Whitefish Lake

Today, Luke, Zane, and I went to Whitefish for lunch. We ended up eating at the Buffalo Cafe, a local favorite. After lunch, we headed to Whitefish Lake, not to swim however, as the temperature never rose above 60 today (as evident by our wearing of long sleeves)! I just have heard so much about it, but had never been there, so Luke decided he would take us there.

We did not stay too long, but managed to fit in a many photo session with Zane. It was Zane's first experience being that close to a body of water bigger than the bathtub! He enjoyed getting his hands wet, and also just looking at all the water as Luke held him. I think his favorite part of the outing was getting to ride on Dad's shoulders.

Taking the plunge...

Well folks, after eight years of traditional scrapbooking, I have decided to take the plunge into the world of digital scrapbooking. I have only completed one digital storybook, a Father's Day book for Luke, and I wanted to share it with you. I was really pleased with the final product, and more importantly, so was Luke.

I'm embarrassed to say that I had worked on this off and on since April, and I just published it last weekend, over 2 months late for Father's Day! Oh well, better late than never, right?! Any way, it was fairly easy to do (this was a template that I just had to drop in pictures and add journaling, the part that always takes me the longest to do!)- it was just taking the time to sit down and work on it. I had a lot of "technical support" from my friend Marie in Arizona, and I think with a little more practice, I will definitely get faster at it. I really enjoyed the fact that when I did sit down to work on it, all I needed was my laptop, as opposed to the endless amount of scrap crap that I used for my traditional scrapbooks.

Now I am excited to finally get to work on Zane's first year album. I was beginning to think that I might never scrapbook again. But now I have a plan...

July, in a Nutshell

July proved to be a very busy month (obviously so, as it is the middle of August and I am just now posting about it!). We had several family gatherings including, but not limited to the following: 2 birthday celebrations, a few cookouts, and visits from Luke's cousin and brother's family.

In between family functions, we kept ourselves busy with frequent walks taking advantage of the awesome weather, our usual church activities, Zane cutting his 5th and 6th teeth (see screaming pictures), frequent housecleaning (long story), and trying to spend as much time together as a family when Luke was actually in town, not working or busy with school.

Well, here are a few pictures from the month. I really like this slide show feature- it's great when you have too many pictures.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Oh Zane!

Why do we even buy our children toys? Last week, after I had gotten out a few safe kitchen items for Zane to play with, including but not limited to this baster, I caught him crawling around with this part in his mouth! I guess it makes a good teether- who knows?! Anyway, I thought this was too cute not to share!

Ok, now it's your turn. What random things have you found your kids playing with or teething on?

The One with Zane's Moves

Yesterday, Zane turned 11 months! I can't believe it- his first year of life is almost complete- WOW! He is very busy these days, chattering away (I only wish I knew what he was trying to say!), crawling all over the place, pulling himself up on every piece of furniture, and the newest trick in is repertoire, dancing.

He has always loved music, even from the time he was a little bitty thing. At some point, he started waving his hand or hands to the beat when we were singing at church or when we were listening to music at home, and then a few weeks ago, he started bouncing up and down when he was standing holding on to something, or even when he was sitting down. Then one night when we were at a friend's birthday party, there was music playing and he started crawling toward the stereo, and he would pause to rock his body back and forth to the beat, crawl a little more, stop to rock to the beat, etc. His newest move is swaying side to side while standing up, holding on to something.

I had been meaning to video him for sometime, but every time I would get the camera out, he would stop, of course. Finally, just the other day, he was dancing in the living room, and I managed to catch him. This video showcases all of Zane's "moves."

Finally, the rest of the story...

Well, I decided to just put the rest of the pictures in a slide show, otherwise I met never finish the Texas trip post! Tuesday was a good day with family and ended with one of my favorites, yummy Chick-fil-a! Oh, how I miss it! Wednesday, the Speers came out again in the morning, and my sister and Gideon left, but not before an impromptu photo session with the grandparents. Thanks so much for coming down Amy, and for letting Zane use Gideon's car seat. That was a big help. We love you guys and look forward to the next visit.

Wednesday afternoon, Zane and I met up with Mark, Wendi and the kids. We had lunch at McAlister's (by the way, thanks for my lunch!) and then went back to the dorm. It was nice to just have a low key afternoon. And Wendi, I am a little jealous of your awesome room where you can scrapbook ( well, and also that you can actually find the time to do it... I am beginning to wonder if I will ever scrapbook again!).

Wednesday evening, I got to see all my girls at Chili's. I'm bummed because I left my camera in the car and did not get any pictures. It was great to visit and catch up without little ones to keep track of! I am thankful to have such great friends that remain near and dear to my heart, even though we are separated by many miles!

Thursday, I met Krystl and her lovely girls at Chick-fil-a for lunch (you know, I have to get my fill while I can!). Again, I did not take very many pictures... I'll have to do better next trip! That afternoon, we went to the Morgans. Jason's parents were in for the 4th and finally got to meet Zane. Abigail enjoyed entertaining Zane, however, Josh was not so thrilled to have him around.

Friday, the 4th, Zane and I stayed at my parents to rest up and finish packing. My parents prepared a wonderful lunch of steaks and an array of home grown veggies, including corn-on-the-cob, my absolute favorite! In the afternoon, we made the rounds, stopping here and there to get one last visit in. It seems no matter how long I stay, it is never long enough!

Saturday morning, Zane had to get in one last swing- oh how he loved that swing! We're going to have to invest in a swing set, I do believe! My parents drove us to the airport. Zane did great on the way home, and we were blessed to have the entire row to ourselves on each of our 3 flights!

Thanks again, Mama and Daddy, for your hospitality, the yummy food (especially all of the home grown veggies), and letting me drive your car all around! We had a great visit and look forward to y'all's trip up here. We love you!