The Staller

Well, we're going through a bit of a rough patch at bedtime, mostly due to the fact that Maggie's pulling out EVERY, SINGLE trick to postpone going to bed, as evident in this video...feel free to enjoy it, although she is torturing her parents, it is pretty funny:)

Magnolia's Favorite Utensil

CHOPSTICKS!

FYI: I'm in a huge fight with the computer right now, and can't get some super cute videos to upload. Zac's working on getting the problem fixed, so stay tuned in the next few days!

Paint Process

Friends!

(Maggie provided the captions for each picture, enjoy!)

"Goin' potty, goin' poop. Kamlin, high five."

"playing pom-poms, my friend Bella"

"Laughin' he, he"

"playing with diggers"

Serving up some breakfast...

Thank You Wonderful Family

As we drove home from our trip I realized I had some BIG "thank you's" to send out to my wonderful family....first of all, thank you so much to Gramma-Gramma, Grandma Tara and Aunt Sara for rotating doggie sitting shifts to care for Boston during our trip. You guys are truly the best, and we really appreciate you taking such good care of our B-Dog.

P.S. We're sorry for all the bed hogging and cuddling you had to endure at night:) She's such a lover that B-Dog!

And on a more personal note...

Gramma-Gramma: Thank you for being such an amazing matriarch to this crazy family. You are truly our sounding board for ALL our issues, and there's no one else we go to first when life gets crazy and we need support. Thank you for the crazy amounts of pet sitting you've done over the last 10 years. Thank you for always keeping popsicles and strawberries on hand for your little great-granddaughter who absolutely adores you! We love you!

Grandma Tara: Thank you for loving us unconditionally, and never holding back with letting us know how proud you are, and how much you love us! Thank you for ALWAYS being the last minute babysitter, and for always supporting Zac and I to make time for each other.

Aunt Sara: Thank you for being the person I go to with pretty much everything that no one else wants to hear, or with all the stuff I can't tell anyone else. Thank you for marrying Brad, and adding a little more "male support" to the family for Zac. Thank you for loving Moo just about as much as I do!

Uncle Brad: Thanks for adoring your little niece, and pretty much being one of her favorite people EVER! Thanks for all the pure Vandal passion you bring to the family, and for all your beautiful artwork that we get to surround ourselves with!

Auntie Hailey: Thank you for loving your little Moo so much, and from so far away. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being a Vandal!!!!!!!!!!!! And thanks for your amazingly great taste when it comes to tye-dye apparel and sun glasses:)

Auntie Julie: First of all, THANK YOU for the most amazing fish tacos we've ever eaten at pretty much every family event. Thank you for all the hikes and walks (even if I was cursing at you as you practically raced up Table Rock)---hey, speaking of hikes, we need to do that very soon! Thank you for always loving us and being there for all the BIG stuff along the way...love ya.

Sage: Thanks for being so damn cute, and for being the best baby cousin ever.

Well, that's it. Not too big of a family, but there sure is a lot of love!

Love you all so!

Little Vandal Takes on Moscow

My favorite photo of the trip---nothing like a camper bath/shower:)

Maggie and I headed to the Alumni and Friends tailgate put on by the University while Daddy found a parking spot. She got to see her Joe, listen to the marching band, and get some Vandal pom-poms!

This one's for Sara: I actually told Maggie to pose for you, and that's what I got.

We're at the coop of course.

Maggie and Daddy watching the football game

Hiking up the hill to the Kibbie Dome after half time

Taking in Campus

Daddy and Maggie sharing some pizza at half-time

Cheering on her Vandals

Pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen:)

We did it! We went to Moscow so Maggie could attend her very first Vandal football game. We weren't quite sure if we were going to make it considering Maggie got sick on Sunday night, and after a visit to the doctor on Wednesday was diagnosed with strep again. This time it was a lot worse, with blisters on the roof of her mouth, such a sore throat she had stopped eating (our kid never stops eating), and a nasty fever. After a discussion with Dr. Kissam though, she convinced us to go ahead and go. Now that we had the antibiotic she said Maggie would start to feel better within a day. We figured, why not?, and headed out late Wednesday night.

We figured a night time drive would make things easier if Maggie slept most of the way. Maggie really did very well when she was awake, and the hardest part was when she'd fall asleep, wake up frantic, and realize she was strapped into her car seat. This happened the last couple hours of the drive, but overall it wasn't so bad, and I could get her calmed down fairly quick.

As we climbed up the Lewiston grade and Zac and I's eyes fell on the dark rolling hills of the Palouse, we saw what looked like a gigantic golden flame in the sky. We couldn't believe our eyes---it was a magnificent, HUGE, golden crescent moon. We were so amazed we actually tried to wake our sleeping child at 1am because nothing makes that kid happier than seeing the moon. She was waaayyy too tired though so Zac and I didn't get to share that amazing moon with her.

We camped at Robinson park just five miles outside of Moscow. Zac and I have a lot of college memories there, it was so fun to share it with Maggie. It of course was beautiful, and she loved taking in all the sights on the way---big red barns, farm animals, and in true Moscow fashion---a huge population of wild rabbits.

So living in Boise we get pretty excited when we see ANYTHING Vandal. Maggie will always shout "IDAHO" from the back seat whenever she sees a Vandal licence plate even. So being in Vandalville...was a bit overwhelming at first. She kept shouting "IDAHO VANDALS MOMMY AND DADDY" and pointing to every "I" around every corner. Every other person is wearing Vandal gear of course and she just kept gasping and pointing. I think Moscow felt just as much like home to her as it does to Mommy and Daddy.

The football game was fantastic. Maggie was so excited to watch the game, and of course, search for her Joe. Besides frequent trips to the potty (totally toilet trained now by the way, no accidents in over two weeks, even at night!) she kept her eyes on the game, and cheered right along with her fellow Vandals. It was getting so late we decided to leave after the third quarter and not push our luck.

Maggie's fist game: The first Vandal shut out since 1997!!!!!

Idaho: 45

North Dakota: 0

The rest of our trip we relaxed and spent our time taking our daughter to all our favorite spots in the town we love. We simply had a blast! We decided not to push our luck though and traveled to McCall Saturday evening and stayed at the Boyd family cabin. Maggie got a little beach time in this morning, and had a good lunch in McCall. Then we wrapped up our perfect trip and headed home.

We decided to go ahead and set up the loft in the camper for Maggie to sleep. I wasn't so sure about this, but Zac was right...Maggie slept MUCH better, a lot longer and much more soundly.