The Adventures of Nate & Steph: July 2012

Well its already July and once again I've turned into a blog slacker. I'm sorry. Things just get rather busy around here. Nathan needed to take some time off so we decided it was time for another trip. We love traveling, and hopefully Amelia will grow to love it too. We decided to visit Nathan's brother Daniel and his family in New Mexico. The neat thing about visiting New Mexico was also seeing my old college roommate Lisa and her family. It was a 10 hour drive. A LONG 10 hour drive, with views of desert and not much else. Amelia did pretty well, she did get a little fussy when she wanted to watch Curious George and we were out of internet range. We were able to stop at Four Corners on the way to Albuquerque. While its impressive to see/stand in four states at once, there really isn't that much to see. It's the type of place you jump out of the car, take a few photos, and leave. Once we got to Albuquerque we had a lot of fun hanging out with Dan, Rachael and their kids. Amelia had a lot of fun playing with Sarah who is just 10 days older then she is. It was nice to be able to help Rachael out and catch up. It turns out Dan and Rachael are even in the same ward as Lisa and her family. Small world.

We stopped by Lisa's house and had dinner with them, then we used our mad dancing skills (or the lack thereof) and played a dance game on their xbox kinect. It was hilarious. Lisa's mom was also visiting from Utah and it was really fun to catch up. Amelia loved running around playing with Lisa's two little boys. She had a blast swimming and playing on their swing set. Amelia tried so hard to get the boys to come down the slide with her, but they were a little shy. We had the chance to go with Lisa and her mom to the aquarium and the children's garden. The kids were in heaven! Overall our trip was a success, it was great to visit with family and friends. We left wishing everyone was a whole lot closer to one another.

This summer is our summer of trips it seems like. We've gone to San Diego and Albuquerque. We are going to Salt Lake (in August) and Nathan is flying to Montreal next week. Amelia and I are not going to Montreal, and we are plenty jealous of Nathan's trip to Canada. Amelia is also starting a parent/tot swim class this summer, she will love it. She loves to play in the water. I am currently teaching Roman Art Camp at the art museum, its fun to see how much the kids learn and enjoy the projects. Nathan has been playing volleyball, but it has wrapped up now. Overall this summer is going fantastic, we've been traveling, swimming, boating, barbecuing, and spending time with friends and family. The best part is, summer is not even half way over. Leaving plenty of time for more adventures.

We also had my uncle John, aunt Nancy and my cousin Caitlyn come visit us from Kentucky. They came down to see us with my dad and had a fun weekend in the desert. I think its been 10+ years since I've seen my aunt and uncle, so it was really nice to catch up and spend some time with all of them. We took them to Snow Canyon to explore the dunes and some of the beautiful red rock.

A little bit more on Amelia, she is two and boy do we know it. She really loves to play outside, and is much more daring then I would like. She goes down the big slides at the park all by herself and loves to climb until she gets stuck. Amelia also loves to read/look at books in bed. She will climb into bed with a book and fall asleep looking at it. She gets that from me. She likes to play "possum" and pretend to sleep in the most random places. Her hair is finally starting to get longer but it also looks to be getting lighter in color in the back. I'm hoping she keeps her lovely red hair but time will tell, and she will look darling with whatever color hair she has. She can be such a little character. Having a toddler can be such a delight but it can also be incredibly stressful. Its a good thing that the good days outnumber the bad.