Road Trip 2008

We just got back from a 2-week road trip. It was a LOT of driving, but also a lot of fun. I was really good the whole trip and just started getting a bit home sick the last couple days. I won't bore you with all the details, but here's some of the highlights and pictures...

Day 1 - drove to Boise and stayed with the Piatts (daddy's friend from Pacific). I got to practice driving while we were parked at a rest stop. At the Piatt's, I played on their swing, it was so much fun. Oh and mommy got a speeding ticket and we had only made it to Hood River! Thankfully it was the only one of the trip.



Day 2 - drove to Idaho Falls to visit the Budges (daddy's sister). I entertained myself on the drive by playing peek-a-boo and reading my who loves baby book. It's a picture book that mommy made up for me. I loved flipping the pages and staring at all the pictures of family (and me!), it was my favorite toy of the trip.

Day 3 - no driving today, yippee! I got to hang out with my cousins all day. We went for a walk by the Snake River and saw Idaho Falls and fed the ducks and geese. Then we went for a pizza lunch and then back to the house to play some Guitar Hero. I also stood for the first time today all by myself. I was standing next to the couch and next thing I knew, I looked down and I was just standing there. I got so excited that I started cheering, but then I fell.

Day 4 - drove to Salt Lake and stayed with Ellingers (mommy and daddy's friend from forever). It was Tyler's birthday so Celeste had planned a surprise party and we tricked him into taking us to Charlynne's house at the right time. He was so surprised! I got my first owie of the trip when my finger got smashed in a drawer. I cried really hard, but then daddy gave me some ice and I cheered up pretty fast - I'm a tough girl. I loved playing with Noah, but he didn't seem to like me. He would always run away when I came near - I guess he didn't like me borrowing his toys.

Day 5 - Tyler showed us around Temple Square and then we drove to Arches National Park.

Day 6 - Today was our first park - Arches. It was cool because all of the major arches were close to the road, so we drove and then did short hikes. It was my first time in the hiking backpack and I loved it. I smiled at everyone who walked by and brightened their day.

Day 7 - We drove to the Grand Canyon today and I was really not excited to be back in the car. The only good part of today was we stopped at Burger King for lunch and I got my first BK crown.

Day 8 - Today was a day of accidents. First I fell off the bed and then we watched a lady back into a Harley and take off. Daddy caught a picture with the lady's license plate so we reported her to the ranger and had to hang out for a long time while mommy and daddy filled out witness statements. I chilled in my stroller in a nice shady spot. Finally we got to actually see the Grand Canyon and it was amazing. We hiked along the rim and down a little ways. Daddy and I also played a new game in the backpack - way too much fun!



Day 9 - one word for today - BORING! Mommy wanted pictures of the pretty caves with light shining through so we went on a photography tour of Antelope Canyons. Two hours standing around taking pictures, um BORING. Then daddy wanted to hike to the horseshoe bend of the Colorado River to take some more pictures, so boring I fell asleep in the backpack. Finally we drove to Zion National Park and met the Ellingers again. Now that was fun - more time to borrow toys from Noah.

I thought you'd enjoy this video too. I get a little goofy when I'm really tired.


Day 10 - Today we rode the shuttle through Zion and went hiking on the Riverside Walk and to Weeping Rock. It was really hot though, so we decided 2 hikes were enough and went back to the hotel to swim in the pool. I'm so glad the Ellingers met us in Zion, we had lots of fun hiking and playing with them.

Day 11 - Today was one of my favorite days. We met Grandma and Grandpa Richardson for lunch (Grandma was on her way to Salt Lake and Grandpa drove up just to see me). I love playing with Grandpa, he makes the coolest noises. Then we drove back to Zion and hiked the "Narrows". It was crazy, we actually hiked in the river and the cliffs were towering up around us. I was in the backpack and just barely got wet. Finally we drove to Bryce Canyon and I fell asleep.

Day 12 - We didn't do much today because it was freezing (55 after being 95 yesterday at Zion) and mommy and daddy's feet had blisters from the Narrows hike. We drove through Bryce and looked at the viewpoints, then did a short hike along the rim.

Day 13 - Today was a little warmer so we hiked down into Bryce Canyon. The rock is amazing there and we went through some cool rock tunnels. Then we drove to St. George. We brought all of our stuff into the hotel so we could repack before heading home - they must have thought we were crazy with all that stuff for just one night.

Day 14 - We had a long drive today to Tahoe. We stopped by Vegas in the morning to visit Kristi (mommy's friend from forever) and Mike and their dogs, Bernie and Sid. I love the dogs, but they were a little crazy and tried to eat me. I slept most of the drive to Tahoe, but mommy and daddy said I didn't miss much, just a bunch of ghost towns.

Day 15 - We stayed with Scott and Charice (mommy's friend from Santa Clara) in Tahoe and Scott played a fun "chase the light" game with me. We went to one of the ski resorts for lunch and rode the gondola, but we didn't get to stay long because I made a mess of my pants and we didn't bring extra. We drove into Reno for dinner with the Cards and Melanie brought me some really cool books.



Day 16 - Our last day and lots more driving. We pretty much drove all day long, except for a nice break to visit Derek and family (daddy's brother). I played with the girls in their princess playhouse. We got home at 9:00, but I was way too excited to go to bed. I crawled around and said hello to every one of my toys, it's so nice to be home!

Sorry that was so long, a lot happens in 16 days! Now on to the pictures...



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11 Months

Sorry I'm so slow to post this, we were busy on vacation (more on that later). This month was all about exploring, anything and everything in the house. My favorite things to do are empty out the diaper bag, tear apart magazines, and read my books. I love my books, I could "read" them over and over again.

I've also become more of a social butterfly this month. I learned to wave and practice for everyone. I also have what mom calls my "cheesy" smile that I show off for any stranger who will look. Then there are the crazy people who don't look and say how cute I am - I like to stare them down and yell at them.

At night I've started to sleep with bear-bear and lamby. They keep me company and snuggle with me when I wake up in the middle of the night. They even got to go on vacation with us!

I'm starting to stand by myself, although I don't do it often. It's a little scary. And I love to bob my head. I'm not doing it as much now, but this past month I bobbed my head whenever I heard music, while I was eating, and sometimes while I was crawling but then I would usually fall. My best head bob is when daddy raps in the car and I stick my neck out, pout my lip, and bob. I'll try to get a video for you because mommy and daddy think it's hilarious.



To view pictures full screen click here.