Lauren happened to stumble upon a little pool on clearance at Wal-Mart, so we rigged up a little pool area for Blake in the back yard. She LOVES it!

The video below is of Blake "wimming" this morning. Since we had a low of just under 45 degrees last night and the pool doesn't get sun until around 11 am, it was a little chilly to say the least. She is such a chatterbox - you'll see in the video. Lauren has also told Blake that mommy has a baby in her belly. At first, Blake kept saying, "no...puppy" but she has finally accepted that there is a baby in there, not a puppy. In the video you'll hear Lauren asking Blake about this. With exception of the first question about what's in Mom's belly, the questioning in this video was completely on the fly. Lauren has never asked Blake any questions about the baby. The responses were just too precious not to post :) ENJOY!!!

Sunday at the Lake

Well it's almost a week past already, but we decided to take the boat out for a day on the lake last Sunday. Blake loves to "wim" (swim), and we just needed to get out for the day. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and it was so relaxing just to hang out at the lake. Here's Blake "wimming" with Daddy, Copa & Maddie. Notice Maddie is drinking the lake water in this picture?! Well, turns out she ended up with some sort of parasite Sunday evening...maybe from the lake? We're not sure, but she had diarrhea until Lauren finally took her in to the vet on Thursday. We're happy to report that she seems to be doing much better after two full days of meds and a prescription diet. Poor girlie!!!
Blake chillin' in her chair on the boat.
Blake driving the boat with Daddy. We really have to watch little miss Blake on the boat because she knows which lever makes it go faster, and she has a fascination with driving the boat without any help. Daddy caught her just in time before she sent her momma flying off the back of the boat once ;)
Blake enjoying some snacks on the boat.
Blake & her momma enjoying the sun bed on the back of the boat.
Best of wishes to all...and good luck for those who've started or are getting geared up for the school year!

Blake's Second Year Video

Here's Blake's second year in review! We were planning on making it much shorter...O WELL! We just have way too many pictures. Enjoy if you have the time ;)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Early Birthday Bash & Big Girl Bed

Blake's not officially 2 until tomorrow, but we celebrated her second birthday last Sunday while Grandma & Grampy were still here. We had a tropical theme for her birthday party. Here's the birthday girl all decked out in a grass skirt and other tropical accessories. the lootopening gifts Grandma & Grampy helping Blake play with her new laptop.Blake's "big" gift was a Power Wheels Ford F-150. Lauren thought she got a great deal on this off of the internet just to find out that it was missing both side windows. Power Wheels was happy to send us our money back if we wanted to return the vehicle (they don't have any side windows to send us), but we couldn't find another similar vehicle for even close to what we paid for this...everything was WAY more expensive. So, Blake has a side-window-less pickup. O WELL...she didn't seem to mind. She had a blast cruising around the back yard!A close-up of our little hot rodder.Blake's birthday cakeGrampy & BlakeGrampy, Blake & Grandma
We've been debating on when it would be best to turn Blake's room into a big girl room, and Lauren decided that while Grandma was here to help it would be nice to make the transition. Here's a before picture.Both Grandma & Grampy were tons of help getting the room painted, decorated, etc. Lauren's Aunt Lynn had made a quilt for Blake, and we just LOVED all the colors in it. It was the inspiration for the color scheme in the room, and we think it turned out pretty nice. Here's the new bed and some wall decorations.We organized the toys.Here's a picture of the wall with the closet.the dressera different angle of the bed including the rug that Lauren absolutely loves :) Lauren was able to make the crib sheet to match the quilt exactly. So, if anyone wants an easy pattern to make a fitted crib sheet (also fits toddler beds) e-mail Lauren and she'll get it to you. They are super simple to make, and there's nothing better than having stylish bed sheets ;) Hope all is well with everyone, and we'll hopefully have Blake's second year in review video posted some time this week...bet you can't wait.

South Dakota Trip

Grandma & Grampy flew out to hang with us for a long weekend, so we decided to take a little trip over to Rapid City, SD. We got tons of pictures, so let's just start there. We stopped by Devil's Tower (in WY) on the way to Rapid. Here's the Close Encounter's of the Third Kind star in real life today.
There's a really neat trail that goes all the way around the tower, and there are tons of HUGE boulders all around that you climb on...definitely a place to take the kiddos when they get old enough to enjoy that part. It looked like lots of fun. Grampy, Grandma, Blake & Lauren posed for a pic underneath one of the boulders.
Bob & Blake on the trail
The whole crew (minus Lauren) enjoying an afternoon walk.
some of the scenery
Bob, Blake & Lauren at Devil's Tower
Grampy & Grandma
After visiting Devil's Tower, we headed on in to Rapid City. Blake got to take a "wim" (swim) in the hotel pool which was quite possibly the biggest hit of the whole trip for her :) The next day we headed out to some of the attractions. Bear Country U.S.A. is one of the best in the area in our opinion, so we just had to show Grandma & Grampy...plus Blake had never been before either. Here are some of the elk in the park.
a sleepy arctic wolf
a lounging bear
white buffalo
The baby bears were all too tired, so they weren't out playing like they were the last time we were there. They are absolutely hilarious when they are active! Too bad we missed out on this trip. Here's the sleepy babies.
Bob, Blake & Lauren at Bear Country U.S.A.
Grampy, Blake & Grandma posing for a quick pic.
Blake needed a nap after Bear Country, so we dropped Grampy & Grandma off at Mt. Rushmore. We had already seen it up close, so while Blake was asleep we stopped at a little pull out on the highway and took in a lesser photographed view of Mt. Rushmore. Doesn't it look like Teddy & Abe are making out?! HA, HA, HA...we thought it was kinda funny!
After Blake's nap, we hit up Old McDonald's Farm. It's basically a big petting zoo. Blake wasn't too interested in touching or riding any of the animals. She completely refused the pony ride, but we did get a few good pics. Here's Blake in with the baby goats.
Grampy helping Blake get a closer look at the draft horse.
And here's our own little monster!
We also took in a pig race while at Old McDonald's Farm. Grampy's pick won the race, and Lauren's came in dead last. Anyway after the farm, we headed over to Reptile Gardens. We couldn't really take in any of the shows because Blake's attention span isn't quite up to par yet, but if you ever go the alligator and the snake shows are pretty cool. Here's a picture of one of the crocs we saw.
and another big croc
126 YEARS OLD!!! I'm not sure if I'd say he's aged well or not. These are some pretty ginormous turtles, though.
Blake & Grandma taking in a prairie dog's view.
Blake & Daddy at Reptile Gardens
Breakfast in bed! What a life?!
We had tons of fun hanging out with Grandma & Grampy, and it was so great to have Blake spend the nights with them in their hotel room ;) Hope you enjoyed all our pics!!!