New Park!

I've been hearing about this park nearby that has all these water features and playgrounds. Daniel had the day off so we decided to take Morgan to try it out. It was great! I can't believe it's free to the public!


"Gaw! Gaw!" She said. "Gaw" is her word for ball. The last few days Daniel and I have been noticing that Morgan's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. Most words are correct but I can't help but love her versions too. Elmo is now Bo-Bo. So cute!

She looks more like a 5-year-old in the below picture than she does a toddler!

She took a break from the water to play on the playground.

Then it was back to the water area!

In true Morgan fashion, she took some time out to take it all in.

Hi Mom!

Unfortunately Dad and I let Morgan fall off a bench and she scraped up her knee and chin. Poor Morgan was sitting right in between Daniel and I when she fell. Neither of us were paying attention. We felt horrible! Dad was able to cheer Morgan up though not long after the incident.

Love the below series of pictures! Good job Dad!

The scrape on the knee was minor but she has a bad scrape on her chin. Again, we feel horrible but we know it happens.

Eyelashes!

Ashamed!

I know it's hard to tell but this is a peach tree.

One of the things I love about our house is the fact that we have some fruit trees and plants in our backyard. It was so much fun that first summer after moving into our house when everything began to bloom. We had no idea that we had grape vines, strawberry and raspberry plants and a peach tree! Turns out we actually have a citrus tree and another peach tree on the side of our house. The peach tree on the side of the house made it's first edible peach this year. Any way, I've thoroughly enjoyed this plant life. Every summer we enjoy fresh delicious peaches and I carry on my grandma's tradition of baking peach cobbler for family gatherings. I even made fresh grape jam using the grapes from our grapevines one year!

Usually I thin the peaches when they first bloom so that the tree doesn't become weighed down and so the peaches that are left grow big and plump. This year we didn't even water the poor tree! Because I didn't thin out the peaches the main limb broke.

This is entirely too many peaches for one limb!

I hate that I neglected these gifts this year. Every time I look out to my back yard and see the condition of our fruit, I feel a little tinge of guilt. I've learned my lesson and promise to take much better care of them next year.

Somehow, although most of the peaches are extremely small, they still taste amazing! Yesterday I got out there and picked all of them. I'm always proud of myself afterwards because I brave spider webs, many different types of insects, bird poop and lots of peach fuzz!

Morgan helped.

Here's a picture of the grapes starting to grow. Because I never tamed the vines, they've taken over the peach tree.

The vines are so out of control, they're starting to grow into the neighbor's tree. At least we're offering them grapes...

Morgan found other uses for the peaches. Apparently they make great pool toys too!

The water is so dirty because Maggie likes to "swim" with Morgan.

The aftermath.

In case you were wondering, yes, I was allowing my daughter to swim in what she wore to bed the night before. I thought about how my mom would probably see these pictures and I could hear her saying, "I never treated you like that." After realizing how ashamed she'd be looking at those pictures, I immediately took Morgan in and put a proper swim diaper and swimsuit on her and I even put clean water in the pool. Below is a picture to prove to my mother that I still heed her advice. :)

Peach cobbler.

And while I'm talking about food and summer... After watching Julie & Julia a couple weeks back, I've been craving Bruschetta! I made it this weekend and it was delicious! What a great, fresh, summer treat! Love all the fresh ingredients! We had it for dinner so I added some mozzarella to make it more hearty.

Simple Friday Night Fun

No children were injured in the making of the below video.

A Rare Occurrence!

Morgan has never been one of those babies who sleep anywhere anytime. She has always only slept in her crib, pack-and-play or car seat and even the car seat has been a no go for the last 8 months or so. Today on our way home from day care Morgan passed out. She's been doing that more lately and I think the active toddler is just needing a little more rest. I enjoyed seeing her so peaceful in her car seat.

This is the life...

Yeah man, this is how we do the 4th! Party at the Gauthier's residence!



Daniel, Morgan and I stayed up at my sister's house this past weekend to celebrate the 4th. Spending time at their pool is such a treat. Every time Morgan took a nap I made a bee line to the pool for some alone/relaxing time. Listening to the birds sing, looking at mountain views and smelling fresh mountain air was priceless! Even my white pasty skin has turned a nice golden hue.

My sister-in-law and two nieces visited this weekend from Missouri. This was one of those weekends that you'll always remember. Everybody just really enjoyed everyone's company and had a genuinely good time.
Morgan with Papa.

Nicole, Allyson and Morgan play on Cousin Chase's bed.

Breakfast time for the girls who are only a month and a half apart.

Morgan and Nicole with Nana.

Morgan was watching Aunt Dusty cook. She sure loves her Aunt Dusty!

Does life get any better than goldfish and juice by the pool on a warm sunny day?

Cousin Allyson was fearless! Uncle Frank spent some time playing with her in the pool or should I say preventing her from drowning. The child (who has never taken swim classes) would just jump right in. If you had her standing in the shallow water she would just dunk herself repeatedly just to see what would happen.

Even though Morgan was exhausted she enjoyed her first 15 minutes of fireworks. She had a huge grin on her face and kept pointing and saying "wow!" She enjoyed the fireworks until they got loud so Daniel decided it was best for her to head off to bed.

Cousin Chase, Morgan and Aunt Dusty on 4th of July 2010!