Dad's Family Reunion in Nauvoo

17 July 2006: Ah, Summer! That wonderful time of year when families all over the country decide to have reunions. Such was the case with Dad's family this year, and so we bought our tickets and flew off to Nauvoo, Illinois, to join in the fun. After surviving two flights and a very hot layover in Chicago, we arrived in St. Louis that night. Uncle Joe picked us up and took us to his house for the night, where Grandma and Grandpa were staying, too.

18 July 2006: We divided ourselves up between Grandpa's rental car and Uncle Joe's van and set off on the four hour road trip up to Nauvoo. Four years before Mom had been in eastern parts with her parents, and so the greenery along the way brought back good memories, which helped her cope with the conversation burden of entertaining a 17 month old girl fluent in gibberish while helping the driver stay awake as the other passengers slept. We stayed at the Nauvoo Family Inn and Suites. We'd heard that our room would have a kitchen, and so we stocked up on some supplies at the commissary at Scott Air Force base before we left; it pays to have a brother in the Air Force. :) That evening we all went to the pageant. Mom doesn't remember whether Amanda slept through it, but at any rate she was nice enough to let Mom & Dad enjoy the production.



19 July 2006: We saw some of the sights in historic Nauvoo, including the Browning gun shop, pictured below, along with the blacksmith shop and the brickyard. Mom seems to recall Dad seeing a few more things while she stayed at the hotel for nap time, but then again Mom could be imagining it.


20 July 2006: On our last full day in the Nauvoo area, we all went on an excursion to Carthage Jail. Those familiar with LDS Church History will recognize the significance of the room pictured bleow, the site of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith. A special but rather sober outing, to say the least. However, cheer returned as we ducked into the Dairy Queen across the street after the big family picture session.


21 July 2006: The morning of the last day came, and it was time to fly home. Just to say we'd seen it, albeit from afar, Mom snapped this picture of the St. Louis arch as we drove past on our way to the airport.
Summary of the trip: Great to be with family, and great to see so many church history sights. Mom got to attend the Nauvoo temple with sisters Laura and Karen, which was a most enjoyable experience. Dad got to go later with the rest of the family, too; we girls snuck off to an early session so that we'd be available for childcare while the others were gone. The slight negatives of the trip: 1) Humid heat . . . ugh! 2) Long flight with small child; we survived, BUT . . . All in all, great reunion, though, and thanks so much to Uncle Ed for putting it together!

Seattle Zoo Trip (way back in May 2006)

As Mom types, it is Friday the 13th in May 2011. Maybe that's why Mom felt everything seemed strangely de ja vu-ish as she visited the zoo with the Muffins and our friends today. It wasn't just that Amanda was there at the same zoo at the same time on a field trip; it seemed like something to check into the archives about. And, sure enough, way back in May 2006, Mom and Amanda were at the zoo together, in Seattle. Since that outing occurred pre-blog, Mom's taking the opportunity to share the story now.

Here we have Amanda, around 15 months old at the time. It was spring, yes, but it was still cool enough to warrant bundling. We had been to the zoo as a family when she was about six months old, but even though we saw pretty much everything that day, we forgot the camera. So, Mom made sure to take the camera when she had the opportunity to return to the zoo for a mothers' group outing.

We saw giraffes . . .

and some otters . . . (otters keep warm partly by the air in their fur; note the air bubbles coming off the otter's fur as it swims)

and a bear, too!

Mom's favorite photo from the trip, though, was this optical illusion, created entirely by the water, not the camera or photo shop. Maybe this is where you go to order a half duck?

March Madness with Manda Monkey

When we first moved in to our Seattle apartment, our living room looked like this. Note the baby sitting serenely in front of the non-childproof entertainment center.

Here's the same baby in March 2006. Yeah, things changed a bit.

Our first First Birthday

Our very first Muffin turned one! Grandpa and Grandma got to be there for the party. As of her birthday, Amanda was great at standing (and balancing in general), climbing, scooting along furniture, and getting into things. However, she refused to walk, aside from walking holding on to furniture. She seemed to think it was silly to make herself vulnerable to falling when she could just get down and crawl. However, Mom and Dad used the shape blocks bucket toy Grandma & Grandpa got for Amanda's birthday as bait to lure Amanda away from the couch. And, within two months, i.e. by the time she was 14 months old, Amanda did learn how to walk.

The Tree

Once upon a time, there was a big ol' tree in the back parking area of our apartment building. And then the big windstorm came. Next thing Mom knew, there was a really loud noise. Mom looked out the window and saw what had happened. The tree scraped the outside of our building, including the wall of our third floor apartment, and it landed on an unoccupied car parked close to the building. Otherwise, everything was fine, but with trees falling all over town that day, it took awhile for someone to come clear it, and, since it blocked the parking lot exit, our friends who were visiting that day ended up staying a little longer than planned. Quite an interesting experience, to say the least. The picture was taken from Mom & Dad's bedroom window.