Adoption Day!

Last week Matt and I had the opportunity to go to court to finalize our adoption with baby O. Our beautiful birth mom and her parents attended the big event at the courthouse with us. It was a happy event. That day increased the gratitude and love we have for our birth mom and her decision to help us become a family. 

Another Trip to San Fran

Matt and I made another quick trip to San Fran this month. Matt's sweet grandma lives there and we were excited to bring our little baby girl for the first time. Grandma D babysat our little one while we took the BART train to catch a Giants game.  So glad Grandma had tons of fun with our little bug while we were gone.

 I love AT&T Park. I don't know if there are any other ball parks as pretty. Matt calls it sacred ground. I just love to take in the views of the bay, the smells, and the sounds of the game. No matter who you cheer for, everyone should take a trip to see that marvelous field. 

 Here are some photos of our short trip.

A New Marine

My youngest brother just graduated from Marine boot camp in San Diego, CA. We met my parents there to attend the ceremonies. I can't believe my youngest sibling is a marine. He has grown up so fast. His demeanor had definitely changed from before he joined the Marine Corps. He seemed positive, self confident, and excited to do his best. I probably sound like one of those "Join the Marines" commercials, but I was surprised at how proud of him I was.

Dad and little brother below. TWINS! Same squinty eyes and same shaped nose. I love those guys.

Graduation day was a humid and hot day. Our little baby was sweating pretty bad. It's obvious how uncomfortable she felt in the picture below. Poor little bug. She was a good sport about it all. 

My parents, little brother, and us after the graduation. Grandpa and baby girl playing in the shade in the bottom photo. After our visit, my parents got teary eyed. They only do that because they have to part ways with that sweet little chubby cheeked infant. It's a recent occurrence now that she's in the picture.

Little Traveling Peanut

Our little bug is growing up. Not only does she sit up in a high chair and eat flavorless rice cereal, she also travels all over with us like a pro. 

Last month we had the chance to fly to my hometown and see my family. As a family, we all drove to southern Idaho to go on a backpacking trip together in the Sawtooth Mountain Range.

Below is a photo of one of my brothers and my baby girl hanging out by the lake the day before our trek. We hiked those mountains in the background of the photo.

The meadow below had several beaver dams in it. It was about a seven mile hike to see those dams. Baby girl hiked with me and was happy and chatty the entire time. An expert hiker, just like her Grandpa and Grandma (below).

Little bug got lots of outdoor time with my family. Grandpa loved loved loved to feed her in the woods next to the cabin where we stayed. It was so fun to watch. 

Dad rented a cabin on the lake for Mom and our little girl to stay at while the rest of us went on our trek through the Sawtooth range. Below is a photo of the drop off point where a shuttle boat took us to begin our trip. The trailhead is not accessible by car, so the only way to get started was to pay the boat driver. We had to tell him what day and time to pick us up after our hike too. Such a remote place made you feel pretty secluded but also excited to be away from everything.

We made a lot of stops on our way through the mountains. Dad liked to get his trail book out and look at how far we had travelled and see what landmarks were coming up. My poor brother lost his cell phone at a waterfall at one of our stops. He thought it would be a good idea to walk down a waterfall and take a picture at the same time.

We hiked to a lake called Alpine Lake. It took us about 4 or 5 hours to get there. It was so peaceful. There was nobody else around for miles and miles. We hiked around the entire lake and did not see another person in sight.

Below are my Dad, sister and brother.

Our base camp (below).

I love how excited Dad gets whenever we go camping/hiking. He loves to backpack and often goes alone to explore places through the northwest US. So grateful for his love of the outdoors and the love he instilled in us for exploring beautiful places. 

Below is a picture of him and I on part of our trail through the Sawtooth range.

Dad took us to a fishery on the Salmon river after our hike. It was fun to see all the salmon. The Kokanee salmon turn a brilliant red just before they spawn. Dad grew up visiting this river with his father. It's fun to see all the places he enjoyed seeing as a kid. Dad talks a lot about the salmon and how remarkable their 900 mile journey is back to the place they were born.

Below are just some pics of our trip to my parents home before we took off for our backpacking trip. We hung out on the lake near their home…a lot. Baby girl loved the water and got upset when he tried to take her out.

Adoption Reunion!

Matt and I made a trip north to visit the birth mom of our little daughter. Miss C had not seen little girl since her birth. It was a great reunion and we felt so welcomed by our birth mom and her amazing family. Miss C's mom and dad had a great big BBQ dinner for us and all the family was there. There was a good feeling in their home. Little O has such an amazing birth family!

We are so grateful for Miss C and her love she has for little O and us. She is one of the most amazing people we know. 

To the left is a picture of little O and her birth mom's father. Who wouldn't want to have three Grandpas and Grandmas? To the right is a photo of Miss C holding her nephew and little O. Aren't cousins so fun?

After we visited Miss C and her family, we continued to drive north to see my sister and one of my younger brothers. Always great to spend time with them.

Can I just take the time to give our little baby O some credit right now? That poor girl was "stuck" in her car seat for many many hours on this trip. I would go crazy locked in that thing. But she was a trooper to say the least. She was fussy for only short bits here and there. The face you see below is what we saw for most of our journey. We couldn't ask for a better little traveler. So thankful for her happy demeanor. 

The beautiful LDS Logan temple. Such a pretty place to stop and rest in the grass. 

My mom stayed in the same hotel as us. It was nice for little O to have Grandma so close. Grandma always gets tearful when we have to part ways. She loves little O so so much. We with Grandpa could have been there too. We missed him.

Although little O displayed a great ability to be a happy traveler, we had to make frequent stops along the way. Below is a picture of one of our stops at Cove Fort, UT. Little O needed a break really badly so we decided to stop and visit this historical place. It was nice to get out and stretch our legs.

 Below: Inside one of the rooms inside Cove Fort. Baby O was extra chatty and happy during this visit. I love the look on her face.

A few days after we got home we celebrated July 4th with some friends. Baby O had fun watching the fireworks. We wanted to protect her ears so our friends let us borrow some ear muffs to weaken the loud booms. She was such a good sport! 

After a long day of pool parties, a big BBQ and continuous fireworks, little girl fell asleep fast fast fast.