party pics

We had a wonderful birthday party. At the end when we were getting ready to leave, I tried to go out a door closer to our car and inadvertently set off an alarm (in my defense, it was only marked "EXIT" with no alarm warnings or emergency exit sign). Alex does not like loud noises, especially surprises. On the way home Bryan asked if she had a good party. She said no, because of the alarm. Despite that, I think she had a very good time, even if she won't admit it. :-) And I very much enjoyed her chocolate cake!

birthday girl

newborn


first birthday


age 2


age 3


age 4


age 5

How the time flies by.

Summer pictures - July 2009

Pictures from this summer. I lost most of them from my computer crash, but here are a few, including the Peltiers.

18th Anniversary

We celebrated #18 both with and without the kids. A TIME magazine article came out the same week as our anniversary with a cover story on marriage (and how it is under siege). It reminded me how grateful I am for our marriage, and I decided I want the kids to see it as a family holiday at least as important as a birthday. So we got red and white balloons, a "sweetheart cake" from Baskin Robbins, lit 18 candles and sang "happy anniversary" to ourselves with the kids. Then we got a babysitter and enjoyed dinner out and a long walk in a beautiful park at sunset.

I forgot to take pictures but I will try to remember that next year.

Squaw Valley - Billharz Family Reunion

We spent a fantastic week with 50 Billharzes at the Olympic Village at Squaw Valley, celebrating my parents' 50th anniversary. Mom wore her original wedding dress, which you can see in the photos. We hiked to a waterfall, biked along the Truckee River, went rafting, hung out on the beach, toasted marshmallows at the campfire, and - best of all - made lasting memories. Mom and Dad hosted an anniversary banquet and asked each of the 12 kids to share "a favorite memory or experience." I wish I had the whole thing on video - we rarely get to be together and reminisce like that and it was fun to hear what everyone remembered. Mom and Dad's first honeymoon was basically a rainy, cold camping trip so we pitched in for a surprise second honeymoon. As Chip said, it was fun to give them that because at this point it is hard for them to be surprised by anything! They will be going to Banff and surrounding area next month, and we hope for beautiful weather and good times for them. Being married 50 years is great - being married 50 years AND being able to go travel together and enjoy it is awesome!

Moab, continued

More fun in the sun...discovered Sand Dune Arch yesterday. It's a 0.2 mile hike partway between huge vertical slabs of sandstone and ending in an arch over a big hill of very soft sand. Lots of shade, more lizards and one small snake in the rock wall, and very pleasant. We hung out about an hour while the kids played and played in the sand. Like the beach without any water, more shade, less wind and of course the amazing huge slabs of sandstone representing eons of erosion.

Afterward we went out on a limb and did a 0.6 mile hike out to Broken Arch, which is not broken as far as I can tell. The prickly pear cacti were blooming, lots of different colors - yellow, pink, white - and many other flowers graced the trail in bright yellow and purple. There was more greenery than usual, I think because of the recent rains. We carried the kids part of the way but our plot to wear them out worked - again they took a very deep nap after lunch. Ahhh...

The quote of the day was Sam's - he reliably denies any questions about whether his diaper may be poopy. Bryan asked, "Sam, why do you always lie about having a poopy diaper?" and immediately Sam replied, "Becuzzz...I...WUV you!!"

The pool was not very warm our first couple days here, but they must have fixed it because last night it was very comfortable - MUCH warmer. We brought all our pool toys. Alex is really very independent in the water now - as long as she has her life vest - she likes to zoom all around on her own and jump in all by herself. The first time I saw her head go all the way under I thought, "Well, this should be interesting," but she came up grinning from ear to ear. She is ready for swimming lessons - wish I could teach her but I'd really like her to learn to swim. :-)

Sam is just getting used to floating on his own, but isn't as adept as Alex yet - he rolls in the life vest and his face goes right in the water. He does love holding on to his inflatable ring though, and gets mad if we try to hold on to him. Every day the pool is a highlight. There is sand in the bottom of it but I guess this is Moab, where people come off the trails and bring it in with them.

fun in Moab

Vacation in Moab. FUN!

Will need to post pictures later - currently they are trapped in the camera in the same room as 2 sleeping kids.

I don't think we've been here since before Alex. We've enjoyed surprisingly mild temperatures (50's to 80's) and some equally surprising afternoon rain showers. Refreshing. This morning we took the kids on their first hike in Arches, exploring the Courthouse Wash. It's a soft sandy creekbed next to a canyon wall - shade and trees much of the way - and we really had a great time. Alex loved it, loved squishing the red mud between her toes, walking in her bare feet, chasing lizards and tadpoles and water striders, and playing in the mud and sand while telling me long, involved imaginary stories. She did not like the live crawdad Bryan picked up, though. Sam, suprisingly, was pretty squeamish about the mud and wanted to be carried a lot of the way. WTH? Since when does Sam care about getting his feet a little wet? Go figure.

Anyway, we also explored the Ranger Station where we got to imprint Play-Doh with animal tracks and play with various types of rubber animal poop. We even brought the plasma cars and ranger station has a nice patio perfect for zooming around on them. After all that sun and fun, Sam actually stayed in his seat during most of lunch. :-) We got pineapple sorbet and browsed the used bookstore, where, incredibly, I found a used hardback illustrated (animated comic-book style) story of the "Robin Hood of Korea." It's over the kids' heads now, but they will probably like it when they're older. The author grew up in Korea as the daughter of medical missionaries and studied Korean painting...what a find for Moab. We bought some other books and went back to the hotel room and both kids drifted away looking at their new books.

The pool here was advertised as "heated" but if it is, it's not very warm. Well, other than that we can't complain. The hotel serves us fresh baked cookies every afternoon and a continental breakfast every morning. So far, fabulous.