Park City, Utah

Last weekend John and I took a much needed mini-vacation to Park City. We left Anabelle with my Mom and Dad and enjoyed some baby free time with friends from college. Everyone trekked out to Utah to celebrate the wedding of Josh (better known as Chicken) and Lisa. We had a really fantastic time and are looking forward to the next time we can visit Park City-it is a truly beautiful town.

Main St. Park City

Main St.

The pine trees were huge and smelled so good!

All around us were tall sparkling Aspen trees, they're so beautiful.

Me and John at the wedding

To get to the wedding we had to take a nerve wracking ride on a gondola, at least there were beautiful views to distract us.

We made it to the top; the wedding was held at the Red Pine Lodge.

The weather was perfect for an outdoor ceremony.

Aside from our own...this was our favorite ceremony. They had beautiful vows, and their style was very simple and true to who they are.

Bickham, John, Eric and Pat having fun at the reception.

Bickham, Pat, Amanda and Christy

The Boys: Matt, Bickham, John, Phil, Pat, Michael, Eric and Grady

The Girls: Shannon, Amanda, Liz, Inga, Melissa and Christy

***Special thanks to Mom and Dad who watched Anabelle for us and to Mikey and Steph who took care of our other babies; the kitties.

Catching up

It's been a little busy around here lately... John and I are just back from a long weekend in Park City Utah and we are now getting back into a normal routine. Since I had been busy preparing for the trip I hadn't blogged on the events of the weekend before so now I have some catching up to do.

Way back in the last weekend of July we had some celebrating to do as my mom turned 60! We had the family over for dinner and cake to celebrate. We had a nice meal together and mom seemed to enjoy her new camera, although we have yet to see her really use it =)

That evening Marena flew in for a quick visit. She is such a sweetheart, always knowing when I need a little boost and a visit from a best friend! We had a really good time chatting and playing with Anabelle. Monday Darcy and my mom joined Marena and Belle and I for a walk down town Naperville and lunch out. A day with the girls was just what we needed. We all had a fun day.

The rest of Marena's visit flew by in a blur of laughter, it was so nice to have her here. I am already looking forward to her next visit in September.

Here are some pictures from the weekend. Utah pics coming soon.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Darcy and Anabelle having fun

Rainy Day

Oops I forgot to lock the food cabinet!

Anabelle has been very busy lately

Hey Mom, don't even try to feed me, cause I can do it all by my self!!! Mmmm... these eggs are delicious!

And look I can stand now, and reach the toys on the couch too!

What's for dinner?

To Michigan and back

Last week we piled in a rental car with John's parents and drove up to Michigan to visit Ken's mom and sister. We were a little apprehensive about how Anabelle would do in the car, it was a 5-hour drive each way. John and Ken sat in the front and Sue and I sat in the back with Anabelle in her carseat between us. Belle did ok, she took some little naps and the rest of the time Sue and I tried to entertain her. At first she seemed to think, "wow! there are people in the back seat with me, this is cool!" but it quickly turned into "I am the all powerful baby and you will do everything you can to entertain me, or else I will scream at you!" This lead to countless games of peek-a-boo, playing with every toy we brought, and cleaning out our purses in the pursuit of something fun and exciting for Anabelle to play with. Magazines were ripped, crackers were eaten, cell phones were chewed on, and many objects were thrown, but we survived the car ride. Visiting Grandma Jackson and Aunt Joanne was great, we spent some time chatting on their porch and also enjoyed a nice dinner out. Anabelle had her first overnight stay in a hotel. After the long car ride, she really enjoyed crawling all over the room, and especially liked playing in the curtains.

The next day we spent a little more time visiting and then in was back in the car to head home. Although it was short, it was a nice visit and we hope we can plan another trip soon.

After our trip to Michigan we spent the rest of the week playing, catching up on sleep, eating more yummy food and visiting with family. Anabelle really had a great time with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Ken, and we were all sad to see them go.

This week things are quiet again with just Anabelle and I hanging out during the day. Sometimes she looks around like "Hey, where are all my people?"