Tradition

I have to share this little tradition for my girls. My grandma, their great grandma, is from Germany and still has family that lives over there. For each of my girls now we've been sent a little cutlery set and I love it. My grandma receives it from Germany, re-wraps it in a brown box, and has a separate card in there from her translating the card and gifts from her family overseas. I love it! This is one of those things that as long as I live I will cherish and make sure my girls remember. 

This is the outside of the box. All three sets are the same brand.

The inside treasure.

These are all three sets we have acquired. From left to right it is Finley's, Eliza's, and Waycee's. I love that they are similar but just slightly different. Something that will for sure go in my girl's hope chests. 

Our walks

We've tried to walk around the neighborhood in the evenings to wear the girls out before bed. It's been a little tough with all the smoke in the air lately. This is how our last one went, Eliza carrying her bike home after half way because she thought it was easier then riding it. What a nut. 

Paddle boarding at the Tetons

A few weekends ago we went to Bondurant / Jackson with some good friends of ours. We decided to be adventurous and take our Paddle Boards up to Jenny Lake in Jackson. First of all the weekend was great! Saturday we spent the day walking around the square, driving out to Kelly to find the buffalo (which to our surprise this was the first time we didn't see them!), and then on to Jenny Lake to spend the afternoon Paddle Boarding. The lake was amazingly clear and not too cold. The girls were on the board with Brian right away and Waycee and I enjoyed watching them and looking at the scenery. Don't worry, I got my turn on the board too. I wish I would have got pictures of how clear the water was. It really was a picture perfect afternoon. Again I must state that Bondurant and Jackson are my favorite places to go! And now that we've added this little activity to it makes it even cooler. It was a little strange not having Brian haul a bike up there and disappear for hours on it. Instead he has found his new hobby. Fly fishing. Yep, morning and evening he could be found out back of the barn at the river. He's getting the hang of it and I'm sure this will be a reoccurring activity up there. Oh and I can't forget to mention that we may have found some of the best bacon cheeseburger's since Billy's Burger's closed. Its this little hide away bar / restaurant on the outside of Jackson. The name is The Bird. If you have time to go to their site and read the menu it's quite entertaining. They really do have the best burgers and fries!

Watching everyone on the lake.

I mean really, could you have a rougher view? You can't see it in this picture, but the Grand is just to the left.

I love that she is discovering her hands and more so, she has to have her blanket all the time.

Our spread on the rocky beach shore of Jenny Lake. 

Yep, that's the reaction I get when I say look at me and smile. 

Waycee Jane's Blessing Day

Waycee was blessed on August 5, 2012. It was a beautiful day filled with excitement and anticipation. I had planned the night before that I'd wake up promptly at 7 am, have time to shower and get ready, prep the rest of the food, get the girl's dressed and ready (including hair done cute), and get the star of the day ready. Of course we woke up at 8:05 am and the pressure was on to get everyone and everything ready. Because Waycee's dress was so long I had to wait to put it on at the church so by 8:40 we were out the door and to the church. We were joined by family and friends and Brian did a wonderful job of blessing our littlest sunshine. After church we came back to our house and thanks to my mother in law and sister in law there was very tasty breakfast casserole and homemade cinnamon rolls. The company and weather was perfect. We made it through the day and as luck would have it, I have very active girl's who would not sit still for anything, and feeling a little overwhelmed, no pictures of that day. It's a good thing a few days prior my sister in law took a few pictures of Waycee and her beautiful dress. 

I do have to share my excitement of her dress. I searched and searched  looking for the right dress. I could have used Finley's or Eliza's but want each girl to have her own so that someday they could use it for their little girl's. I found a few that were beautiful but just didn't seem to fit her personality. Then late one night when I was starting to feel I wouldn't find it, I found it! I had decided to try looking on Etsy. I had found a few that were so pretty but the price tag was not so pretty. That's when I found this 1940's German christening dress. It was perfect, and more so was the price! I snatched it up without question. When it arrived it had a few minor flaws, but being from the 1940's and having such hand made detail I wasn't too surprised. My mother in law helped me fix those flaws and she even washed and pressed it for me. I think she could sense how nervous I was to do it myself. It turned out amazing and I couldn't have been more excited about it. 

I have decided that my precious little bug does not like photo sessions. Both times I've wanted to get some tender pictures she is fussy and wants her binkie the whole time. Still love her though. Thanks again to family and friends for coming and for their help. The day turned out wonderful.