O, CANADA

We took a trip up to Rossland, BC last week with some friends so John could do some "EPIC" mountain biking. This included a 6 hour ride along what is called "Seven Summits" which is basically riding up the whole mountain range. I was so proud of John. They came home every day very tired and sore, but they never really seemed to get enough (until we left).

Us gals hung out in the town of Rossland and gave ourselves a little tour of their downtown area which took a total of about 15 minutes. It was a cute town.

Trish should be a travel agent, because she found us great condos that were killer deals during the summer.

We all look pretty tired in this picture...but we really did have fun.

Grant and Kelsi had fun exploring the condo (well, mainly Grant, but Kelsi loved turning herself around in circles all day)

Attack of the killer babies!!I love this picture. She looks so funny. What kind of face is she making??

Oregon

John had some CE's to do in the Portland area, so we took a short weekend trip over and stopped at Multalomah Falls on the way. It is the 2nd largest continuous waterfall in the nation, and just outside of Portland. It was beautiful. It was only a short easy hike to the bridge and then we continued up to the top which is about a mile. It wasn't too bad of a hike either (except for the 100 degree weather..even in the shade it was pretty bad), Coming down killed me because I was wearing flip flops. I brought tennies but when I saw so many other people in sandals, I followed the crowd. We thought it was just so beautiful on the western side of Oregon. It was hard to come back to our dry brown part of the world.

8 months

Of all the posts that I did last week, I missed the 8 month post! Kelsi continues just to grow so fast. From my rudimentary measurements:

Weight: 19.8 lbs (I don't know what that is in ounces...12oz??)

Length: 28 in

Teeth: 3 (2 bottoms and 1 top)

New developments: Kelsi has decided that sleeping on her tummy isn't as bad as she thought. No crawling yet, but signs that it is coming.

Mommy's only frustration is that Kelsi won't eat anything that she has to chew. She doesn't realize that baby food is expensive. Every time I give her ANYTHING that she has to chew, she either spits it out or gags until she throws up. Stubborn little thing. I feel like I am going to have to puree her food for the rest of her life. It's really not that bad, I would just love to be able to keep her happy by letting her snack if we are out. I should know by now that Kelsi is on her own time table. She is just a doll. She is very verbal and just babbles all day long. John is so happy to have her home after being away for a week.

Visit from Alli

Kelsi was finally able to meet one of her mommies favorite people! My great friend and former roommate Alli drove down from Hanford to see us. We just vegged and caught up and of course played with Kelsi.

Becca, if you are reading this...we thought of you and missed you and decided that you and Alli need to come up to Clarkston and pay us a visit!

Kelsi was so sad to see Alli go. Don't worry we won't let another almost 2 years go by before we see her again.

Family Pics

My Aunt Rachael had back surgery last week, so we picked up my Aunt Lisa who flew in with her 3 yr. old daughter, Jena from the airport. They were going to take care of her for the next week. We decided to make dinner for Aunt Rachael and here are a couple pics from our day. We still miss you Tamar.

Dad,

I had a great time at the beach. I wished that you were here with me.

Love, Kelsi

Kelsi's first trip to the beach!

Kelsi had a fun time at the beach. She was mesmerized by the ocean and it calmed her down when she got fussy (it must be the wave sounds that she falls asleep to every night).

Taking a little catnap

Hanging out under the umbrella

Aunt Shayla and Kelsi

Grandma Manderino took Kelsi down to the water and let her put her feet in

We had a great time together

Chillin' at Chilis

We miss you Tamar. These pictures are for you!

Letter to Daddy

Dear Daddy,

Mommy and I miss you.

I am having fun with my Grandpa Manderino. He likes to tickle me and whistle and sing to me too! He even rocked me to sleep last night. I wasn't so sure how I felt about him at first, but I think he is pretty cool now.

Mom took me to meet a couple of her friends and their daughters. I thought that they were very nice and I wished that I could have ran around with them, but I haven't learned how yet. But, I DID roll over from my tummy to my back for the first time. Yup, I can finally roll both ways, but no crawling yet. I finally got sick of being on my tummy and just rolled over.

This is us with mommy's friend Jolynn and her daughter Aleena. Her niece Samantha also wanted to take a picture with us.

We then took another picture with Jolisa and her daughters Samantha and Audree. I wish that they lived closer to us so that we could play more.

I really like my Aunt Shayla. It makes me so sad when she leaves the room.

Well, I love you a lot. I am very sleepy. I don't understand why mom doesn't let me sleep, so I get my cat naps in when I can. Love you, Kelsi

It's about time I move her to the tub. At least I won't be risking my life everytime I walk in the kitchen after one of her bath's from slipping on all the water on the floor.

Last week

Here are some randoms from last week. Enjoy!

Sweet little girl in a swing

Messy eater...

Getting cleaned up in the bath