Playing Catch-up, Part Deux

Yep, that's right, folks - 2 blog posts in a week!! We can't believe it either...please don't get used to it!

So, when last we blogged, we were heading into Summer & looking forward to lots of nice weather. This summer has been a great one, both weather-wise & otherwise, so let's discuss, shall we? Great.

We kicked off the summer at the beginning of July by driving up to Vancouver to spend the July long weekend with my family. We headed out of Boise on the Thursday night (July 3rd) and drove through the night, arriving in Vancouver around breakfast time. The girls did really well on the overnight trip - Nora slept through a lot of it, and Claire slept off & on, but at least when she was awake, she would just talk quietly to herself & look out the window. No complaints from us!

The visit in Vancouver was great - the weather was gorgeous (and hot!), so we spent lots of time with Auntie Megan, Emily & Matthew at pools and playgrounds, which Claire loved of course! We also headed out to Cultus Lake to visit Uncle Dave & celebrate my birthday. Dave has a truly beautiful place to call home - the lake is practically at his doorstep, and is absolutely stunning! The water was amazing & even Claire splashed around in it after some serious coaching & coaxing from various family members. We were able to coordinate this visit with a cross-country visit from my Auntie Cathy who lives in Manitoba, so it was wonderful to see her & introduce her (and the whole family) to Nora!

Zach drove back to Boise & Claire, Nora & I spent another 10 days hanging out with everyone. It was so nice to just hang out at the wading pools & parks while the cousins played together. The girls & I were sad to leave, but had to head back to Boise so Zach wouldn't forget what we looked like! We flew to Portland & then to Boise, and both girls did very well. I was quite worried, flying with both of them by myself, but luckily the flights weren't long (1hr 15mins each leg), and Nora slept for a lot of the 2nd flight so I was able to keep Claire busy.

Our next adventure came in mid-August - camping with an almost-3 year old & a 6 month old! Such fun! No really, we had a great time. We headed out to Lewis and Clark Trail State Park, in Washington State, to meet up with our friends Joey & Sam and their daughters (Cecelia, 5 & Mallory, 2), and Tracy & Dan. We spent 2 nights at the campground, which was just lovely - the sites weren't big, but they were nice & right close to a small river. The girls played really well together & kept each other entertained for long stretches, which allowed the adults time to visit. Both Claire & Nora did very well sleeping in the tent with us - Claire was so worn out by bedtime on both nights that she'd just pass out cold & not even bat an eyelash if Nora woke up & cried! Yay for tired kids!

So, those were the two big trips of our summer, and now that we're heading into Fall, we're very excited to be flying down to Florida this Tuesday to spend a week with Jan & Ron! More about that trip in our next blog post...until then, here are the pictures from the rest of our summer...Enjoy!

Love,
Katie, Zach, Claire & Nora

Late Summer Update Pictures!
Nora Tries the Jumperoo Video
Nora Getting Used to the Jumperoo Video
Nora in the Jumperoo Video
Splashing Claire Video
Nora Splashes Video
Grass Fed Baby Video
Nora Eats Rice Cereal Video
Pool Slide Video
Nora Jumping Video
Nora Tips Over Video
Nora Reaching Video
Carousel Ride at the Fair Video
Jeep Ride at the Fair Video
Boat Ride at the Fair Video
Train Ride at the Fair Video
Camel Ride at the Fair Video
Nora in the Yard Video
Claire Pushes Nora Video
Labor Day Dinner Video

Blog? What blog?!

Let's just pretend that it hasn't actually been 6 months since we last updated this blog, OK? Great, thanks...moving on...

We've had a busy time in the past little while, getting adjusted to being a household of 4. When Nora was born, my Mom was able to be here both before & after her arrival, which was great for everyone, but especially for Claire, since she had some awesome one-on-one time with Grandma Shepherd during a very transitional time. It was also wonderful to have Grandma here for the first days of dealing with both a newborn & a 2 year old!

After that, our next visitors were some of my family members on their Spring Break in March. My sister Megan, brother Dave & my niece & nephew, Emily & Matthew, drove down to meet Nora & hang out with us for a week. It was so nice to have them here, since Claire is pretty much obsessed with her cousins, and Nora had her dreams come true by being held by someone basically 24/7! We also got to celebrate Emily's 10th birthday with her (WHAT?! When did that happen??).

Our final visitors were Zach's mom, Jan & her friend Susan, who came at Easter to meet Nora & celebrate Easter with us. Again, Claire had a wonderful time showing Jan & Susan around & going swimming in their hotel pool. We hosted Easter Brunch with Jan, Susan, Gary & Bonnie and Claire absolutely loved colouring & hunting for Easter eggs with everyone!

Thanks to everyone for some fantastic visits, and for coming to visit us!
And we promise we'll try not to go so long between blog posts in the future...

Love,
Zach, Katie, Claire & Nora

Mid-Summer 2014 Pictures
Pictures from Nana and Susan's Visit

Claire Sings Her ABCs Video
What Dis Called Video
Nora on the Floor Video
Nora Swings Video
Claire Climbing Video
Nora's First Bath Video
Off the Beam Video
Flying a Kite Video
Claire at Manitou Park Video
Nora Playing Video
Nora Talks Video
Easter Basket Video
Baby Nora Swings Video
Baby Nora Close-up Video
Claire Swings Video
Claire at Jabbers Video
Claire Dyes a Lavender Egg Video
Claire Rocks the Turtle Video
Nora on the Play Mat Video
Claire Plays B-Ball Video
Claire's Tutu Video
JumpTime Video
Claire at Little Gym Video
Nora Gets Some Help Video
Nora on the Mat Video
Kleiner Splash Park Video
Claire Loves the Fountain Video
On the Trike Video
Nora Rollin Video
Sliding Into the Pool Video
Nora on a Swing Video
Claire Makes a Pizza Video