Baby Anika

So our little niece has a name... Anika Hullinger! Griff and I went over to visit last week and got a chance to hold her. She is so beautiful! I love all her dark hair. But I discovered something;it is kind of hard to hold a baby while pregnant... has anyone else ever noticed that? I felt like I couldn't really snuggle her... I was either holding her way down on my lap or up by my shoulders! :) It was fun to spend some time with Travis and Devin, too. We wished they lived closer to us. And the twins are ALWAYS fun...Kara looks cute with Devin, doesn't she? And unless Devin is lying, she is feeling pretty good, too. We are feeling blessed to have this sweet little addition to our family without any major problems this time. (I swear she did not cry the whole time I held her... but good thing Griff is so good with babies. haha)

Canning Peaches

Movin to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches....if I had my little way I'd eat peaches every day. Millions of peaches, peaches for me. Millions of peaches, peaches for free. Do you remember that song by the Presidents of the USA? Well, I couldn't agree with them more. And with home grown peaches in my backyard, we have enjoyed peach everything this summer. I love it, because I have two trees that ripen at different times. Brittany and I decided to try our hands at canning a few in order to capture a little bit of summer to enjoy when the snow has fallen. So with a couple of tips from the internet, a few better gems from my Mom, and good old fashioned trial and error... we did it! And more importantly, it was really fun! Hot and sticky maybe, but still a blast to spend time with one of my best friends and be productive at the same time. Griff tried to tell me beforehand that it wasn't worth the effort... "let's just go to the case lot sales," he said. But obviously he hasn't had home canned peaches for a long time, because everyone knows they are WAY better. He'll change his tune this winter when we crack open one of those bottles. (And of course, he has also been living with a sometimes grumpy pregnant female.... so maybe he was just thinking of the implications of having me in a kitchen all day.) But next year I want to try to do more! Griff's mom says she has a really good peach-pineapple jam recipe. So maybe I'll try that next year, too. And if anyone else has a good peach recipe... let me know. I love peach anything!

My belly is covering half of our achievement! :)

Here are our little helpers... Gabe and Denali. Isn't Gabe a cutie pie?

Leslie's Bridal Shower

Leslie and Mindy

Sara, Ally, Leslie, and Jeanette (Liz Liljenquist and Becky Featherstone were both there, too... but I didn't snap the pictures before they left)

Two of my good friends, Leslie Holt and Ally Rodgers, are getting married! Aren't they both just looking beautiful! I am so excited for them. I wrote this in Leslie's card, and I know it sounds cheesy. But I LOVE being married. Honestly, it is so fun. I am so excited for them to have their perfect wedding days... and then honeymoons... and then to play house forever. :) These pictures are from Leslie's shower. I swear, I need more reasons to get together with my friends. I have so much fun when I do. We went to dinner at Porcupine Grill, where Liz convinced me to get their house creamy balsamic vinegar dressing on the side to dip my Portabella Jack sandwich in. Apparently she asks for it no matter what she orders. And ever since trying it, I am craving that dressing... must be pregnancy. :) After dinner, we went over to Ally's house to play games, open gifts, and have dessert. It was fun to celebrate with these girls and see other friends that I haven't seen for years. Why does it take an event to get friends together?! Honestly.

Sweet Baby Girl

Griff and I have a new niece! Griff's sister, Devin, had her last night at 8:30pm. She is exactly 7lbs and 21in long. And what a sweet little thing! She doesn't have a name yet, so we'll have to keep you posted. But isn't she darling?! I forget just how tiny and sweet newborns are. We already can't wait to go see her again.... and can't wait even more for our turn! PS I know this probably sounds horrible, but I think newborns are so cute when they cry. I think she was fed up with pictures and ready to eat when I took that last one. :)

