Happiest Baby on Earth

The Horners (and Scotts) made their way to Disneyland yesterday. This would be Carolyn's first trip ever and her mother's second. This time I was set on riding the rides, since last time I was at Disneyland I was sick. Luckily, Carolyn was the most cooperative baby ever. It probably helped that she had all this neat stuff to look at. She enjoyed all of it.




We started our day with Carolyn demanding to walk around herself. We kept track of her with this "leash." It was fabulous. She got the freedom she needed, and we had our peace of mind. We took her on Pirates of the Caribbean ride. She really enjoyed it. Let's just hope she doesn't have nightmares of pirates aiming guns at her. Definitely not for young kids who will recognize what the pirates are doing. We also took her on some more kid-friendly rides. We visited Pooh's grand adventure (or something like that), Mr. Toad's wild ride, etc. I was surprised at how much she just took in. She was lookgin at everything that came our way. Unfortunately, that did include sunflower seed shells on the ground along with other trash. One ride she really enjoyed was the jungle cruise. There were a bunch of animals jumping in and out of the water that she loved to point at.














Fun family photo












Carolyn received her very first set of Mickey ears. Personally, I love this little hat, probably a lot more than she does. When you buy the ears, they'll embroider a name on the back for you. This picture is poorly lit, but hopefully if you click on it, you will see her little name stitched into her first hat. I love it!













Carolyn and Mr. Toad are new best buds. This little guy made her face light up everytime she looked at him!





It's a Small World was definitely Carolyn's favorite ride of the day. She could not stop bouncing on Daddy's knee. She was entranced by the dolls and bopping to the music. I think that maybe just that ride was worth it for her.

This is what Carolyn did and how the rest of us felt after the really long day we had at the park. But I did get to ride all the big rides. I am ready for some bigger, faster, and scarier rides next time. Also, let me sing the praises of SPF 50 kids sunscreen. We were in the sun for two days straight, and Carolyn might be coming home with a bit of a tan, but no burn. Love it!

Comfy pillow

After the beach, everyone was tuckered out. But none more than Carolyn. She's been having problems with teething, and after a good dose of Tylenol, fell asleep on our bed. She was lying between us when I went downstairs. I came up 15 minutes later to see how things were going to find this scene. I love it.

Beach Baby

We went to Dana Point Harbor on Tuesday. Carolyn had the time of her life. We didn't take too many pictures because it was windy and the sand was flying everywhere. I didn't want to ruin the camera. But we did get a few. Melissa, Jeremy, and I stayed on the beach to play with Carolyn, while Scott and the grandparents walked around. The water was frigid, even for the ocean, but Carolyn was a trooper. Her favorite part was when Jeremy would hold her hands and "surf" her around the water. We also taught her how to dig holes in the sand close to the water and trap it when the tide came in. She enjoyed throwing sand at everyone. After we left the cove, we went over to another

section where there were waves and surf. It was beautiful. I don't think we will go back to the beach because over the past two days Keren's sunburn has become extraordinarily painful. It's silly since for the first hours after the beach there was nothing.

Wild Animal Safari Park

Tuesday we went down to Jeff and Mary's house (Jeremy's brother) in San Diego. Then we went over to the Wild Animal Safari Park that is run in conjunction with the San Diego Zoo. Carolyn had such a good day! She loved the animals. We had a lot of pointing and oohing throughout the day.

The smart people at the park put in a cool zone. Three animals spray water and the kids, or adults, can cool themselves off by running around. After some hesitancy, Carolyn really enjoyed being cooled off. She got sprayed plenty by the other kids manipulating the spouts, but it was all good because her wet clothes kept her cool for most of the very hot day.

The safari park has a carousel for kids to ride. Carolyn rode the cheetah so she would go the fastest.

Is your foot bigger than a gorilla's?

Hello from California

Hello there! Monday morning we made the trip down to Dana Point (close to Laguna Beach). Jeremy's family is gathering here for Kent's wedding scheduled for Saturday. While we wait for the festivities, Carolyn has been a busy bee.

She is having tons of fun in the vacation house we are all staying in. It's perfect for running laps. Unfortunately, the floors are marble, so it is also perfect for conking your head. We've had to keep a close eye on her. She loves this balcony that overlooks the dining room. So far, we haven't had any mishaps in the new house. Let's hope it stays that way.

