First Snow

Here are a few pictures from our first snow. Eric and Hope were playing in the backyard. Notice she isn't dressed appropriately? I know, we didn't have great snow clothing. She still had a blast. Grandma McCain made the hat last year, and it fits just perfectly. Hope is now trying to get dressed by herself. That is why the hat was put on kind of funny.

First day of Nursery

This was Hope on her first day of nursery. She did really great the first day, we were there for 10 minutes, then snuck out. That was the first and the last, now she realizes we are going to leave and keeps a very close eye on us. If we get anywhere near the door, she loses it. Any ideas how to make this work????

Some more fun with Cousins

We got together with Kirsti and Mike and their three kids, Maddie, Tyler and Jeremy. We had a great time, even if we had to leave before making s'mores in the back yard. Thanks to Kirsti, we also have some new great recipes. Chelsea and Ryan and their 4 kids were also there. The kids all loved playing together.

THE sunglasses

So we bought Hope these sunglasses for $2.00 at Carters, but she will not put them down. Here are just a few of the funny pics.

Trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house

We were able to go and visit Eric's parents in Missouri in September. We had a really great time, and made some really great memories. One occasion that I wish I had a picture of was when Mom, Hope and I were sitting on the porch watching Eric and Grandpa lighting fireworks. They found one (yes a BIG firework) that had separated from the stick. They decided that it would be okay to just "stick" it back together. When the lit it, the firework flew towards us, and went off about 4 feet behind us. I was doing everything I could to get Hope and get out from under the porch. I am sure it was quite the sight. It provided a good laugh anyway.

I can't believe I let MY child walk into the gas station looking like this. We left the house very early and left her in her PJ's hoping she would go back to sleep.


Hope loves to wear other peoples shoes. This is also the face she makes when she doesn't like her hair hanging in her face.


"Helping" grandma with dishes.


Riding the horse outside a restaurant we went to.


Pictures with Grandma and Becy (I'm not sure how Grandpa avoided the camera!) and the beloved tractor rides. Her first ride, she fell asleep after not taking a nap for a couple of days. After that she loved to go and see the horses in one of the properties nearby.








I wish I had been better about taking pictures, but we all had a blast!

Kind of embarassing

So, Hope has now grown out of this stage, but not before I found myself trying to explain this odd behavior. Hope loved to stuff her onsies as full as possible with anything and everything she could find. She did it a few times at friends houses and I never quite knew what to say! I think the pictures will speak for themselves.


Once she emptied out her onsie on this occasion, I just had to take a picture of all of the stuff she had stuffed into her onsie. This was definitely one of the times she got the most in there! Someone, oh someone, please tell me that their child did this at some point!?!?

Random pics from this summer

Other random pictures.






At a park with one of her other cousin Seth.


Hope doing a sparkler with Dad.


This was a trip to Silverthorne where the Guys went fishing and the girls spent the day shopping after a fun picnic at the park. This was during the 4th of July weekend.


This is Hope having fun with some of her cousins Branton, Carter, Aubrey and Lauren. She has really come to love each of them. She loves having them all around.

Eric THE Wing King

Okay so this is really funny! This is a copy of an e-mail that was sent out to all Colorado employees at Eric's work. He was pretty embarrassed, so I think I'll just embarrass him some more...

Announcement:
Kiewit’s own Eric McCain is the first “Wing King” of Boulder, Colorado as decreed by the West End Tavern on Pearl Street.
50 wings in 30 minutes.

Way to go Eric!
Pictures attached.

They actually sent out pictures, but I can't figure out how to get them downloaded, I will work on it though! The funniest thing is if you go to the website http://thewestendtavern.com/Events/WingKingChallenge/WingKings/tabid/503/Default.aspx They asked him to take a picture, but he said he was so sick he just couldn't do it. If you notice all the other guys look pretty happy. They obviously didn't finish. If you don't do it, you pay $50.00!!! He even got the shirt to prove it!

This is how we told my parents that we were expecting. Hope is really going to be a good big sister. She loves to do any thing that she can to help.


This is a picture of one of the many ways that she loves to help. If we are carrying anything, she either has to "help" or have something of her own to carry. This was funny because she was absolutely sure that her big strong dad couldn't do it alone! She also loves to "clean" with a sponge and spray bottle. She definitelty likes to have tings in the right place. She keeps us busy in more than one way.



Obviously I am trying to get caught up, so MANY more pictures to come. Sorry it is so much at once!

Lazy way out

Okay, so I have been really excited to post some pictures that my friend Jacynthe took a couple of months ago. I have not been able to find the time to get them on the blog so I am going to tell you that if you go to the blog named This and that photography on the right--->
Then you will have to scroll down since it has been awhile. I am so grateful that she took the time to take these. She did such a great job! She took a bunch, but I think these are some of the best. Thanks Jacynthe, you are talented in many, many ways! (Photography is just one of her hobbies.)

Hope's 1st birthday and Easter

I am realizing that I really should call this Hopes Blog. Then I realized that not many people would be too excited to hear about my laundry, grocery shopping or bread making. The only real exciting thing in our life is Hope, so here's the update. Now that she is walking, I am realizing how much baby proofing we have to do still. The funny thing is that she started doing somersaults the same time she started walking. Here are some pictures from the last few months. Chelsea, I am sorry it took me so long to upload pictures of her birthday... We went to the park in the afternoon before her party.




Here are some pictures from her party. We invited our local family members. I know that the best part of the day was playing with her cousins! Don't look too close at the cake, it was my first time ever frosting or decorating a cake. I had a lot of fun doing it though!




I am realizing that I didn't take many pictures! Especially after she dug into her cake. If anyone has pictures, please send them to me. We got most of the cake eating on the camcorder, but I still can't figure out how to post from it.

Here are a few pictures from Easter. Hope had a great time with the egg hunt. Easter is a lot more fun with kids around!

Finding Joy in the Journey

Finding joy in the journey has really become my new motto. When I heard President Monson say this in conference, it really struck my mind and has never really left. I truly feel blessed to be where I am in my life. I never had a clue how much I would love my life and all of those people in it. Okay enough serious stuff! Here are some pictures from the last couple of months.

This picture is when we were waiting at the airport to go to Colton and Julia's wedding.



Obviously, we are experiencing some hair issues! Hopes hair is in a real awkward stage. to complicate things, she refuses to leave anything in her hair. As soon as I get it somewhat under control, she is pulling everything out. These are some of the "craziest" hair pictures we have. I love the picture of Eric and Hope!


This is a night that I made spaghetti and decided to let Hope have at it...

This is a day that I set a load of laundry on the couch while I was switching laundry around, Hope not only pulled a bunch of clothes down but managed to get one of Erics shirts on her.

Just a cute picture of Jordan and Hope at the wedding...