Our Special Trips

 Back in July, little Daniel and I got to go on a special trip.  We flew to Utah to have a girls weekend for my sister Kellie.  Daniel was our only guy but he's so cute that we let it slide.  Kellie just got engaged to be married.  We thought it would be fun to have all of the sisters and my mom fly out to help her try on wedding dresses.  I decided to just call my sisters-in-law my sisters because they totally are.  It was such a fun couple of days.  Daniel did decent on the plane ride there but was a nightmare on the plane ride back.  I think they may have applauded when I got off the plane.  Doesn't he look sweet smiling for the camera though?

 This was our first stop.  It was so funny because we found "the one" at this store and just knew this was it.  To be sure, we decided to go to some more stores and try on more dresses.  At the next store, we found one we liked better and knew this was "the one".  Again, just to be sure, we went to one last dress shop, and there it was.  The REAL "one".  Each dress that we decided on got progressively more expensive and more elaborate.  The dress she landed on is beautiful.  She's going to make a beautiful bride.

 Me and Daniel had a great time chasing each other while we waited for Kellie to try things on.

 Aren't my sisters beautiful?  Holy cow.

 What's a trip to Utah without a stop at Cafe Rio?  Delicious!

 This was the place where we found her dress.  I won't post pictures of the actual thing in case he fiance gets any ideas and wants a sneak peak.  No, no!

 We wanted to make the day she got her wedding dress feel really special so we did a little thing where we each brought items to dress Kellie up in that described her.  By the end, she looked totally ridiculous.  So, of course we took her out for ice-cream afterwards all decked out.

 So, so fun!

 Oh, she's sportin' it.

 Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Ggggoooooooo COUGARS!  I was SO excited to go back on campus.  It was really fun to be there.  It also made me glad to not be one of those who was carrying a backpack.  I was very happy to be carrying a baby instead.  College was unbelievably fun but this phase is even more wonderful.

 I guess we all had the same idea to wear purple.  ;-)

 I got back on a Friday afternoon and then Josh left on Saturday morning for almost a week.  He had a conference in California for the AAA.  He had such a great time and got to see lots of his family.  He loved being able to spend time with them all.  We wish we could see them more often.  I LOVED seeing all the pictures of the cute little nieces and nephews.  Aren't they darling?

 Holy cow.  These women are beautiful!  Love them all.

Our First Bike Rider

 Anna learned how to ride her bike a few months ago.  I was shocked she could do it.  I went to Target by myself one Saturday and when I came home she was screaming with excitement.  She told me she had a surprise for me.  She jumped on her training wheel-less bike and took off.  I about died!  Josh said he only had to help her for less than five minutes and she was a pro.  We were all so excited.  (Sorry all of these pictures are dark).

Andrew had to get his attention in the spotlight too, of course.

 Good ol' Dan Dan, chewing on an old apple.  Awesome.

 She was so, so proud of herself.  I was too!

 See the determination and fierceness in her eyes?

 This boy is always happy.  He is the most pleasant little guy. He never whines or complains.  He just goes with the flow and works hard.  I can already tell at two years old that he is going to have his daddy's work ethic.

 "I'll shoot a web at you. CCCCCHHHOOOOOOOOO!!!"

 Daniel was really jealous he couldn't ride a bike.  It won't be long though....

 Daniel looks positively terrified in all the these pictures.  So cute though!

 I don't know what it is about these jammies but he just seems extra soft and sweet in them.  Had to document.

 Um, yea.  At least they were happy.

End of Summer

 I just have these last two photos from our Florida vacation.  These are from the day we spent at the water park.  We had good weather for a while and then it poured like crazy for quite a while.  We finally just packed up and left.  The picture above is of the kids playing around as we pack up the car.  They were just so happy the whole trip.

 Anna started preschool a few weeks ago.  She loves it.  She's doing wonderfully and comes home beaming every day.  That makes for a happy mama.

 Anna and her teacher, Ms. Sarah.

 We thought we'd take the kids to the zoo as a back-to-school surprise before life gets crazy.  We had such a great day there.  We went to the sea lion show, which we've never done.  Anna and Andrew squealed and laughed every time the sea lions did anything.  It was pure heaven for them.  They just built this huge $18 million dollar exhibit.  You can walk under a tunnel and watch the sea lions swim above you.  It's amazing.

 My little cutie-patootie.

 I think this picture is so stinkin' cute.  What a little personality this boy has.

 She's the sweetest.

 Our friends gave us some passes to ride the train.  The kids were SO excited.  We did it for family night and they loved it.

 This was Anna's face the whole time!