Makenna's First Phone Call

Yep - Makenna placed her first phone call by getting her Mom's phone and pushing buttons. Result - she hit the speed dial for me :-)... Our phone rang and I thought it was Allison, but no one was there. I called back a few minutes later to find out Makenna had been playing with the phone. Her dad checked it out and lo and behold there was a call to our no. for 6 secs. Maybe next time she will say - "Hey Nana, what's up?"

Another Sleepover

Makenna came for a two night visit this time. We had her listen to Jacob's new CD. I think it passed approval!!

California Trip

We left on Saturday, Sept. 26th for a glorious trip to California. We met up with Erin and her family in Sacramento and drove to Redding for a two night stay. We visited some caverns and went to church services at the ministry school that Jason would like to attend. Next we drove to Trinidad on the coast where we explored the Redwood National forest for 2 days while returning to the comfort of our cabin at night. Just gorgeous!!!!! On to San Fransisco to scout out that city. While there, we went to a Giant's game, Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, rode a trolley, went down the crookiedest road on Lombardt. Dave mapped out a walking tour for the two of us on our last day while Erin, Jason, and Jacob went to the 49er game. Rule #1 on our vacation was that we were not to eat at any establishments that were in Iowa or Texas, hence we sampled various cuisines throughout our trip!!
The best part of the trip was spoiling Jacob ;-).

Shower Me With Love

Yep - I love my new tiled shower and floor. We had our fiberglass tub/shower taken out and had a ceramic tiled shower installed. I couldn't be happier. Our tile guy did a fabulous job and added some personal touches. I thought the clear door would bother me (I'm a tad bit modest), but it finishes the shower off nicely.

Ledges State Park

Labor Day found us at Ledges State Park in Boone. We just love to picnic and asked the Willis' to join us. We got there around 10:00 - I know that's early, but it worked in our favor, because the park was packed by 11:00. The hot dogs and smores were as good as ever. Hiking through the streams was a favorite of Makenna's, especially when her mom let her sit and play. Oooooh boy, a very big bath tub. ;-)

Sleepover

Makenna came for her first solo sleepover Thursday night. After taking a long afternoon nap the three of us took a trip to Walmart. (Makenna and I are shopping buddies and we wanted Papa to experience a trip with us) It was a beautiful evening so we also went on a stroll in our neighborhood. Bath time is so much fun with Makenna - never an idle moment in the tub - but Papa held on to her because it was constant movement the entire time. I hope Makenna enjoyed the sleepover as much as we enjoyed having her...

Iowa State Fair

Wouldn't you know the first thing we did at the Iowa State Fair was get a photo op with Cy... It was a cool drizzly day but a fun time was had by all!!! The pork tent was a must for lunch, as was taking Makenna to the Animal Learning Center. We also went through the little hands on Farm. What an educational experience for ages 2-10. Guess that's the teacher in me. I'm sure Jared will agree with me when I say the fudge brownie dipped in chocolate was heavenly ;-) Of course we did the usual - the Cultural Bldg.(saw Rosemary's 1st place painting of her 4 Aunts and the painted patriotic rock), Pioneer Hall, Ag Bldg.(the butter Astronaut was good, but thought the cow was too skinny), 4-H Bldg. (where Makenna had some walking around time), couldn't forget the animal barns (especially since they kept us dry during the brief rain). We did miss the VI Bldg. because we had to take Makenna home for a nap. However, she slept on the way to the car and was wide awake for the drive home. Guess if we had stayed and done the VI Bldg. it would have given her a longer nap. I know the attendance was down this year, but it was great not having to fight the crowd.