Balloon Fiesta 2009

We decided to make our first trip to the Balloon Fiesta Park. The two-week Balloon Fiesta started today and it was amazing to see so many balloons. It was also nice to come home and have such a great view for the rest of the morning of all the balloons. We love our little town and wish we could have had some family or good friends visit us during this event. Very, very fun!

Alaska Trip Pictures

Here is claire riding a little bike on the deck at Harding Lake
Grandpa Bill helped Lincoln drive the boat around the lake. Lincoln was very scared at first but then really had a great time. Claire didn't really know what to think back there. She just sat there quietly.
I like this picture because you can see where the cabin is behind. It is such a beautiful place in the summer. 75 degrees, 23 hours of sunlight.
Oh yeah I'm cool! Lincoln and Alex looking to see who's jacket is better.
Here is our little family inside the cabin. I proposed to Leslie on that little couch back in 2003:)

Ice Cream Cone Face

We went to Jason's Deli tonight for dinner. They have a soft serve ice cream machine that is free and all you can eat. If you know us then you will know this is crazy....I helped Lincoln make his own ice cream cone, he picked out the cone, chose the chocolate ice cream, held the cone while I pulled the lever, then he told me when to stop. Claire decided she didn't just want bites of mine so once we got down to the cone we gave her the whole cone and they ate them the whole way home. Claire would take a bite and then laugh. She loves food and this one she really liked. by the time we got home Lincoln had finished his and claire only had the bottom part of the cone left. She decided to shove the whole thing in her mouth and that is why her mouth looks extra large in this picture. It was very fun!

Our Trip To Alaska

So we took a trip this week to Alaska to visit Leslie's family. It has been a fantastic trip. When I was very young my favorite time of the year was July for Pioneer days and the fourth of July. One summer my parents gave me $10 to spend however I wanted, which was quite a bit of money to me then. I had always wanted to go on a helicopter and there was one taking off at Draper park over and over again all afternoon. When it was getting dark I found out it was only $10 for a ride. I ran over to go on the helicopter and before I got there it took off again and they told me it was gone for the day. It is rather silly, but I have always thought about that day and have wanted to fly on a helicopter. I threw it on my bucket list and Leslie knowing of my desire set me up to fly out of Denali to land on a beautiful glacier. It is usually $450...quite more than my original $10...talk about inflation! Leslie's sister Jenny was able to get me on for half price so I went and it was absolutely amazing!! I loved the flight and the scenery was breathtaking!
Here is Claire doing what she does best...finding some random place to sit, looking cute and playing with something random that she usually puts into her mouth. She has a new love for dental floss. She loves to stick it in her mouth and run it in her teeth. Very nice!
We took a great trip on a riverboat tour in Fairbanks. Thanks again to Jenny for getting us $60 tickets a piece for free. Part of the tour included a demonstration of some sled dogs followed by them jumping in the water and getting wet. The kids loved it!
Any parent will tell that you traveling by plane is not easy with kids. Just ask my friend Kristin Sanchez. So after a three hour flight to Seattle we added a six hour layover. We rented a car and travelled to the Port Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. It was very fun and a great break for the kids. It was like another vacation. We saw a 3,500 pound Walrus, huge polar bears and in the picture below there are lots of Puffins.

Once we started driving back from the Zoo the kids took a one hour nap and then they still didn't want to get out of the car so we just put the car seats on the stroller and a cart until we got to security. It worked great and we got a good laugh out of it.

Our Kids Update

Obviously we love our children. This blog mostly consists of videos and pictures of them. I put together a few clips from the last week onto this long video. It was 10 minutes long but I think Leslie and I would be the only ones that would actually watch the whole thing so I shortened it to five minutes. We are remodeling Claire's room that is why it was such a mess. If you watch it on Youtube it is in HD and shows more of the screen.

Dove Chocolate + Claire =

Claire got ahold of some Dove Chocolates when we laid her down for her nap. A few minutes later she was crying and we found her like this in her bed. 
Sorry Steph we got some chocolate on your cute shirt.....We will try to get it out.

First Fathers and Sons Campout

Lincoln and I went to the Jemez mountains with our ward to camp out. It was a great time. 

Lincoln fell sound asleep after I read him some books with help from the light of my iPhone. when he was ready to go to sleep he said "Daddy can you shut the door?" I told him "The door is shut." He then said "No daddy shut the door so we don't hear those people by the fire."
Lincoln actually wanted to make his own PB and J. It was fun to see him make it himself and he ate the whole thing. Good job Lincoln!
There were two really unique tunnels we drove through. Many movies are filmed in New Mexico and I have not seen this movie but in 3:10 to Yuma they filmed a scene in this tunnel. 

