Michigan Part 4: Phil's College Buddies

The last week of vacation, Phil's best friends from college and their families joined us up at the lake house. This week there were 4 kids 2 and under and 2 school age kids which made for a full house. We had such a nice time relaxing on the beach, eating delicious meals (Each family took a night), playing Trivial Pursuit in the evenings (the women won every time, whoo hoo!!), and watching the kids interact.

The clawfoot tub was a nightly ritual for the babies after a day at the beach--so much sand in every crevice! Above is Sasha, Nicholas Bishop, and Hannah Harley.

The guys had an ugly mustache competition at the end of the week. You can see attractive results above.

Sasha and Leah Hochstetler in a rare cooperative photo shoot.

Wild Times with the Smuckers

It was great to spend a whole week with Phil's parents, brothers, and their families up in Michigan. We are all having kids at the same time so it was chaotic most of the time with 5 kids age 2 and under, but it was a lot of fun too. Sasha enjoyed hanging out with Mary and Jake who are exactly 1 year older than her.

The obligatory family photo....

This could be a poster, could it not?

More Michigan Memories

Sasha loved going for boatrides in Grandpa Smucker's speedboat.

One of our favorite pictures from the week

Phil and I picked up a parachute before we headed for Michigan and it was the best investment we've made in a long time. Why did they only get that thing out a couple times a year in gym class?

Phil and I remember running down "Sand Mountain" as kids and it was so fun to introduce Sasha to the tradition this year.

Michigan Part 1: Daddy and Sasha

We spent the middle 2 weeks of July up in Onekama, Michigan at Phil's parent's lakehouse. The first week was with Phil's family and the second week with his best buddies from college. It was a fantastic vacation in almost every way and we came home feeling very refreshed and thankful for good family and friends. The weather was cooler and rainier than usual which I guess was par for the course throughout the midwest this summer, but we managed to get in plenty of beach time on Lake Michigan and Portage Lake. The best part for all of us was getting to spend an entire 2 weeks together every day. Sasha was Daddy's girl for the most part, wanting less to do with me whom she gets to spend every day at home with, and everything to do with Phil. He loved it!

The only other place with skies this blue is New Mexico--seriously!

It was a vacation with many "firsts" for Sasha. Here she is getting her first jet-ski ride. Other than not being a fan of the life jacket, she loved the jet-ski and requested to go on many more rides after this one.

Early July

Romping around on the patio furniture on the porch.

My cousins, Emily and Hannah Gingerich, came down from Denver for the weekend of the 4th. We had a great time hanging out with them and tried to give them a taste of the best of New Mexico.

Sasha flying high with her sippee.

Helping me make oatmeal raisin cookies. Huge, HUGE help.

Indiana trip

Sasha and I went back to Indiana at the end of June for an Erb family reunion among other things. We started out the week driving to Ohio to visit my Grandma Yoder and other family there. Sasha got to pet a baby goat at my uncle's house which was the highlight of the whole week for her I think along with getting lots of attention from her Grandma June and Grandpa Fred.

Sasha is obsessed with cars. Phil is thrilled. One of her favorite activities is to tool around in the car, pushing all the buttons, rotating the mirrors, and pretending to steer. My parent's old VW van, which she referred to as a "Grandpa's cool car", was an endless source of fascination for her that week

It was a bonus that the reunion was at an inn on Lake Michigan and we had great weather. That's the thing I miss about the Midwest the most. I decided after that weekend that beach vacations are the way to go with babies/toddlers. The lake and sand provided hours of self-entertainment.

Sasha with grandma on the porch of the inn. Although it was a fun-filled week for us, Phil missed Sasha terribly and was glad to have us back.

Camping: Strike One

Ever since we moved out here last summer, I've been griping to Phil that we haven't gotten to go camping yet. From my childhood camping days, I know how different it is camping in the West verses the cramped flat campsites of the midwest and I've been dying to introduce Sasha to what I hope will be a family pasttime. Well, we finally had our chance a few weekends ago. We packed up our stuff and ventured to the state park just 15 minutes up into the mountains along with Megan and Uli.

Sasha loved setting up the tent, traipsing around the wooded site, eating outside and looking at the fire, but when it came time to go to sleep in the tent, she was not having it. We even took her little portable crib to put into the tent, hoping it would be just like home for her, but the combination of too much light, noisy neighbors, and the cold made sleep elusive.

Sasha unsure about going to bed in her crib.

We ended up going for a long drive up the mountain to try to get her to fall asleep and then transfer her to the tent, but this failed as well. We did see a spectacular sunset up there before heading home to sleep. We'll try again later this summer. If at first you don't succeed....

Fun around the house

These pictures give you a feel for some of the things Sasha really enjoys these days. I showed her the game cupboard one day a couple of weeks ago, which may have been a mistake in hindsight. She now loves to get out Yahtzee, Scrabble, and Boggle especially and manipulate all the little pieces. She exclaims "Yahtzee!" with delight when she walks into the room heading for the cupboard. Phil and I are big game people so I hope one day she enjoys playing them with us.

Ring Around the Rosy is a favorite. "Moy, moy." Translation: "more, more" after we all fall down. This could go on indefinitely if we let it.

Trying on our shoes....

Climbing into every chair and on top of any table...

June photos

Some friends of ours, Kim Burkholder and Gary Gautche, have cabin up in the Pecos Wilderness about an hour north of S.F. and they invited us up last weekend. We did a great hike through meadows of wild iris and aspenland picnicked under ponderosa pine around their cabin. Sasha loved being outdoors all day, picking up sticks and pinecones, and naming familiar objects.

Sasha's first ponytail. We actually went to get her hair trimmed for the first time yesterday. She did not want to sit in the chair and barely let me hold her while the lady clipped fast and furiously for less that one minute. Money well spent in my opinion

This made me laugh out loud when I walked in to the bathroom to see how the bath was going for Phil.

I feel very fortunate to have made some good friends this past year in Santa Fe. I would go crazy if I didn't get out with other moms on a regular basis. Here is a picture at a recent water playdate and Kat's house (center). Sasha really seems to enjoy hanging out with other little ones too.

Sasha in her new home

I just keep remarking to Phil what a good stage we're in with Sasha right now. There have definitely been some not-so-great stages which is why this last month has just been such a pleasure in comparison. For one, she just doesn't seem to cry as much anymore. She still cries every day (I wonder when that will end?), but some days she'll go until early evening without ever crying. How nice! Also, new words are escaping her lips every day which is so fun and amazing to observe. Yesterday Phil was pleased as punch when he came in from work and she said "Cool car, Daddy" then "Football, football. Go Colts!" later that evening. He's obviously had a hand in determining which words she learns first. A few weeks ago he taught her to say "hippee". Why? I don't know, but now she says that word A LOT. Very useful, Phil.

Sasha now has a dedicated playroom. She can't wait to get there after breakfast each morning and spends many hours there each week. It's a bright sunny corner room with a picture window looking out to the Ski Basin, so I enjoy hanging out there in the morning with my coffee on our old stripy couch that has been degraded to playroom status. That thing will hide any stain!

Bubbles! For the record, Sasha wore this same dress exactly 1 year ago to Phil's residency graduation. I don't think we have a pro-baller on our hands!