Winnemucca

We spent Friday through Monday in Winnemucca. We had a great time eating, bowling, playing cards, playing Wii, and taking the ATVs up the canyon. Even Jack went for a ride. Jack was a little hesitant about grandma and grandpa Anderson at first and cried the first few times, but he warmed up quickly. Boy could grandpa get him smiling and laughing (yes, he's laughing a lot now, for about a week. It's his new thing).
We took Jack for a ride in the Rhino. We made him wear a big hat to stay out of the sun! He didn't mind it too much and even fell asleep toward the end of one ride. While he was on his ride, Grandma and Great-grandma lounged in the shade, but then after that we all loaded up on the ATVs, even great-grandma, and rode farther up the canyon where we picked some currants. Mom later made a batch of jelly out of them--yum!

Sam and Jack

We arrived in Reno on Wednesday evening last week. We had a great visit with Lesa, Colin, Dylan, and Patrick, and we got to meet Sam, who is adorable. He's 16.5 pounds and over 26 inches long already, so he's a big boy! Lesa said he's in the 95th percentile for height, so apparently he's going to be tall. He's a pretty good natured little guy. He's also at the stage where he grabs everything and chews on many things, so Jack wasn't too sure of him, often being on he receiving end of the grabbing. It was a challenge getting them both still and not crying, but we got some great pictures of the two of them.

The Allens and the Alabama Hills

Tuesday, we headed out toward Nevada. We stopped in Victorville to see Rolayne and Steve and their adorable kids first. It was great to meet McKenzie--she's such a sweetheart. Austin is getting so tall, too!

Then, we headed up 395. We stopped for the night in Lone Pine, CA. We had time to take a little drive through the Alabama Hills, famous as the set for most of the well-known Western movies and for Tremors. We stopped to explore some rock formations right at the road, but couldn't go too far because Jack was asleep in the backseat of the car. Our hotel was amusing because at last count there were 16 rabbits and a covey of quail visible from our room's window, which faces the back lawn. They must have just reseeded the lawn or something because it was a bunny buffet out there.

Katelyn's birthday

Sunday, Katelyn turned 8 years old. We had a great party full of swimming, a yummy dinner, presents, and ice cream cake. Katelyn enjoyed her birthday presents, especially her new camera and the geodes that she got to break open at the party.






And, here's the video from her party:

Pool Party

We arrived in Bonsall on Friday. We had a pretty low-key day Friday because Mike wasn't feeling well and Jackson was very cranky from our travels. After some rest, we had a fun Saturday. Grandma and Papa babysat the grandkids so that the adults could go see the last Harry Potter movie. It was the first time that Mike and I got to go out without baby since he was born. Then, after we came home, we spent the afternoon in the pool. Jackson went swimming for the first time. Both Mike and I thought he would cry when we took him in the pool because he cries for baths, but he surprised us both and seemed to really enjoy it. The girls are regular fish and spent hours in the pool. They had fun spitting water through the water noodles and playing games with Uncle Michael too.

The girls are very attentive to Jackson. Here's a little clip of them playing with him, which made us all laugh. You can never have too many toys, apparently...