Whew, it was hot today!

And this cutie loved every minute of it.

Turn your head for a second and . . .

Sousa's ranch in Missoula, MT

We stayed at Ted Sousa's parents ranch in Montana again.
I think Belize needs a ranch in our backyard, she was in heaven.

Little cook

Making blueberry muffins with our sweet neighbor Jeanine.

Silverwood

On the way home we met up with Nana, Grandpa, Uncle Kyle and Aunt Sarah at Silverwood water and theme park to celebrate Sarah's 16th birthday!! "16 is the magical age"! Belize did great at the park and enjoyed all the little rides (notice her face in the pictures, looking petrified but she always wanted to go again, except for the Log Flume which she cried (see video).) She ended up falling asleep on Grandpa's shoulder after playing in the water, it was precious.

Bye Bye Wyoming!

You know you are in Wyoming:

*If the speed limit is 20mph downtown.
*A car straddles two lanes while driving down the road . . . and people don't honk at them!!!
*Dirt seems less dirty- because its everywhere!
*Those cute little Bambis start to look like pesky rodents.
*People take their dogs on walks w/out plastic bags.
*It is highly acceptable, even encouraged to wave to anybody on the street.
*The first sunday you attend church, people invite you over for a BBQ.
*Your neighbors bring you food
*Mostly lots and lots of meat (they most likely shot themselves).
*If you start to start to love all the beautiful open spaces, the lightning storms, fresh air and friendly people.

We've come to love you Wyoming and we'll be missing you when our hectic and crazy life returns.

Belize has been up to all sorts of monkey business lately. She can successfully climb in and out of her port-a-crib (my solution- tie the handle of her door to the stair railing with a sheet to lock her in until she climbs back into bed and goes to sleep). Mwaa-ha-ha-ha! She can lean out of the toy car attached to the shopping cart, discretely take fruit snacks off a nearby shelf and open them (so I HAVE to buy them!! How does she even know what fruit snack boxes look like.) And we have this conversation all the time:
Me- "Belize, can you say (new word)?"
Belize- "Yeah."
I'm sorry, when did you turn into a teenager?

What girl doesn't want to strip down and run through the sprinklers? This is the only semi-modest shot I was able to capture. Belize and I visited great-grandma Gregg in Ten Sleep one last time before we leave. It was so much fun, we love hanging out with Grandma. Every time I visit, I am reminded how much I love and look up to her as an example of what a woman should be like. Grandma Gregg is truly one of my heros and one of the strongest, faithful, amazing women I know. May Belize strive to be like her.

Pregnant or just me?

And before I knew it, it was empty . . . huh.













Okay, you can barely see in this picture but there is a red dot on my leg, kinda looks like a blood blister but not raised. Is this from being pregnant? Is this permanent? Can I make it go away? Are red dots going to cover my legs until I look like a giant red lobster? Pregnant ladies- please help!

Sunday photo shoot

Sometimes when Belize wears a new dress, I go a little crazy with the camera, just call me- Mom.
Belize starts by combing the grass for bugs, she LOVES to watch them and I have to remind her not to eat them. Then she just runs around and so do I, trying to catch a cute moment. Note: the one picture she's smiling in is fuzzy because she's running away. :)

When I grow up

It's fun to wonder what Belize will enjoy doing when she grows up. There are so many possibilities but i think today it's gymnastics.

Surprise!!! We got a puppy!!!!! . . . . technically our roommate Ben got a puppy but we get to help take care of her for a few weeks. Her name is Chessa, she's a 9 week old field golden retriever. She's an excellent dog as far as puppies go with little accidents and a whole lot of cuteness.










In the dog house!
















Going "night night" in Chessa's cage, which Belize LOVES to play in, maybe we need a cage at home!

Lake De Smit

I think Belize is a little sick of driving in the car because she gets this face on as soon as we start the car. The other day we caught her singing along to her CD, "Sesame Street" usually catching the last word each phrase. :)





















Brannon rolled up his shorts and went fishing
in Lake De Smet with Ben. Belize thought she would be like her dad and walked right into the lake, shoes and all.
























Hmmmmm, elk steaks courtesy of Dr. Hiller!

Oh preciousness!!!

Her 1st dress-up! Belize loved her little outfit and walked around on her tiptoes the rest of the evening. :)

Answering Machine- Hey Gorgeous!

Rarely do we receive a call on our land line except Brannon from work or my mom . . . so Brannon was very surprised to get our answering machine for the first time and hear this. It's so classic that we've decided to keep it just the way it is.

At Whitney Park there are fountains that shoot out the ground about every 20 minutes, all the kids love to play in them - except Belize, she prefers to play in the puddles when they turn off.

Bighorn Bust

Lesson learned: do not take a one and a half year old on a scenic (no matter how short) drive. In good news- Belize made it all the way through nursery without parental support!!! Brannon and I made some friends at church who invited us to a multi- Family Home Evening. Bad news- I spent the entire FHE in our new friends bathroom with food poisoning (not from their food, thankfully).

Yee haw!

This is at the hot springs in Thermopolis. We rode with Belize on the slower water slide and she kept saying, "whoo hoo". It was adorable! Why am I so ghostly in this picture, oh yeah, I'm pasty! Belize's turning into a little fishy, we're visiting the YMCA pool a few times a week.