Portland Timbers

This is Timber Jim. He is the self-proclaimed mascot of the Portland Timbers, a USL soccer team. He likes to rev up the crowd by running his chainsaw. He's a class act.

A little action from the game.

Angel met up with her friend Toby who has just moved to the Portland area. We all went to dinner and enjoyed the Portland Timbers vs. Charleston Battery courtesy of Deloitte. Gotta love the perks but they still don't make Jeremy's long hours worth it.

Delicious Eats

Angel, Carolyn, and I took a day trip to Olympia, Washington to visit my mother's parents. First we stopped to her mom, Grandma Willis. Carolyn quickly felt at home and started roaming all over the place. She find a rocking chair just her size that she loved. Then we all went to lunch with Aunt Lynn to a burger joint, Eagan's. So good. Burgers at fast food joints kinda gross me out. But this was delicious! They also had the best shakes. Angel ordered blackberry and I think I had at least half of it (well, half of what was consumed, she dropped it on the ground at the end). Carolyn happily ate her corndog and begged for fries off her Aunt Bean's plate.



From Eagan's, Angel, Carolyn, and I drove over to Grandma and Grandpa Tolman's. Carolyn found a stuffed dog to give loves to, and she discovered Grandma's snail collection--that kept her interested for awhile. We couldn't get her to sit still for much because she was too busy running laps around the house. Grandma and Grandpa shared some delicious Tillamook Wild Huckleberry Ice Cream. If you live in an area that sells Tillamook ice cream, check it out.

Here's a little picture of Carolyn not giving her mother even a moment's rest. I am just on the other side of that door, and she was stretching to get the handle to get in.

We had to return to Portland to get Carolyn home in time for bed, but we really enjoyed taking the trip up to see family.

Camping with the Family

Angelina came to town August 16. The next day we went on a ward campout with the church. I honestly don't remember the last time I camped. Carolyn was thrilled with the tent. She even slept quite well for being outside of a crib. I think that was the first time for that. Jeremy couldn't make it because he was out of town for work, but, luckily, the Wildes went. We pitched our tent right next to theirs and used Gordon for all the manly tasks we had: pitching the tent, taking down the tent, etc.

Slipping and Sliding!

At church I have a new assignment helping with activities for the 8-9 year old girls in the ward. I went to my first activity yesterday where they had all sorts of fun water games. I didn't get my camera out until the very end, but I still got some fun shots.
Carolyn spent the whole time eating watermelon. I had bought some for the girls, but Carolyn desperately wanted some. I ended up cutting a personal-sized melon for the younger kids to share. Carolyn ended up eating half of it. She had seeds down her suit and in her diaper.

Chandler didn't actually ride a bike, but he was getting ready to in case he was allowed!



After the activity we tried to get Carolyn to do her first on-her-belly slip and slide. She couldn't quite figure out what I was trying to do to her. We did manage to get her down once or twice and she giggled the whole way!

Eating with a Spoon!

My daughter, who eats just about everything, started refusing such basic foods like oatmeal and yogurt. There usually involved lots of yelling when I would try to feed her these typical meals. Finally, she reached for the spoon herself and has been happily eating ever since. It is so darn messy, but she is just so proud of herself every time she gets food in her mouth.

Family Resemblance?

It's been brought to my attention that Carolyn's bedhead is just a tamer version of her aunt's. Can you see a family resemblance?

No longer a baby

Carolyn started walking about a week ago. She's had it in her for awhile, but she had no desire to walk without holding Mom's hand. She can be a stinker. One day she got the hang of it and never looked back. She was even walking around in her sleep sack today! (Don't let the milk cup fool you. It's a great day if she drinks a total of 6 ounces.)

Peaches

20o pounds of peaches. 60 quart jars. 8 children. 4 adults. Fresh peaches all year long.

I did it!

I started a sewing project and even finished it. This is actually my first quilt ever. I made it for a good friend. Carolyn tried it out to make sure it was snuggle friendly.

Morning Beauty

Carolyn has been waking up with quite the hairdo lately. Nothing will tame this except a bath. But it's fun to think she is becoming a toddler, messy hair and all now.