Home again

Well, we made it back to Jackson. We had a great visit with my family - I have never seen my parents SO in love! What a beautiful thing! David was home as well, so he also got a little Maddie love. Above are a few pictures of family, and of our friends Regan, Ben, and their daughter Nia (16 mo.). They are friends from Cornell who have just moved to Anchorage - lots of fun to visit them in their new home and to see Anchorage through fresh eyes!

Madelyn did a fantastic job on the plane - she slept an hour or so, and needed constant moving/entertaining, but was fairly content and our seat neighbors exited the plane with smiles on their faces. Whew!

Just a quick post

What a quick week! So much fun to see Maddie with everyone, and to watch her experience so many new things (a pool, johnny--jump-up, naps with grandparents, crashing weddings, nearly constant daylight, a walk or two in the rain, etc!) We are flying out tomorrow morning to head back to WY. We have taken a gazillion pictures, but here is a quick family photo plus what ever else was on my mom's computer! More to come when we get back home.

Anchorage!

We made it to Lisa's parents place after a long day of travel. Madelyn did as well as expected on the plane. She slept about half of each leg from Idaho falls to Anchorage. She was very interested in traveling safely on the plane as seen in the photo. All in all it was a good adventure and we were all ready to be off the plane in AK!

Targhee Music Festival

Madelyn has officially attended her first concert, the three of us went to the Targhee Music Festival. We went to the first night of the three day concert and met Kevin, Laura and Hazel there for a little Martin Sexton (highly recommended)and needless to say she had a great time as did the rest of us! We are heading off to Alaska to visit Lisa's Family on Saturday. Madelyn's first flight!

Sunday in the Park

Today we got out and did a short portion of the String Lake trail in the Park... short, because it took us so darn long to gear up!? Diaper changes, nursing, more diaper changes, fine-tuning sun protection for Madelyn, packing all of the "must haves," etc. Ah, life at a slower pace, I supposed we should get used to it!

It was a beautiful sunny day! Everyone coming the opposite way on the trail kept oohing and aahing about Maddie's sunglasses. They are pretty cool, I must say! After a quick stop at Dornan's for a snack, Michael met up with Aaron to "test the waters" and go fishing for the first time this year! Yahoo!

Maddie and Lucas playdate

Last night we went on a great walk with our friends Cindy, Matt, and baby Lucas. Cindy and Matt were in our birth class, and little Lucas arrived 3 weeks before Madelyn. After our walk, we came back in to warm up and Lucas gave Madelyn some pointers on rolling from your front to your back, while Maddie swapped tips about moving from back to front. We'll see if any of it sank in!

The Big Roll

An Evening Hike

We are still discovering great hikes in East Jackson, straight out the front door... tonight we hiked a trail called Put-Put which goes from our neighborhood up the south side of Cache Creek. With all of the spring rain we had, the wildflowers are beautiful! Mule's Ear, Yellow Paintbrush, Sticky Geraniums, Wild Roses, Lupine, Gentian, Scarlet Gillia, and more!

A nearly-there roll

Madelyn meets Hazel!

Last night we went out to Kelly to visit our good friends Kevin, Laura, and their new baby Hazel. Maddie had pretty much slept through her prior 2 visits, but seemed genuinely interested in meeting Hazel (again) last night. We've already got grand visions of sending the girls to camp together (while parents get together for a camp of their own!). How fun to have young girls together and to have good friends out there in the world to help us through the question marks in life.
Check their blog for more Hazel pictures: www.kevinhaspela.blogspot.com


Other news... hmm, well, for the past week we have all three been sleeping in Maddie's room while our bedroom underwent some cosmetic surgery. Maddie has been in her crib for the last week, and tonight we'll move back into our room and leave Miss Madelyn in her's! She appears to love it!

Just a few pictures to keep you frequenters at bay!
Madelyn continues to chat it up, and on Thursday, finally cleared her arm and rolled over. She's a one-way kind of gal - only to the left at this point. Her rolls are often accompanied with loud rally calls and shouts!

In the last few days we've been excitedly welcoming Baby Hazel Haspela into the world - she was born on July 1st, and both she and Kevin and Laura are doing fantastically. Tonight we'll head out to Kelly for a visit... pictures to come.