Is Everybody Happy?

This is what I get to look at practically all day long, every day. Luke is the happiest baby; smiles and laughs at everyone or at nothing at all. We are continually amazed that we have the privilege of being his parents. Eric insists that, objectively speaking(!) he is the CUTEST baby alive. Also adorable is the way Tiana fusses over him and talks to him...

Campout

Last weekend was the ward campout - yes, it takes an organized activity these days to get us to camp - and Tiana had a ball. Eric wasn't as pleased with the crowded, loud conditions, and Luke and I wish we could have stayed overnight. Luke was an angel all day and late into the evening as I ran around with him in a frontpack trying to stay organized (can I say that being ward activities committee chairman is sometimes a singlehanded-experience? Not really but sometimes it feels that way.) Our little Junebug couldn't get in enough exploring while Luke found a friend in sleeping Stephen Ceraso. Precious!

Capsized!

So we took Tiana canoeing down the Provo river with Luke's birthmom Mandy and her brother Matt when they came out mid-August. We also dragged dad and our friend Bud with his kids Jake and Madi. It was an awesome afternoon; we're all just having a grand ol' time on the river, and all of a sudden, with no apparent cause, Bud's canoe (which had all 3 kids aboard happily squirting each other with water guns) tipped. All the way over. We are all still bewildered as to why on earth they capsized. Nevertheless, thankfully Bud and his brother Ben had their wits about them and scooped the kids into their arms before they were all completely submerged and lost in the current. Eric quickly maneuvered his canoe with Matt and Mandy aboard to the riverbank and swam out to help bring the kids in. I, on the other hand, had a slight panic attack and capsized dad and my canoe (much to dad's dismay - sorry!) in the process of trying (hopelessly) to "save" my brave daughter. We were almost to the takeout, thank goodness, and cookies, cheetos and hotdogs miraculously cured our 3 musketeers of their shivers and wailing. At the end of the day, Tiana's comment was that she prefers canoeing on lakes, where you never capsize, and can we please go to a lake instead of a cold river next time???

Ride 'Em Cowboy!

Actually, all we rode were the carnival rides at the county fair. Tiana wanted more, but Eric was done after the first one. Weak stomach? We met Justin and Megan and Molly there and had a grand ol' time! Hot scones and some rodeo watching were the perfect end to the evening.

Huckleberryin'!

Eric had to work last week (we missed him!) so the kids and I hitched a ride with grandma and grandpa to Soda Springs to spend some time with great-grandma and head to the mountains in search of huckleberries. I'd been looking forward to this trip all summer. "Huckleberrying" is a family tradition that I love - there's nothing like going to the mountains, knowing the location of the best huckleberry patch (this is information not known to the common U.S. citizen), and spending the morning with people you love seeing who can gather a full gallon bucket first. As I overheard grandma consoling Tiana in the patch after she'd taken a fall among the huckleberry bushes, "You can break your leg in a fall on the mountainside, but don't lose the berries in your bucket!" I was so excited to introduce Tiana to this family tradition and she graciously embraced the experience with as much enthusiasm as I hoped she would. Derek already knew what huckleberries are and where to find them, and it was adorable to watch them and cousin Harrison pick 'em and eat 'em and try to keep a few in the bottom of their buckets.

There's lots to do in Soda, if you're lucky enough to have grown up knowing all of this small town's secrets. We did it all - walked to Hooper, visited the famous Soda Springs geyser, the cemetery where our ancestors are buried, canoed the Bear River (we saw elk, a sunken "pirate ship" row boat, Canadian geese and even pelicans!) and of course ate like kings, courtesy of grandma. Nothing beats her homemade fudgecicles and icebox cake! As I considered this past week why I love Soda so much, I came to the conclusion that it's one of my most favorite places because it's been a constant in my life. Everything else has changed, but Soda has always been there. Same familiar sights, sounds, feel, even smell. As I watched Tiana explore grandma's house with her cousins and delight in the natural soda water spring and playground at Hooper, I caught myself hoping that she will grow to love it as much as I do.

For pictures of our Soda Springs adventure, see our web album!

We've arrived!

So this has been a rather eventful (understatement!) summer for us, with the arrival of Luke and all that comes with having your first newborn. To catch you all up on the mundane trivialities of our adjustment to this new phase of life would be long and redundant, if not boring. Let it suffice to say that we are now, at 7 1/2 weeks, loving that little Luke is almost sleeping through the night, smiling almost on demand, and finally beginning to chunk up. Tiana has experienced her first haircut worth mentioning, Eric is dedicated as ever to his roadbike, and I have gathered enough control over my homemaking and mothering skills to finally(!) bring our family into the blogosphere(I know, you thought it would never happen....where's the faith?) Let the blogging begin!