Some of Our Washington Trip

We went on a 10 day trip to Washington to visit our families earlier this month. We took our video recorder/camera, which we were not familiar with, and therefore did not end up with very many of our own pictures. The pictures we are sharing with you mostly came from others. We are so grateful to those who have shared their pictures with us. If and when we get more from others, we will share them later, too.

We started out around 4 pm Friday afternoon from Idaho Falls with Jared's sister, Michelle and her family in their minivan. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here ya go.

We drove 9 hours to Kennewick, WA, where we stayed with Jared's Mom for about 2 1/2 days. We canned beans, visited with family, and took pictures. We only got one clear photo with our camera and it was of Grandma and Grandpa Kauer with their great-grandchildren Evi, Allie, Shyla, Eddie, Ethan, and the little one inside of Michelle (the ultrasound picture being held by Ethan).

Monday morning, we left for western Washington. After another 4 hours in the car, we met up with Nikki's dad at the LDS temple, where he shot the "arrival photo" of us in the minivan seen above. We then switched cars and headed to Nikki's parents' home. Not long after our arrival, we were able to enjoy the wildlife... One may ask if we're talking about the wildlife as in Allie's cousins, or wildlife of the woods. It was initially the deer seen below, but the Altons' other dears arrived soon after.

Nikki's brother DJ works at the Theo Chocolate factory. He is a roaster, meaning he roasts the beans and tastes the nibs to make sure they are just right. If they roast too long or not long enough, the end chocolate will not taste very yummy. Tuesday morning, we got to tour the factory. In order to witness the majic of chocolate-making, the young and old had to be smurfed (wear blue hairnets). But the reward for doing so was being able to taste lots of yummy chocolate samples.

Close-up of Papa and Baby Smurf

Smurf Family Portrait

Wednesday, we got to walk with the animals, talk with the animals, and see some animals at the Woodland Park Zoo.

Grandma Bobby, Bella, Jared and Allie, Breya, Nikki, Maria, and Nathen at entrance of Zoo. We were able to convince them to let us in but not keep us.

Some of Allie's Cousins - Nathen, Bella, Breya, Caidance and Hailee A Gorilla and Her Baby

A Kangaroo with its AllieWhile at the Zoo Allie's head got a little sunburned, so that night we put some Cold Cream (Thanks Mara) on her head. She actually liked it and smiled the whole time.

After a good nights rest we were on the move again. This time to the Gale family reunion at Birch Bay State Park. Both sets of Jared's Grandparents, sisters, Dad and Stepmom, Carren, and some of her kids and grandkids were there. Again due to our lack of our picture-taking camera we didn't get any pictures of the rocky beach or the kiddos collecting shells. We also missed some cute cousin and grandparent pictures. All in all everyone had a great time, we all were smiling in the sibling picture anyway.

Left to Right: Brad, Michelle, Eddie, Ethan, Evi, Bethany, Shyla, Jeni, Benjamin, Sterling, Wendy, David, Jared, Nikki, and Little Allie.

Saturday night we the fearless three travelers were joined by Jeni and Shyla for a quick scamper to the Altons for family pictures (This being the only time everyone could get together).

Ma, Pa and the grandkids.

Caidance, Dennis, Allie, Bella, Hailee, Barbara, Breya, Nathen, and, Cole.

The weary three. (Aren't they cute?)

The Whole Alton (un smurfed) Gang

Back Row: DJ, Monte, Breya, Mara, Nathan, Nikki (with Allie), Jared, Maria, Jason

Front Row: Yvonne, Caidance, Grandpa, Bella, Hailee, Grandma Bobby, Cole, Nathen

Candid shot of Mama and Baby, (oh so cute)

Sunday morning was Allie's baby blessing at Nikki's Brother Nathan's house. NOTE: Space was very limited, and our families alone filled every nook and cranny; Please be understanding. We are so very grateful for all your love, and esspecially for Nathan and Mara letting us barge in and use their home.

Us with Allie in her blessing dress.

Grandpa Larry Gale, Carren, and Allie
Grandma and Grandpa Alton, Cole, and Allie

Grandma Carpenter, Allie, and Luke (the Cat)

Great Grandpa Gale and Allie

Great Grandma Gale and Allie

After our grand tour of Northwestern United States we decided that we had better go home to Idaho. Here is a picture of Allie showing how we all felt once we got home.

A note to our dear friends in Washington: As you can see our trip was very full, sorry we couldn't visit everyone. We look forward to seeing ya'll as soon as we can.

Smiles and sleep

Hello everyone!!!!!

This is a happy picture of me..... I make cute noises when I make this face.

This is what I do all the rest of the time besides eating... none of that though

sometimes Dad and I hang out, of course we play what I like. I'm his princess, I've got him around my finger

The Last Two Weeks of School - In Review

Jared finished the semester last Thursday. The last two weeks were very busy and not much fun. Something that was fun, was that Jared got to play in two concerts, one of which was in the park. Nikki and Allie went to the concert in the park. It was a lot of fun. Jared played the timpani in one piece and the snare in other pieces. We tried uploading a video of part of one of the songs, but have had technical difficulty. If we can get it to upl0ad later, we will share it with you. Here's a family photo that someone took for us at the concert.