Babymoon

At my first OB visit, I got at least a million pregnancy and baby magazines. You know the ones... mostly advertisements with a few articles in between about everything from what you can't eat while pregnant to embracing the beautiful big you. :) While perusing these magazines, I did come upon quite a good thing though.... BABYMOONS! I realize this is a gimmick by the travel agents to establish yet another reason for people to plan vacations, but who cares?! One last vacation with my honey before the baby comes sounded like a great idea. So Griff and I planned a getaway to Las Vegas! It was a quick trip (W-F), but still perfectly relaxing. Honestly, I have so much fun with my husband. I'm so lucky! Wednesday night I forgot my camera, but we just shopped and then went to dinner with my good friend, Candace Moore, from PA school. Thursday we relaxed by the pool, went out for steak, and then arrived at the the Wynn for Le Reve. It was amazing! I don't even know how to explain it. Le Reve has an amazing aquatic stage and includes acrobatics, dancing, diving, comedy, artwork... all sort of rolled into one show. Griff and I were in "the splash zone," which was the second row. We only got a few drops on us, so it was definitely worth being front and center. We loved it! On the way home, Griff said he'd gladly eat McDonalds in order to afford a show like that again. :) Oh! I almost forgot the best part. Our baby was going crazy during the performance. I didn't know whether to laugh or to feel sorry for him. Poor little guy was probably floating around in his quiet little world and suddenly all hell broke loose in the form of loud music, flashing lights, and especially the bass. Can't you just imagine him..."What on earth!??!!"

Griff and I in front of the aquatic stage after the performance.

Finally... a Patio!

We worked so hard on the inside of our house the first year, that we neglected the outside. This summer we made a start on the yard and finally hauled away a big ugly blue shed, tore down a fence, and poured a stamped concrete patio next to our stream. We had my family over last week to enjoy a barbecue outside on the NEW patio. Wahoo! It was so fun. Griff and I grilled chicken (which I will soon post on The Sisters' Cafe) and fresh beans from the farmer's market. Everyone else brought something else like salad, fruit, and homemade rolls. Then we had homemade ice cream for dessert! Why didn't we finish our patio earlier?!!

Here is Matt telling a very compelling story from his recent hunt in Alaska where he shot a great Dall Sheep. He booked the hunt 7 long years ago! Amy just posted some great pics on their blog. It looked and sounded amazing! Of course, Matt is the master story teller. :)

After the game we headed to Connor's football game. It was so fun watching my cute nephew. Those little boys just put their hearts and souls into those games. And Connor (who I am sure would be quite offended at being called "little") played awesome. He was playing defensive end and had some great tackles! We were congratulating him after the game, and he didn't let on that anything was wrong. But Melanie called me on the way home to tell me that Connor's thumb was swollen and painful. The x-ray the next day confirmed the fracture. He's out for the season! Poor guy! I was so glad we all went to that game to see him play... since we won't have another chance until next season.

A few days later, we went to TJ's soccer game. He played at the prettiest park in Alpine. The mountains felt like they are growing out of the soccer field. But of course, the main attraction was Tanner! He has always been a ball of fire, and it is put to good use in soccer. It makes me tired to watch him. :) It's so fun to have nephews old enough to go to their sports games.

Mom was too absorbed in the game to look at the camera, but Cannon gave me a good grin!

Uintas in the New Camper

Griff's parents bought a new trailer on a whim... so we joined them camping in the Uintas this weekend. I had to work on Saturday, so we didn't head up until Sunday evening. We basically came in with the rain. I must say that even though I love tent camping, when it comes to bad weather campers are awesome! We just hunkered down inside, played games, and slept snug and dry.

In the morning after Randy made us all a great camp breakfast, the Christensens took me to see their family cabin. It was only 10 minutes away... and empty, so you can see how exciting the new camper is. :) Griff has been telling me about this cabin for years. His mom's family all built it together when he was a kid. They spent every weekend for two summers working on it. Can you believe that!? I can't imagine very many families convincing everyone to do that now.

Each couple has a bedroom at the cabin, but Griff's parents forgot their key this time so Dede had to crawl over the top of the wall to get us in. The joys of being tiny! But it was all worth it. Griff found his childhood bebe gun stored inside... and after all these years it still works! It looks like this baby has inherited his first gun. That is, until I find him staking out my bird feeders. :)

We had big plans for fishing the next day, but the snow quickly put a kabosh to that. Griff took a picture of me on the way home next to one of my favorite childhood fishing spots, Lilly Lake. What a relaxing weekend get away!