Summer Fun

The summer has flown by for our little family in a flurry of yard work, car buying, outings to the park, chasing Will around the world, and a last-minute getaway to Park City last weekend. Here's a little overview:

Will continues to get bigger and more independent every day. As of a week ago, he was 33 1/2 inches tall and weighed 25.2 pounds. He also wears a size 6 shoe, which I'm told is pretty big for a 15-month-old. 

He has LOVED digging in the dirt while Graham and I work in the yard...or at least try to while keeping track of Will. He has officially claimed my garden trowel as his own little shovel. In fact, he was thoroughly offended when I tried to use it yesterday.

He loves to have his own plate and spoon, although he still sometimes puts the Cheerios on his spoon with his fingers before lifting the spoon to his mouth. Baby steps though. He's proud of himself for every spoonful that actually makes it to his mouth, and so am I.

He's also discovering the joy of play dough. He thinks it's pretty funny when I roll little balls or snakes for him to play with. I love watching his excitement at new experiences and discoveries.

We've tried to get in as much sunshine as possible this summer (gotta build up a good store before winter), and we've enjoyed trips to Wheeler Farm and multiple parks near our home.

I can hardly believe how big this kid looks strutting down the sidewalk all by himself!

Last weekend, we headed up to Park City to stay with some of my family at a condo my parents rented there. It was so fun to spend a couple of days together uninterrupted--a rarity these days. I'm more committed than ever to making a real family reunion happen next summer. In the meantime, we enjoyed this small weekend trip. 

We did some hiking...

And I had fun trying to capture shots of some of the beauties of nature...

See the bee in this next picture?

Doesn't this just capture the essence of America?

It was all a little much for Will. Good thing the hiking backpack is a comfortable spot to take a nap.

We also spent a fair amount of time lounging around the condo, eating food, and relaxing in the hot tub.

Great weekend, and a nice break from all the yard work we've been doing lately. There's still a lot more to do, but our yard is finally starting to take shape. I'll post pictures once we've made some more visible progress.