Camping Tastes Good!

Last weekend we took Cooper on his first camping trip. Much like the beach, he was dirty within seconds. There is a certain theme to the pictures you'll see...eating. Eating rocks, eating sticks, eating plants, eating the camping chair. The only thing we didn't take pictures of was Cooper actually eating food.

It was a quick one night trip to get Cooper accustomed to camping and to get us out of the heat. We had a great time. We saw actual stars, amazing I know. After living in Las Vegas for a few years, one can forget that the sky actually fills up with them at night; all we get to see are the lights on the strip!

On Saturday morning, we went up to the top of the mountain and took a quick hike. Charlie went with us and let us know when he was done by lying down in the middle of the trail and giving us the evil eye. We had a great time and are very excited for Cooper's next camping trip!

~Ryan and Ahna

Cooper's First Ride

While I was pregnant with Cooper, Ryan got me a sweet ride so we could take Marly out at night for exercise. Most nights we would go out bike riding with Marly for a few miles and get her good and exhausted. Shortly after receiving my shiny new bike, the baby doctor told me I shouldn't be riding bicycles anymore... for fear of losing my balance and falling three feet overboard. I'm not still upset about it or anything.

After Cooper was born, I was excited because now we could go on bike rides with him! I'm pretty sure when we were kids, Moms and Dads just put us right up on the handlebars and we had to hold on. But nowadays, that's looked down upon, so we waited until we had a proper seat and helmet for Cooper. For his birthday, Nonna and Papa and Auntie and Uncs gave him this awesome helmet! It's adjustable so he will be able to wear it more than once before his huge head grows out of it. Tonight was THE night! It has been too hot all summer to go out but Ryan got the bikes out today and got them ready.

We tried to put the helmet on Cooper before we put him in his seat, but he was not happy with that option. Once we got him settled and the helmet in place, we took off! He smiled and laughed for most of the trip!

~Ryan and Ahna

Labor Day on the Beach

Oh joy! Our friends Blake and Charity let us come visit this weekend for a quick trip to the beach! They were having a heat wave as well, but it was only in the upper 80's. The good news is that the water was the PERFECT temperature so we were able to swim and dive in the waves and have an all around great time!

Cooper loved being on the sand, this is what he looked like about three seconds into our day. This time we got to go to the Stone Brewery for dinner which was pretty nice. Cooper was in rare form so I spent most of my time letting him walk barefoot all over the place. I'm sure some of the looks I got were due to mothers wondering where his shoes were. To be totally honest, we only have one pair that actually fits, it's a flip flop type shoe and he has trouble walking in them so I just leave him barefoot most of the time. This wasn't a problem until this last weekend where he decided he was a marathon walker and that was all he wanted to do.

It was a great weekend with friends and so much fun at the beach!

Zion!

A few weeks ago we had the chance to leave this horrid weather and travel a couple hours north to Zion. We got to stay in a great hotel that we stayed in a few years ago and just hung out. They happened to be having the 'hottest day of the year' there, which was of course delightful seeing as how that's what we were trying to get away from. But Ryan had to work so Cooper and I hung out in the pool. The next morning we went to a Farmer's Market and let Cooper play in some grass. It could have been the highlight of his life thus far considering he had just started walking and was able to touch grass! Can you imagine?? We can't because there isn't much grass in Vegas. We have a two by two foot patch of it in our front yard, but I'm fairly certain that doesn't count.

That same weekend, we had a baby shower for our friend Julie and her husband Ryan. They are due in October! It was great to have people over and talk about fun things like babies and labor and the sheer joy of those first few months, HA!

The very next weekend we drove down to Phoenix for KARA's 30th birthday! She looked gorgeous and Ryan and I had a great time hanging out with her and some other friends. We spent our day in the pool with Auntie and Uncs. Cooper really seems to enjoy the water. He's a little too fearless with his stepping off the pool bench into nothingness. I guess he just trusts that someone will be there to catch him! He's gone under a few times but knows how to put his arms up and cough out all the water! It was so much fun spending the day with Auntie and Uncs and the great news was that Cooper loves Uncs again! Last time he saw Uncs it was touch and go but Cooper totally redeemed himself that weekend and even laughed at Uncs in the pool. Here are some photos.

Cooper continues to develop his passion for household chores. When I was sweeping the kitchen the other day, he grabbed the Swiffer and started to mop for me. I can't say this upsets me and hopefully in a few years he will find this activity equally as exciting.

~Ahna

The Four Of Us

About Us...

We are Ahna, Ryan, Cooper, and Olivia. We try to always be looking for the next adventure, and when we find one, we share the stories here. Our family is spread all over the place, so this is how we keep everyone updated.