In the last post, we put a picture of Allie stretching, trying to show how long she is getting. Here is a picture of her in her bassinet. Luckily, she doesn't usually sleep stretched out. We' got her crib this last weekend, though we still may not put her in it for a few weeks.

We put Allie in her swing for the first time this last week. She is very content while in it. We're not sure if all babies do the same thing, but she seems to be interested in the workings of the swing - she stares at the part where the swing attaches to the motor. Here is a picture of her looking up at it. She keeps her head in the same place, while her eyes stay fixed on that part of the swing... We may have another engineer on our hands. =) Only time will tell if she has the knack (see the video we are referencing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmYDgncMhXw).

Lastly, here is a picture of Nikki with Allie. Both are doing very well. They've started going on walks with a friend who has a baby that is 10 days older. Allie usually seems to enjoy the walks. We'll post a picture of Allie with her walking buddy sometime soon.

Allie's One Month Mark

Allie was one month old on Sunday. We didn't get to post anything that day, but we thought we would give you all an update. On Monday, Nikki stopped by work to visit a coworker who hadn't seen Allie since she visited us in the hospital. Since she was there, she decided to weigh and measure Allie. (Nikki works at the Pediatric Clinic.) She weighed 8 lbs 5 oz, was 22 inches long, and had a head circumference of 14.5 inches. She is gaining weight at a steady pace, staying at the 23rd percentile. But she is growing in length more rapidly - she is now in the 82nd percentile for height. Her head is in between in the 44th percentile. And everyone agrees that she is still such a beautiful baby.

A picture to try to show how long Allie is getting (she just happened to be stretching when Mommy had the camera)

We are hoping that we'll start receiving more smiles from Allie soon. She gives us hints as to how cute her smiles will be when she has gas and is falling asleep. But recently, there are also times when she seems to smile when Nikki holds a little mobile that has little birdies and a flower and makes noise above her head. Though there may be some slight jealousy if the mobile receives her first real smile, we'll be very excited when she starts smiling socially.

Allie almost has a smile in this one, and yes, Mommy was holding up the mobile to try and catch a smile.

A fun picture of Allie and Daddy waving =)

Mommy thought the following video was kinda funny. She had fed Allie, and then really had to go to the bathroom. But she hadn't gotten a good burp yet, so she put Allie up in the car seat so that she wouldn't spit-up or vomit like she does on occasion. When seeing Allie try to eat from the buckle, Nikki decided she should feed Allie some more.

I'm still hungry!

Allie's First 4th of July

We had a wonderful and busy 4th of July weekend. Grandpa Larry, Grandma Carren, and cousin Orion all came to visit us. We had a lot of fun.

Jared and Orion carried the banner for Rix Stix in the Rexburg parade. Rix Stix is the percussion ensemble at BYU-I. You can see them in their shirts in the pictures below. Nikki and Allie did not go to the parade. Everyone went to a family BBQ at the Cramers' house in the afternoon, and we didn't want to overstimulate little Allie. She had a wonderful morning at home with mommy and then did very well on our outing to the Cramers. It ended up being a long day that exhausted us all, but we had a wonderful time with family. We were really happy to be able to spend the holiday with family, and we look forward to seeing more family in August!

Here are some pictures from the day:

Allie's Patriotic Outfit

Allie with her cousin Ethan

Allie with her cousin Orion

Allie with Grandpa Larry

Allie with her main man, Daddy

Our weekend visitors: Grandpa Larry, Grandma Carren, and cousin Orion

Allie in her beautiful dress, hat, and booties, all made by Carren

Zonked out on mommy's shoulder at the end of the weekend

Some other news is that Allie had her "2 week" doctor's appointment last Wednesday when she was 19 days old. She weighed in at 7 lbs 12.5 oz and measured 21 inches long, with a head circumference of 14.25 inches. This put her in the 23rd percentile for weight, 67th percentile for height, and 47th percentile for head circumference. She initially put on some weight and looked a little chubby, but she has since grown in length and doesn't look too chubby. But she is still as adorable as ever!

Mom and Dad are doing well. Jared is keeping busy with school and work. Nikki is keeping busy with taking care of Allie. We feel so blessed to have Allie in our home.

An update

First things first we are doing great,

now here are the pictures!

Coming home from the hospital was exciting, but draining

Grandma and Grandpa Alton came and visited, that was very helpful to Mommy and Daddy

The last clean picture of Grandma before they left for Washington (I decided that a white vomity shirt was better than a green one)

Grandpa and me smiling for a picture

Sometimes I let stinky gas out and need to plug my nose I can't wait till I get really stinky, my parents have no clue what I am capible of
Sunday best

Mommy and Daddy get tired sometimes but still are happy and smiling

I keep my feet up while taking a bath, not everyone can do that...try it!!

After bathing and sleeping all day, I am still as beautiful as ever especially with my Bambi eyes

Another cute picture

Sleeping like an angel

Sometime eating and sleeping all day can get a girl down, then you throw in taking a bunch of pictures and it can drive a girl to drinking..... more milk