Family Reunion

We were finally able to attend the annual Warde/Curtis family reunion in the mountains near Vernal, Utah. It had been three years since the last time we were able to make it. There were only a few hours of dry weather during the three days we were there. We've ever been exposed to so much wet weather while on the mountain. We had one big break from the rain (3 hours or so) on the 4th of July during which we dried out our socks and shoes by the fire.

Ethan enjoyed the country store that they have for children. At the country store, the kids can buy little toys and candy. Along with a marshmallow gun and a lot of candy, Ethan picked this cool monster truck that sticks out its tongue. He also had to wear Mommy's jacket since his got soaked the first night camping.


Ethan enjoyed playing and getting warm around the fire.


Check out the hail! We were able to escape the severe weather by hanging out in Grandpa Dennis' new camping trailer. We were lucky that our tent and sleeping bags stayed dry.


During our long 3 hour break from the rain, we headed over to the water pump, which Ethan thought was very cool. We were able to get some great shots of the campsite. With all of the spring and summer rain of this year, it was especially green and beautiful.

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

It's hard to believe that Ethan has been a part of our lives for 4 years now. He's getting so tall and so independent. He makes us laugh with his grown-up expressions like "You foiled my plan" and "That's very impressive." It truly is a joy to be a parent.

Ethan got a new bike for his birthday after learning all the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make (he finished the final two last night). We were afraid that it would take him a little while to figure out how to pedal a bike since he refused to pedal his trike, but he got the hang of it after only a few minutes.





He also received an apron for his birthday since he enjoys helping in the kitchen and always asks to wear one.

Cory's Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Cory's birthday by playing a little miniature golf at Cornerstone Park and going to dinner at Chili's Restaurant after that. It was Ethan's first time golfing, and we all had a good time.

Oh, what form!


Cory's making sure that Ethan has good form too.


A hole in one! Yeah, right!


After church today, we invited our good friends Curt, Alicia, and Nathan over for a picnic birthday dinner. Ethan and Nathan enjoyed eating their corn on the stairs by our apartment. We get a kick out of little Nathan who can't make a "ka" sound so he says "porn" instead of "corn." It gives us a good laugh.

Planting Our Garden

Thanks to our good friends, the Millers, we were able to get a garden plot at the "Little Pea Patch" in Littleton. Today we planted all of our veggies (corn, peppers, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and tomatillos). We thought the process of planting would go faster, but we underestimated the time we would need and didn't finish planting until after dark.

This will be our first gardening experience so we just hope that none of our plants die. We're sure that we'll make some mistakes along the way, but it'll be a great learning experience. Can't wait to eat some fresh, home-grown veggies!


Our good friend, Camille Miller is also planting her garden. They got a big plot this year and are letting us use half.

Thanksgiving 2008

Once again, we were on our own for Thanksgiving this year. With finals around the corner, we couldn't afford to take time for the drive to Utah to see family. Despite the fact that we spent the day away from family, we fixed an entire Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed spending time as a little family. Ethan was definitely great help with the preparations. We didn't realize how time consuming fixing Thanksgiving dinner could be.

Urban Camping

Happy Anniversary to us! Cory and I went out to celebrate our special day over the weekend but spend our actual anniversary chilling out at home. After dinner, we built a fire and roasted marshmallows. That's what we call "urban camping." Our roasting sticks are stored in Utah so we improvised by soaking bamboo skewers in water and taping them together. Hey, it worked, and the marshmallows were delish!

House of Bounce

For playgroup, a bunch of us in the ward took the kiddos to a place called House of Bounce. The kids and parents can play on several inflatable bounce thing-a-ma-bobbers. We had our first snow today so this was a perfect activity to keep the kids active and warm. In addition to being fun, I think we got a good workout.



Ethan was too scared to go down the slides forward so he slid down on his stomach.