With the sun shining today, I thought it would be fun to take Sadie, Brady and Nattie to the park for a walk. Brady wanted to ride his bike so I got his helmet on, got Nattie strapped in the carrier and Sadie on her leash. We headed down the trail to a walking bridge which is surrounded by shallow, swampy water. All was well until Brady fell off his bike. He cried for a few minutes and while I was busy consoling him, Sadie decided to jump off the bridge and into the water. Although it was not too deep, she was now stuck in the water, unable to get back onto the bridge and with Nattie in the carrier, I couldn't physically pull her back up. As I tried to lure Sadie, Brady gave up on riding and was sitting down whining and crying and then Nattie started fussing. At this point, I took a few deep breathes for fear that I might have a complete breakdown in the middle of park and gave some thought as to my next move. Here is a little snapshot of what I was dealing with...
I was finally able to walk Sadie to an area where the ground was a bit higher and she was able to jump out on her own. After a bit of persuasion, I was able to get Brady back on his bike and we swiftly headed for the car before Nattie had a meltdown and anything else could happen!
Given the fact that Nattie has only tasted a handful of foods, I couldn't believe it when I handed her a pickle at lunch today and she loved it! I thought we might get a good laugh from the look on her face when she got her first taste but instead she gobbled it down and cried for seconds.
For the past 2 years, we have been unable to make the trip to Arizona; so as soon as we made our reservations for this trip, it couldn't come fast enough for me! We stayed for a week at my parent's house and got to enjoy sunshine, pool time, family time, good food and even experienced our first dust storm which forced us to find some new indoor activities. Overall, it was a great relaxing trip!
Thanks to Arizona Grandma and Grandpa for putting up with our loud, sometimes rambunctious, busy family of five :)
This picture cracks me up...we are on the plane, headed to Arizona. Josh is sleeping while holding Nattie who is "chewing" on his headphones. I didn't dare disrupt things since it kept her quiet for a good while :)
Arizona Grandma treated Abi and I to manicures and pedicures - one of our favorite activities.
Meanwhile, Grandpa, Josh and B headed to Cabellas to check out all the cool "boy stuff"...
Over the next few days it was pretty hot out so we spent a good part of our days at the pool. The kids had a blast!
Here are a few pictures of Nattie trying on her swimsuits before we left for Arizona. Such a cutie! (Thanks to Ferryboat Grandma for the adorable suits!)
I LOVE her expression in this picture :)
(Sorry about my thumbprint in this picture but it's too cute not to post.)
One of Brady's favorite things to do during pool time was jumping in - often without someone to catch him in the deep end. We had a keep a careful eye on him as he has no fear of the water!
The kids took swimming lessons before our trip to Arizona and it definitely paid off for Abi because she was a much more confident swimmer. I am so proud of her - Good job, Sis!
By the end of our trip, Abi was spending hours in the pool playing with the dive sticks. She would throw them down in the deep end then dive under to retrieve them.
Our Bathing Beauty
Of course, we took TONS of pictures of our baby girl. Here's just a little sample.
Nattie's first bite of frozen yogurt. She was a big fan to say the least!
On one of our days, we headed to a local train park, where we met up with Uncle Mike, Aunt Cynth, Colby and Paige who were also visiting family in Arizona. The kids had a blast playing together and watching and riding the trains!
"All Aboard"
Learning how to become a conductor of one of these little trains.
On the day of the dust storm, we were forced to stay away from the pool so we headed to the Arizona Science Center which had some really fun hands-on exhibits.
Josh and Abi participating in a wheelchair race.
Laying on a bed of nails.
We spent a good amount of time playing around and laughing at each other at this exhibit...
We ended the night by eating some yummy BBQ at a near-by zoo/aquarium. The fish and sharks swimming next to us definitely kept the kids entertained during dinner.
Hope we can make it back to Arizona again soon and create more awesome memories!
