Singing

Women's Conference was amazing tonight.  I really felt the Spirit, and apparently Zuri did too, because she started singing to The Spirit of God at the end.  She had been coloring throughout the conference--we watched it online from home, so I had her stripped down to just her diaper.  I didn't think to grab my camera until she was almost done, but  I was able to catch a few seconds of precious footage!  Sorry it is so dark, I didn't dare turn on the lights and disrupt her.  Enjoy!

My Birthday

I had a great birthday this year.  J got me flowers and a new camera!  My new camera comes complete with audio for the video!  Yay!  I am so excited.  He bought my favorite flowers, stargazer lilies, and this picture is taken with my new camera!  Love the color and the detail!  On Saturday I had a girls' day out and went shopping with the girls!

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!

My new camera!  I love it--it is still so small and sleek that I can stick it in my purse and bring it everywhere!

Last week we went to my niece's birthday party and they had pony rides.  Zuri loved riding in the wagon, but her favorite was on top of the pony itself.  She threw a fit when she had to get off.  She is definitely a cowgirl in the making!

How to Train Your Dragon

This post is a little behind, but a couple of weeks ago we went and saw this movie when my dad and brother were here.  So good.  Zuri sat through the whole thing and wasn't afraid at all.  She was entranced.  The only other movie she has sat through is Up!  She did fairly well through Toy Story 3 but spent a lot of time playing in the aisle between the seats.  When she is afraid she will often have me cover her ears (she has had me do it through all the other movies we have gone to), which she didn't want me to do at all during this movie.  It was a great movie--can't wait for it to come out on DVD!  If you haven't seen it--you should, I was very pleasantly surprised!

Highlighter

Somehow, this little stinker got a hold of a highlighter.

Somehow, when she was supposed to be taking a nap, this occurred.  All over the walls and her bed...

Somehow....still haven't figured out how...

J's Family Reunion

For Labor Day weekend, we spent it up in Twelve Mile Canyon for J's Family reunion.  The elevation is 10,163, so we were up pretty high!  That is our camp in the picture.  We had a fun-filled weekend of camping, games, horseback riding, fishing, and of course, marshmallow roasting!

Zuri had tons of fun playing in the dirt and with her cousins, who were excited to see her after being in Georgia all summer.

Dirty face!  She wouldn't give me a smile--I was distracting her from playing.

 She also spent much time chasing and playing with the dogs

Sitting by the campfire...she really didn't take to the marshmallows though. 

Playing in the tent before we went to bed.  She loved the flashlight and wouldn't put it down.  She actually fell asleep with it in her hand!  Our first experience camping with Zuri didn't go so well.  She was up screaming most of the night.  We aren't quite sure what the problem was, but she had also been up all night the previous night so it wasn't necessarily camping itself...  We also had really high winds all night that would shake the tent and cause the rain fly to flap noisily against the tent, which could be a contributor to her restlessness as well.  In fact, the wind was so fierce that it split one of our tent poles and caused a tree to snap.

Games included shoe races, playing horseshoes, and of course, running the gauntlet!  J and I even won at horseshoes (it was only my second time playing--I did pretty well)!  Activities included fishing, 4-wheeling, canoeing, and horseback riding.

We went to Ferron Lake to fish, but the winds were so high that the fish were scarce.  Still, we were able to catch a few small ones.

As always, Zuri had fun throwing rocks into the water

Zuri's favorite activity, though, was the horseback ride.  She got to do a little on her own (very supervised, no worries)!  She did not want to get off the horse when it was time.  Looks like we are going to have a cowgirl!

What trip up to the mountains would be complete without a 4-wheeler ride?  Zuri even got to ride one--she just loves being outside!

 Beautiful mountain sunset

It was great seeing everyone and we had a lot of fun!

Big Girl Bed

Zuri is now in a toddler bed!  Whoohoo!  I wanted to get her into one at the beginning of summer, but our landlord in Georgia had already set up the crib for us.  So, now that we are back, we have her in the bed.  She has done fairly well in the bed over the last week.  Surprisingly, she hasn't gotten out of it, nor have we had problems of her sleeping elsewhere.  She has only fallen out once so far, and that was during her nap today.

She has been sleeping a bit more restlessly than normal, which she had started about a week before we left Georgia.  We put in a nightlight in Georgia and that fixed the problem.  So, yesterday, we went out and bought a cool nightlight for her.  The nightlight itself glows a soft blue, and it projects an image of an aquarium up on the ceiling.  She loves it.  She also slept through the night last night.  I guess she is just getting to the age where she is afraid of the dark.

Sorry the picture is fuzzy, but that is the best my camera would pick up in the dark.

Welcome Home

My brother, Shin, got back from his mission in Texas in June, but we haven't been able to see him until now.  He and my dad drove out from California to bring my car back to me (hooray!).  They had been using my car while we were in Georgia.  Last time Shin had seen Zuri, she was only a couple months old.  Shin had been a lifesaver for me while Zuri was in the hospital.

It took Zuri a bit to warm up to Shin but once she did, she was all over him.  She called him "Gee."  So now he is Uncle Gee to her!  In the  first picture above, Zuri is in mid-jump.  Her favorite thing to do is jump, especially as we are walking along.

She also enjoyed spending time with my dad--she really had fun playing ball with him.

It was a fun visit with my dad and brother--we can't wait to see them again in October!