Lake Vasona Park

We had a fun day hanging out at Vasona Park with Katie, Bryndy, and lots of friends from my work. We rode the Carousel, the train, the swings, and had a picnic. It was a fun summer day!

   

Swim Lessons!

Ava and I started "Mommy and Me" swim classes.  It is a four week class where we get to hang out with other moms and babies while we sing songs, splash, and even dunk! I was nervous to dunk her, but to my surprise, she likes it!

Learning to kick.

Singing songs.

Back floating. She hated this at first, but is so good at it now : )

Jumping off the side.

Ready to dunk?

Swimming from one side of the pool to the other.

11 months old!

One month until the BIG day!!!  Ava is such a busy little girl.  We just got home from a two week road trip to South Dakota, so she is already an established traveler.  She is into books, shoes, puzzles, and, random kitchen tools.  She loves to get chased, get tickled, and to chase the cats. She also likes to hold up the phone to her head backwards and say "aye".  She is weening off of baby food and formula and trying out lots of regular food and whole milk.  Mommy is enjoying being with her during the summer break.  We are busy, busy, busy........

Gilroy Gardens!

We had a fun day hanging out with the cousins and Auntie Jen at Gilroy Gardens.  Ava got to go on the train, the lazy river ride, the carousel, and we rode in a 1920's car. It was a fun day!

Day 14. Destination: Boomtown, NV

The last night of our trip, we stayed at a KOA in Boomtown, NV. It was conveniently located right next to Steve' s favorite store, Cabela's. It is now the third one he has been to.  Oh yeah, and we went swimming again;) Heading home tomorrow. Vacation's over:( 

            

Day 13. Destination: W. Wendover, NV

We spent the day driving out of Wyoming, and across the state of Utah to W. Wendover, NV. We stayed at a KOA right at the UT/NV border so we ate dinner at the Rainbow Casino and then went to the park. Ava loves the swing!

Day 12. Destination: Rawlins, WY

The reunion was great and it's time to start the trek home. Today we drove to Rawlins, WY. Nothing to exciting. We ate dinner and did laundry again......

Day 8. Destination: Hill City, SD

We made it to the Harris family reunion in Hill City, SD and had a blast. On the way in, we passed Crazy Horse monument. One day, Steve, Veneer, Tom, and Dad fished at Sheridan Lake where they caught a couple of trout. The two Steve's went to visit Cabela's in Hill City, SD. Ava and I hung out with the family.  Everyone was so excited to meet her. We also went swimming and ran through the water park with Behan and Jack. The whole family went up to Mt. Rushmore, which was a stunning monument. We took a tour of many exhibits and learned the history there. Lastly, I took Ava to the park and she got on a swing for the first time.  The reunion was really cool!

This is the Crazy Horse Monument.  You can see the profile of the head.  It is HUGE! This was from the truck on our way to the reunion. 

                         Where's the beef? We got to the reunion a day early so we went out to eat.

Let the reuniting begin.........

This is Nini, Mom, Me, and Ava

 Ava and Behan played together everyday in Nana's cabin.

                                     Uncle Steve and Ava bonding while Janet tells a story...

 Cheers Grandpa!

 Hanging out with cousin Caitlin.

 The siblings with our first born. (We miss Jakie..)

 Pool time with Ava and Jack.

Ava in her camping chair.  She learned to get in it by herself and then she just kicked back while listening to the rest of us talk.  It was hilarious!

 

 We went to the park and Ava went on the swing for the first time.  She LOVED it!

Mt. Rushmore!  We had an awesome day checking this place out.  There were many exhibits that told the story of how they made the monument, and how they changed it many times.  We also visited the Sculptor's Studio.  This picture is of me standing in front of the model that is 1/12 the size of the actual monument. Borglum worked on this model, making and changing measurements, etc. while looking out of the window at the mountain and the men working.

My HUGE family.  They are so awesome!