Dash baseball game. They just got a new field/stadium this year and it was very nice. The first thing Kris said as we got there was "It smells like a locker room." It was pretty hot and muggy that night but we enjoyed ourselves.
A visit to the Children's Museum. We had a get in free coupon so I decided we should check it out. Denzil is still a bit young for it but I think he still had a great time.
My birthday celebration along with our friend Elyse.
A trip to Utah. Denzil found this part of a black eyed Susan on the deck at the cabin and decided to taste it. He liked it so much that he bit off some of the seeds.
Swinging. Isn't this the coolest swing?! Denzil loved it and so did Kris and I. Thanks to those who thought of it.
Beautiful Fairview Lakes. We were able to spend several days at the cabin and enjoy the cool nights and not so bad daytime temps. We did a little bit of hiking, motorbiking, ATVing, fishing, and canoeing while we were there.
Celebrated Denzil's first birthday! He was signing "more" when the singing was through.
Even though it looks like he got a lot of the good stuff in his mouth he really just liked playing with the frosting and tasted a little bit of the cake that was in the bowl.
Boating at Jordanelle. We didn't get up there until after noon and it was already breezy. We thought it was going to be kind of rough, especially after we lost a towel in the lake shortly into our outing, but it turned out to be quite nice and we were able to enjoy some wakeboarding and the air chair. I thought I wasn't very good at the air chair but I surprised myself and was able to stay up for quite a while.
Eating watermelon. The last time I gave Denzil watermelon he wasn't too sure about it but he loved it this time. He just kept chomping it and loving every minute of it.
Swimming. The water was about 69 degrees so it was a bit chilly when you first jump in but Denzil loves the water and wanted to get in. He didn't even fuss a bit, just the quick breaths that everyone takes in chilly water when it gets up to your tummy and chest. He didn't hate the life jacket this time either.
Petting Zoo at Thanksgiving Point. Denzil liked tapping/pounding on the glass at these chicks. I think he enjoyed himself but wasn't too interested in petting any of the animals.
He had his first pony ride. When I first put him on the pony's back he cried but when they started moving he quieted down, but only for a minute. He didn't make it though the whole ride but it is a start to many riding experiences I'm sure. He had fun playing in the jail with his cousins here too.
The Aquarium. Denzil was able to touch a starfish and a sting ray. He seemed to like looking at all the fish and such. We had a great time with the cousins here.
Eclairs. Kris decided to make eclairs and Maddy was such a good helper with the cream filling.
Jungle Gym Clint.
It was a place filled with old tractors, part of an old plantation (some old buildings like the kitchen, smokehouse, corn crib, black smith shop etc), draft horse demonstrations, horse pull, and some expensive not always the best fair food (at least the place that we picked). We had a great time despite the heat.
We went camping in the Great Smokey National Park a couple weekends ago with our friends the Jackson's. Rachel and I took the kids down early in the day so that we could try to get a campsite at Big Creek campground. It was a pretty uneventful ride down but it did take a little longer than anticipated due to construction on I-40. I don't know how long it is going to take them to make them feel like the rocks aren't going to fall onto the road again but it sure seemed a bit ridiculous to me. Maybe someone from Utah should come out here and help them out so it doesn't take them forever. When we go to Big Creek it was full so we had to go to Cosby Campground a few miles away. Cosby is HUGE with over 160 campsites so we were able to find 2 spots right next to each other and set up camp. Kris had all of our stuff in our car that he and Garett drove down later that night. By about 10 pm the boys still hadn't arrived and we were getting just a little bit worried. They showed up after 10:30 and they apparently were in traffic at the construction for well over an hour.
This is my genius of a husband, using plastic bags on his hands to prevent getting sausage gunk on his bare hands. We had a delicious breakfast of pancakes and eggs and sausage. Denzil ate almost a whole pancake by himself.
Then we took down camp and were on the search for a place to play in the water. After a long "1/4 mile" hike we found a great place to play. The boys found a crawfish which was cool but we didn't get a picture. They also tried to catch some little fish in their hats but weren't successful.
We jumped into the water from a little rock. It was pretty chilly but oh so refreshing.
Denzil has been giving me "kisses" lately and we fortunately caught one on camera. He is such a cute little guy!
I can't wait until we can go to the Smokey's again. There are so many places to see and so little time to see them in. Oh well, we will have fun trying!
I think I want to learn about the brain.
The "sprayground" was tons of fun. Denzil loves the water.
Camping with mom and dad near Blowing Rock. It was great despite the inconsiderate neighbors. I guess they thought that everyone wanted to hear the same CD over and over that skipped. Oh, and that it is okay to slam doors and yell all during the night. Lesson learned-drive through the campground with your windows down to see who the noisiest people are and camp as far away from them as possible. Oh, and national forest campgrounds are great! It was only $3 to stay the night. The last place we went was $18.
This is the "wild and scenic river" that we passed so we got out to splash around a bit. The only bad thing about this place is that people are way to lazy to take out the trash that they brought in with them in the first place. Come on people! It's not that hard even if there isn't a garbage can up at the top. Suck it up and carry out what you brought in. Nuf said.
This is some delicious Dilly Bread like grandma used to make it. Denzil loved it! Oh, and I was eating my lunch when he decided that he needed to have some too.
Denzil decided that he loves dogs. My parent's dog isn't too keen on kids (he moves away from them rather quickly) and Molly and Tink (Nana's dogs) liked to lick Denzil's face but weren't too happy when he decided to tug a bit on their fur. But Layla, she was all about Denzil and he couldn't have been happier. She would come and lick him on his face and let him get up next to her and touch her and then she'd come back for more when he would crawl after her.
These jammies have a sweet cape too. I'm sure that will be more fun when he realizes it is there.
Drinking mom's smoothie at Costco. I didn't think he'd get much because it was kind of thick but he was able to get quite a bit of it to come out for him.
Skyping with Daddy. He got excited every time we did it. So cute.
Denzil was a very good listener while talking to dad on the phone.
DJ and Denzil are just 2 weeks apart. They had a good time playing but I'm sure it will just get better as they grow up.
Jaxon with a nice hit at his baseball game. It was a beautiful day and I'm glad we were able to get out and watch him play.
Thanks Nana for the great time.