Yes another Dancing Video...

We watched Slumdog Millionare a few weeks ago and we loved the music. I bought the CD and Lincoln and Claire love to dance to the music. Here is a fun clip of Lincoln showing off his fancy moves. 

May 09 Sports Update

Okay so I love sports. I hope Lincoln loves sports and enjoys playing someday. I won't really push him but I definitely put opportunities to play and I encourage him when he plays. He really enjoys all sports now and is actually very good for his age. His golf swing is very natural. We have so much fun together and I am grateful I can spend so much time with him. Here are some clips from when we were playing in the backyard tonight. 

Pony Rides With Mom

Leslie has been taking fridays off lately at work and using it as "Date Day" Last week they went to a place down the street and did had some pony rides. Leslie bought him a little cowboy hat and they had a great time on a horse named "Snickers". 

Goodbye Lizzy

Liz has been our Nanny for the past five months. She left this morning for St Thomas, an island in the Caribbean. She will be back the first of 

September. We will miss her. Here is a little video we made for her.

Having Fun

I snapped a little video of Lincoln dancing yesterday so I put a few different videos and 

pictures together of the kids having fun.

Through the eyes of a three year old

So Lincoln decided he wanted to take the camera and shoot some pictures. I thought it was fun and interesting to see what things he took pictures of. Unfortunately for me (and fortunately for you:) this blog only allows me to include five pictures at a time so here are some of my favorites. 

The first picture is from off the deck looking at the backyard. We had just finished making some yummy smores by the fire. I thought he was going to drop the camera off the deck but he did a great job. Beautiful New Mexico day.

Here is a little pinwheel we have in the dirt in our backyard. Lincoln must like it.

Nice hand painting on the ground Lincoln made yesterday with sidewalk chalk paint.

This home we live in was built in 1981 and there are random strange artwork pieces throughout the house that all the owners have left for the next owners. This strange one sits in the fireplace in the backyard......I know very strange....I don't know how I feel about it so I took it out and put it on the side of the fireplace. Lincoln took a shot of this and the shells that were in it. 

This one is pretty funny. Go ahead...look close, there is an airplane in the sky flying over our home. 

Swimming Pool Fun

This one Lincoln likes to call "Slamma Jamma!"

This little girl is not afraid of anything!

It is 73 degrees today which feels like 90 to us. We decided to bust out the blow up swimming pool.....I need to emphasize the blow up part. It was quite the task. The water from the hose is extremely cold but that is not enough to stop a three year old from playing in the sun and having fun! He loves it. We love the year round moderate temperature here in Albuquerque. 

Random Events in Our Life

I just downloaded some pictures from my phone from the past few months so I thought I would post some random stuff to give you a glimpse into our life.

Lincoln loves going to Best Buy and we play "Rock Band". He loves the drums and I play the guitar. Leslie will never let us have a video game system in our home and I am happy about that. I would stay up all night playing college football or something. So we make at least one trip a week to Best Buy to play the drums and college football on the playstation. Here Lincoln is rocking out!!
Yes, I know this one looks pretty gross, like a big egg. I had just returned from the grocery store, Claire was sitting in her Bumbo on the kitchen counter. I set a few of the bags on the counter and when I wasn't looking Claire decided the milk carton looked like something fun to play with. She pushed it off the counter and it exploded on the floor. Leslie and I laughed pretty hard. Lincoln saw our joy and excitement, or approval of Claire so he climbed on the counter and pushed the huge orange juice carton off the counter! We were not as happy with him. It splashed thirty feet to the front door, on the ceiling and everywhere. That is how we ended up with this attractive picture. Gotta love kids!
We went to Orlando and were too cheap to go to Disney World so we went to the free downtown Disney. Then we took a picture of Lincoln with Goofy in the airport. Some day when they are old enough we will take them to the real Disney World.
Lincoln, Liz and I went bowling a few weeks ago and we had the bumpers up. Lincoln rolled the ball all by himself and so did Lizzie. They were both really trying and it was awesome when Lincoln beat Lizzie by one point!! Way to go buddy!!!
While Leslie was at Jazzercise the other day I took Claire to Target. I like to take her out when I have her and buy her an outfit. Isn't that what Dads do for their little girls? I strapped on the seatbelt on the cart and I thought she looked pretty cute and funny so I took a picture.

The Boys Golfing

It is really fun watching Lincoln golf. He is a Lefty and for a three year old he is a pretty good golfer! He loves the driving range with his snoopy golf clubs. I am excited for him to be older so we can golf together.

Messy Eater

If there is one thing to know about Claire it would be that she loves to eat! This girl is so chubby and has so many rolls on her legs. It is so cute! Here she is enjoying some food a couple of days ago.