My Handy Man - October 7, 2012

Our current apartment has fewer, smaller closets than our last apartment. When we moved in, we stacked a  bunch of miscellaneous boxes along the wall in our bedroom. I kept saying I would go through the boxes and thrift what we didn't need to keep. But it has been 10 months and we still had a stack of boxes cluttering up the wall. A stack that Lincoln wanted to climb and open lids and throw out stuff...

James' friend had some lumber left over from a home remodel project. James measured our wall, drafted a plan for some shelves and went to work. He used his friend's lumber and wood cutting tools and then our front porch as a workspace to drill holes and prep for assembly.

Lincoln loved going with Daddy to Home Depot (about four times for more and more screws). This is Lincoln by Home Depot's pumpkin patch.

And Linc was a big help with the assembly in the bedroom. It was fun for James to actually use the drill he got from GandG McCalvy (thank you!) awhile back and some of his other tools.

As we added each shelf, Lincoln would test it. The next level was a perfect handrail and he would walk back and forth and back and forth.

TaDa!  I'm thrilled!  Now I just need to go through the boxes and decide what to keep and what to thrift.

James is now working on a plan for an entertainment set up for the livingroom.  That project would also require a lot of sand paper and wood stain or sealent, but I'm certain he'd do a great job!

Oktoberfest - September 15, 2012

It's now an annual adventure for us to go up to Oktoberfest at Snowbird Ski Resort. Here's Lincoln on the performance stage inside the food tent.

On the plaza, there is a mining display. Lincoln LOVED playing in the water.

 

 

Last year, we drove up the canyon twice, once "Before Lincoln" and once with tiny newborn Lincoln.  This is James and tiny newborn Linc in September 2011. 

Here's my guys in the same spot in September 2012.  Aren't they cute!?

I love this picture - Lincoln is walking really, really well and usually wants to be independent.  But sometimes he wants to hold onto your finger and walk.

 

 

 Video of Lincoln dancing to a polka.

 

 

Video of Linc playing in the water of the mining display. 

 



We really enjoy our annual Oktoberfest adventure. So fun to get a brat and enjoy the mountains. Definitely going to go again next year.

Mill B North hike - September 13, 2012

We got lucky and had a Thursday afternoon where James didn't have to be in class or at his Return to Service internship.  We decided to go hiking - we chose the Mill B North Fork Trail. Lincoln's prepared, he's got his fuzzy blanket!

We hiked for about an hour, then stopped for a break and an orange - yummy!

Lincoln likes to go hiking, but he loves to get out of the backpack and go exploring.

Family photo - the leaves are slowly changing and you can tell that it is fall!  It was really smokey across the valley though, fires in Idaho are putting a lot of smoke into the air.

 

 

A couple of short videos of Lincoln exploring on the trail. 

 

That was fun! We're going to enjoy hiking together this fall.

Recent Videos - September 12, 2012

September 10, 2012 - Lincoln has learned how to stand up in the middle of the room, without the help of walls or furnature. I caught it on video!

September 12, 2012 - After Lincoln's one year well baby appointment, we spent a long time going up and down the stairs in the doctor's office.  Linc LOVES stairs. This is about the only time Lincoln "crawls".

Happy Birthday Little Bandito! September 9, 2012

Good Morning, Lincoln James. Do you feel one year old today?

A Sunday is a wonderful day for a birthday. We invited Uncle Clay, Aunt Kristen, Emma and Aspen and Cousins Sage, Rachel, Maebe and Bowie to come over for dinner and birthday trifle.  Maebe and Aspen were excited to help you open your presents.

Bowie helped you play with your new legos and the adults got in lots of visiting.

I think you'll have lots and lots of lego time in your future!

Such cute kids! Maebe (5) is holding you and Aspen (6) is holding Bowie.  You all look like you could be cousins!

Birthday trifle - with blue pudding, a blueberry "1" and peaches and strawberries. Yum!

You picked off and ate all the blueberries on your special birthday trifle.

And got pudding on your nose.

You even helped Maebe finish off her bowl of trifle.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINCOLN!!

Lincoln's Birthday Photo Shoot - September 8, 2012

I made an appointment six months ago for studio pictures on the Saturday before Lincoln's first birthday. I almost rescheduled because of a fat lip on the Wednesday before, but the swelling disappeared and you can barely see the scritch on his lip and nose - even in the close-ups. I'm so glad I didn't reschedule. A baby's first birthday only comes around once!

I had four goals that I wanted to accomplish during the photoshoot.

First: Lots of pictures of our one-year-old. -- CHECK!!

Linc was a little nervous - it was a busy, noisy place and he'd just woken from a nap in the car. But he was happy to hold onto his teddy bear and eventually the photographer captured some smiles.

The lime green ball was a last minute grab on our way out of the apartment.

Turned out to be a really cute prop!

Lincoln's favorite "back drop" was the metal stairs. He would have spent forever climbing up and down the stairs. All these shots were taken on the bottom three!

Lincoln's licking the spot on his lip where he crashed on Wednesday. Amazing how quick his fat lip healed!

He's not smiling, but I love Linc's eyes in this one. He's just adorable!

Besides Linc's teddy bear and the green ball, the only other "prop" I brought was James' ski boots. I am not certain what I was hoping for exactly, but the photographer plopped them down for a few pictures and this is what we got.  Lincoln looks in "awe" of James' fancy orange boots!

Second goal: family pictures -- CHECK!

This one is my favorite.  The photographer kept having me stand on a book - so I'm artifically a couple inches taller in this picture and I'm still short. Next time, I'll have to wear heels!  I love, love, love how Lincoln's blonde hair sticks out all over. After his buzz-cut in July, I wasn't sure it would grow back in time. It did! He takes after James (who was blonde at age one).

Third goal: pictures of Lincoln with each of his parents -- CHECK!

Linc's not "smiley" in any of these, they were taken toward the end and he really only wanted to be playing on the stairs!  But smiley or not, I do like how they turned out.

Fourth Goal: a picture or two of James and I. -- CHECK!

These really were the very last pictures we took. We plopped Lincoln down on the floor with some snacks and took a handful of quick pictures before he made it back to the stairs. Aren't we cute!

Tomorrow, we celebrate Lincoln's first birthday. In one month, we celebrate our sixth anniversary. We are so very blessed and we sure are having fun!

Bald Peak - September 3, 2012

On our Labor Day drive along the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway, we decided to take a hike.  One year, we were going to hike around Washington Lake. After 20 minutes, we retreated to the car because the mosquitoes were so, so, so bad!  This year, we decided to hike Bald Peak. It has been on our "To Do" list for the Mirror Lake area and we were prepared.

James and Lincoln at the trail head. See the rocky, cliffy formation directly above James?  That's where we're headed. Only 2 miles of up, up, up!!

Close to the top - huge rocks!  The entire trail was really, really rocky.  Can you see me in my green windbreaker? This part of the trail was like doing lunges. Really makes your quads burn!

Silhouette of my guys on the ridgetop. 

Family photo at the peak. It was windy toward the top, so we were glad to have our layers. Otherwise, the weather was perfect and the view was incredible. It was neat to look down on the highway and see all the lakes in the surrounding area.

The biggest surprise of the hike were the mountain goats!  We saw seven - some of them babies - on the way up to the peak.  They were a short distance from the trail and they were so fluffy and white. Really neat to watch them graze around the rocks.

James and Linc with the goats again - on our way back down we saw another 7 or 8 goats higher up and then the original 7 goats. Then we saw another little herd quite a distance away. I'm guessing we saw 2 dozen mountain goats.

The goats and the lakes in the distance. Incredible.  Good exercise and good for your soul!