"And it Came to Pass"

Reading scriptures with a two year old can seem pointless sometimes (forgive me for saying this). We really don't think she listens at all. No matter how hard we try to ask her sit quietly for a few moments each night (this is impossible for my child), she insists on reading her own book or playing with her babies. Well, a funny thing happened last night that reminded us that little kids DO listen and pick things up. After Daddy finished reading outloud, McKenzie grabbed the scriptures and said as she pointed to the words, "And it came to pass. And it came to pass." This was too cute.The real kicker was later when she was going to bed. She said "And it came to pass, McKenzie goes nigh nigh." Perfect. Kids are the best.

Family Picture

The New Helmet

McKenzie has been asking for a new helmet for a few weeks now. The neighborhood kids have them and so she thinks they are "berry cute." We are happy that she wants to wear one and thankful that it will be easy to teach her that a helmet is a requirement, even for riding the tricycle. So we finally went to the store yesterday to let McKenzie pick one out herself. After having someone help us find the right size, she picked the one with Bees on it and off we went. She LOVES it and won't stop wearing it. It is quite humorous. We can only hope that wearing a helmet will always be this much fun for her. After all, the older you get the less cool it becomes to wear one.

She wanted to wear it as soon as she woke up this morning!

I should add that our neighbors are biking experts and think it is a crime if your kid doesn't wear one. Otherwise I wouldn't have thought about getting her one at such an early age. :)

A New Look and a Visit from Grandma

I decided to go with a different look on our blog, I think I like it better.

Grandma Liz came to visit yesterday. We love spending time with her! I don't think it is me or Evan that she is dying to see ever. Lets be honest, we all know where a Grandma's heart is.

Our Little Swimmer

Anyone who knows our child knows that she has a lot of energy and is very daring. This makes for a scary time at the nearby pool. She is also very independent (where does she get that hmm? I can hear my mom laughing) and doesn't like to be held when in the water. Thankfully there is a baby pool that is only a foot and half deep. We thought it might be a good idea to enroll her in swim lessons, so she can start learning to swim. So earlier this summer, we did just that. She and I have been attending a "water babies" course every week for the past few months. She loves it and has learned to kick while being under water. Maybe it is just that she is getting older, but I think the swim lessons have really helped her to understand that you don't just float if you let go of mom. At any rate, it has been a fun little activity for her and I to do together. Earlier this afternoon we visited to the nearby community pool with some friends. McKenzie is becoming quite the little swimmer!

"The Beach House"

This is the view from our room.



We just returned from a nice big family trip to the beach. We spent about 5 days just south of Santa Cruz at a wonderful and relaxing resort called Seascape. For the last 22 years, Evan's family has spent a week at this beach. It used to be that they rented a beach house in the area, thus we all call it the "beach house week," but a few years ago they decided to rent out condos at the nearby resort instead. It is beautiful and we had a lot of fun again this year. McKenzie loved it all; the family, the sand castles, the waves, and best of all her little cousin. We too loved spending time with everyone. Evan got to skim board with his brothers, as well as enjoy a few games of "home run derby" on the beach. I took advantage of the early morning low tide and went running by myself a few times. It really was a nice vacation. We left wondering why we don't visit the beach more often. After all, Kenz was a big fan. We look forward to next August when we can return to this resort. Until then, we are going to do a better job at taking mini beach trips.

Happy 2nd Birthday

Our little McKenzie is not so little anymore. Today we woke her up by singing "Happy Birthday." All she could say was, "Elmo Birthday Cake?" Yes, I will be making her an Elmo cake for her little party this weekend. Let me just say, thank goodness for cute shaped baking pans. We all know, I am not the one to try and shape my own little Elmo out of cake.

We celebrated the real bday by going out to ice cream this evening. Aunt Cami has been staying with us the past couple of weeks, which adds to the fun! So we all ventured downtown to help celebrate McKenzie and watch her indulge in ice cream. She was thrilled to have her very own cone. What a cute mess!

We must have sung "Happy Birthday" a hundred times today, and each time she smiled big and joined in. She was a happy little girl today. We are blessed to have her in our family.