thirteen months

L can drink from sippy cups and from straws. The straw is so cute; she doesn't stick her tongue out the way Shboogoo always did.

She couldn't quite get the straw back in the juice box without help.

l

That night she was at my in-laws' while we went on a date. Grandma put L's cute new (used) pajamas.

Fast crawler -- what distracted her? I don't know.

Tooth #6, her fourth top tooth, came through on July 17th (when she was almost thirteen months old). That was the day my (step-)sister got married. Here's a picture in the bride's room; L was showing some of her teeth.

wyoming trip 2010

Our family took a short road trip to Wyoming, leaving the morning of Tuesday, July 6th and returning the evening of Thursday, July 8th. 

We went to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park; my husband had never been to either place. Just once, four years ago, he had met my grandparents (my step-mom's dad and step-mom) who live in Jackson Hole. We wanted them to meet our kids, but when we finally got their phone number and called, they already had plans. We window-shopped on one street in Jackson Hole and then headed for home. It was a beautiful, relaxing trip. We'll definitely go again and explore more.

My husband's shot of the Teton Mountains

Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center

Walking to Jenny Lake for a beautiful, chilly (when we drove fast) boat ride with about 20 people.

I look weird here. I felt bad for this girl; her jacket was in the car.

After riding across the lake, they let you off the boat. We hiked for ten minutes and took the boat ride back. We want to go later just as a couple so we can run around the lake.

The Jenny Lake campground was full, so we stayed at Colter Bay. I love our tent.

This is L with sweet potatoes on her face, holding onto the suitcase and poopin'.

She loves rocks. My husband cooked our tin-foil dinners while I went and bought the batteries we didn't know we needed in order to fill the air mattress. In the tent, we read from The Book of Mormon and watched some Ratatouille on the laptop with her before going to sleep.

We ended up eating breakfast in the Ranch House restaurant, going to Yellowstone for most of the day, and coming back to eat dinner in the Cafe Court on our way to Jackson Hole.

After breakfast.

The first area of Yellowstone that we got out of the car to see: Kepler Cascades.

Same as above, but he used the zoom. (No editing at all on this or the one above.)

The four of us at Kepler Cascades!

When we were almost to the Old Faithful geyser, I asked if anyone needed to go potty. In the restroom, D and another milblogger, C.J. Grisham, recognized and talked with each other. They both didn't know the other one was so short. We met his wife and three kids, too.

SO many people at Old Faithful . . . we didn't get very close.

I liked seeing our flag with all the green and the blue sky.

Drinking a "Hapwee Hun."

My husband zoomed in on the gross stuff.

I don't know why she was so worried.

"Yellowstone contains approximately one-half of the world’s hydrothermal features." I love this one.

This cool old couple was ordering dinner, too. I liked the way she asked him, "What do you want, love?" 

My shot of the Tetons, as he was driving and my window was down. 

This building looks really cool, but we only passed by (you can get a better look HERE).

We'd all been so cold in the tent Tuesday night that we got in the car at 3 a.m. Even with sketchy mobile phone service, we managed to call a relative to reserve us a room at an affordable place in Jackson Hole for Wednesday night. Every campsite was full in Yellowstone anyway. We could tell Pony Express Motel used to be studio apartments. It was a good place to stay, but S had to share the one bed with us, and we put our baby's play pen in the kitchen. Thursday morning I went out for a half-hour run and found my husband and kids still asleep when I returned to the room.

We got breakfast burritos and a McGriddle. We were too hungry to find a more unique restaurant.

The three-year-old took this picture (still in McDonald's).

All of the elk antlers in Jackson's Town Square (this is one of four arches) are gathered each year to replace the last year's. The person who took this picture was from Minnesota. In Yellowstone it was fun to see license plates from everywhere, and we met a man from Beijing.

A stop on the way home. I zoomed in on this cow. I wanted to capture her looking at me, but she kept running away. In Yellowstone the animals we saw were a moose, a chipmunk, and some birds.

I actually did want a photo like this. I liked seeing D's hat (which my dad bought in South America) and an Ensign magazine reflected on the glass. We enjoyed listening to Radiolab and other podcasts and music.

4th of july

We celebrated this July 4th by playing with sparklers and small fireworks at home  (no photos) . . .

visiting the annual breakfast at our old ward (Saturday, July 3rd). . .

My husband and 3-year-old are on the right

barbecuing at my sister and brother-in-law's house (D had to work that night. And there is no food in this picture, but trust me, it was good. Especially my strawberry-spinach salad.) . . . 

and watching, from a spot much further west, all of the county's fireworks.