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...

Phoenix

We began the day driving Thursday, and stopped for a quick walk through the exhibit at Montezuma's castle.


Then, we had a great visit with Parker and Carlie later in the morning. Parker is so cute...he's four weeks old now, but he and Jackson and pretty much the same size.

After that, we went to see Janet, Blue, Anne, and Bob and Susan. Anne is an amazingly good natured and calm baby...She and Jackson were fascinated with each other. It was great to meet Janet and the kids and to see Bob and Susan again.

Traveling in Arizona

One of our pitstops today was the visitor's center at the Petrified Forest. We didn't actually have time to drive through the park, but Jack was so happy to get out of the car and walk around a little bit, although the Arizona sun was a little too bright for him.

He's doing really well in the car. We have to stop every couple

of hours, and I have to sit in the back and entertain him. We have to try to get where we are going by about 5pm, which is when he melts down and can no longer be soothed. Once he got out of the car and into his pajamas, then he was happy again for a bit.

One more picture...

Just because it's so cute, here's one more:

Patriotic Baby

Here are some pictures from the 4th of July. Jack couldn't decide whether to wave his flag or eat it, but he had fun playing with it:

Papa Jefe decorated his stroller so he could go for a walk in style:

Keeping Jack Happy

Jack has decided that he loves to be walked around so he can see things. He isn't happy unless someone's showing him the sights. Grandpa and Jack walked around at the Chinese Restaurant here, looking at the fish which Jackson really liked, so that everyone else could finish their dinner:Jackson has his "security blanket"--a burp cloth made by Grandma Sue--and his "Mute button," sent to him by his Papa to keep him happy:
After a big lunch in Estes Park, we all decided to go for a little walk around the lake: