Dillon's Beach

On July 31st the Guthmiller Family took their first camping trip as a group of 4. It was Lucy's first time sleeping in a tent and in a bed that wasn't a crib. We were a little apprehensive to how the whole thing would go, but seeing as how there was NO extra room in the car for her Pack and Play we had to make it work. The kids made it work alright...somehow they ended up in Mom & Dad's sleeping bag in the middle of the night all three nights. Oh well...at least we were warm.

Ah, look at the lovebirds! Tyler and Aria are just the sweetest things EVER! Brooke asked them to pose and this is what Tyler did. You've gotta love that. He tells me he's going to marry her someday. If only he knew what that meant.

Lucy loved wearing her Elmo shades and playing on the beach. She had a really, really good time on the trip and thoroughly enjoyed getting FILTHY. She embraced the dirt. I think she embraced the junk food too. She was asking for chips for breakfast. I'm sure she's ready to go camping again soon.

We'll consider our first camping trip as a family of four quite a success!

July Fun

We broke out the tunnel for the kids to play in and I decided to get some cute photos of my silly squids. They were having so much fun chasing each other and "racing" through the tunnel. Tyler is very into racing these days and always has to win. Lucy has picked up on this and if she does something first (you know, once in a blue moon) she will say, "I win!" And don't you know that makes Tyler so mad!

I've been trying a new thing for breakfast...banana smoothies. Lucy has tried to help me make these on a few occasions...one time she pushed the button on the blender when the lid was off, other times she drops the banana into the blender after she's had a bite, but her recent helping hand has to do with dishing up the frozen yogurt. She wants to "help you Mommy" and scoop the yogurt. But, as you can see, it's going in the wrong place! She enjoys her morning treat while I enjoy mine.

I think we have an architect or a backyard landscaper on our hands. He built the house (with a tiny bit of help from Dad) and then all the other structures are his backyards. He's very into having backyards. Tyler is doing so well at building things and puzzles and making silly faces. Actually, he's an expert in those.

Our Family Photo

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Fireworks Spectacular!

Happy Fourth of July!

Every year we watch fireworks at the Cameron Park Fireworks Spectacular. They put on a really good show and we get to watch from a prime location. Tyler has always really enjoyed the show and couldn't stop asking, "When is it starting Mom?!" Lucy was too young to know what was going on last year, so I was interested to see what her reaction would be. From the first boom to the last (well, with the exception of when he got a neon bracelet) Tyler was enthralled with the show.

Lucy was a bit jumpy when the first fireworks went of, so that's why I had to cover her ears. (You can see Tyler clapping in the background of this picture.) Lucy did stare at the fireworks in awe, though.

Well, until she fell asleep that is!

June Pictures

Our June has been so busy! We had our trip to Oregon, Jenn's birthday, Michelle's visit, Father's Day, and 2 birthday parties...and we're not even done with the month yet! Michelle came out the weekend of the 14th and 15th. It was so good to see Joey. He's gotten so big and he sits up and crawls. Tyler just ADORED his cousin and Lucy thought he was funny. Tyler loved patting Joey's head and touching his toes. Lucy just wanted to make sure he didn't take her blanket and she was infatuated with his bottles and pacifier.

Then we celebrated Father's Day! We didn't do anything especially exciting, but the kids worked on their bikes in the garage with Daddy and that was kind of cute. Little Miss Lucy also tried a new hairstyle this month and it made her instantly sassy. Little Miss Sassy Pants is what we have on our hands now! But, pigtails are too cute, so we deal with sass. At Aria's party on the 22nd we put Matea, Bailey, and Lucy in the same monkey shirts and tried to take their picture. Of course we did it at the end of the party and that was a task! But, we got some silly pictures out of it. I guess we should enjoy the chaos...in a few years they'll be posing for these and asking if they can wear make-up!

It's A Girl!

It's a girl! This weekend we got a new puppy. Her name is Bluebelle, but we'll just call her Blue. We weren't sure if it was time for another dog, but things just worked out and we ended up with this little sweetheart. Well, sweetheart with a knack for chewing! The last time we raised puppies we didn't have children and our full attention could be given to them...this time we have some other "pets" to pay attention to! Tyler and Lucy are quite taken with Blue and really adore playing with her. Tyler says he loves her best and she's in his friend circle now.

Lucy, on the other hand, might feel differently...

Our Oregon Dunes Trip

On May 31st we embarked on a journey to Coos Bay, Oregon. We left at 4:45 in the morning, thinking the kids would stay asleep in the car for a few hours...but they SO did not do that. They did fairly well for that long of a drive, though. Lucy just needed her nigh'-nigh' (blanket), some juice, and a few cat naps. Tyler was happy watching his new Land Before Time movie over and over and over again. We arrived safe and sound (finally!)and got settled in the awesome cabin. Seriously...awesome cabin.

We spent our days letting the kids play in the yard (when it wasn't raining) while the guys rode the quads, eating fish and chips (seriously...3 times), visiting beaches, and enjoying being away from "real" life. It was a pretty relaxing trip...if you can call being around 2 grown men with toys, 2 three year olds, and 2 one year olds relaxing. :) Oregon really is a beautiful state and I would love to go back again...but maybe next time I could click my heels three times and just be there. I'm so not good in the car...

In Loving Memory...

On May 30th we lost a precious member of our family...Big Belle. It was such a devastating day for us. She didn't eat 2 meals (which was a sure sign that something was wrong because she ATE everything ALL THE TIME). By the time the vet was able to do surgery too much damage to her insides had already been done. A few weeks prior she had eaten a popsicle stick on a quest to eat a popsicle that one of the kids had been licking. It worried me, but I kind of forgot about it since she is a horse and eats everything. Um...she had 3 rocks in her stomach when they went in to do the surgery and thought that was what they were taking out.

Unfortunately, Big Belle didn't make it after the surgery. I was able to spend some time with her and tell her how much I loved her. I played with her amazing ears and she shed tears with me...I kid you not. I've never lost a pet before, so this was a very emotional experience for me. I told Tyler and he got VERY upset and then he wanted to draw some pictures to express himself. He drew a picture of Big Belle and said, "This is so that she will always be here with us." I will treasure that picture forever. Now he is very matter-of-fact about the whole thing and just realizes that we have one dog now. He wants Jesus to take care of his Big Belle for him.

Just before this happened Lucy had gotten used to feeding Big Belle in the mornings. She was becoming such a pro at walking her bowl over to the carpet and setting it down for her. Sometimes she would try and take a piece or two, but Belle never got upset with her. For being such a hound dog for food she was very good with Lucy and patiently waited for the bowl to be set down before she vacuumed up her food. Lucy is missing her morning "duties".