Alaskan Summer ~ catch up

   Since we arrived back to our home Ella has grown so much. She is almost 16 months old, she finished teething about 2 months ago, she has many words, she began walking at 13 months and now she only runs everywhere she goes. It took her about 2 months of walking to lose one pound and she is holding at 28 pounds. Her favorite words include zapato, banana, ball, Gordo, aqua, and leche. She has other words like pajarro but she says it differently each time. It's amazing to see her take in what I say and what Jason says and do exactly what we ask even though we speak to her in two different languages. She loves feeding Gordo and other people. She then says "yum yum yum." Her other favorite things to do include playing ball, going for walks in our neighborhood, hanging out at fish lake,  greeting people with her Hello and Hi and big smile and wave, throwing things away in the trash and turning on the washing machine. She pretty much spends the entire day talking and calling for Gordo. Currently, we are working on finishing with potty training. Ella is doing really well!

    I've had a great season so far teaching Zumba at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge and at Church on the Rock. It has been great to have a job that takes up very little of my time and where I can work out. Actually, Zumba has provided me with a physical and mental workout. I look forward to doing it again next year! I've also been able to make a better connection with several of the moms in town that have helped with taking care of Ella and she has loved all the social time with her friends. She just waves bye to me when I leave her at her friends' homes to play. It is great to see that she is comfortable.

    We had a great first Church BBQ during a Live at Five evening. It was Summer Soltice. The weather was perfect and we served over 240 meals to the community. It was something that I had been wanting to do for a while and it actually ended up being a lot bigger and more popular than I expected. We raised over $700 for it and we were able to buy great food and we had enough to last over an hour. It was so popular everyone wanted to do another one but it required a lot of planning and prepping for me so I decided to only doing once a year. I know next summer's bbq will be even better.

     I've also been volunteering and helping the Food Bank get volunteers signed up. We have a huge need here in Talkeetna.

    Jason has been having an extremely busy year at work. The weather has overall been good for flying this summer. It hasn't been as hot as last year and we have had more rain as well but its been good for flying.

Happy 1st birthday! In Hamilton, Montana

We had a great time in Montana again. I took Ella swimming at the aquatic center, we celebrated Easter and Ella's birthday at her grandmothers home, and we got to see the family. 

Ella is now 34 inches long! She has grown 13 inches since birth. I wasn't able to weight her but she is heavy! Probably 27 or 28 pounds. Her 18 month clothes are now too short and she is fitting better in 2T. She has one molar out and two more are about to pop through. She had not been a happy camper these past few days. She will have 11 teeth very soon.

Dying eggs for Easter 

First Easter Basket! 

Easter Day in the sun

She loves food! 

Birthday morning 

She was not in the mood to have her photo taken

Birthday girl! 

At great grandma's for her birthday 

Not too sure about Louie

Watching the tractor 

 

Not a happy camper! 

At Taylor's softball game

Last day with grandma Bonnie

Blood Moon and Bison at Antelope Island State Park, Utah

We did some quick shopping at Costco and IKEA. I love Costco!! 

Then we headed over to the park. 

We sat by the fire, grilled some burgers, watched a beautiful sunset and waited for the lunar eclipse and the first if four blood moons!!! 

This was taken from the inside of our airstream with my iPhone. I contemplated going outside and using my nice camera but it was way too cold for me! 

Camping buddies 

On their way to the great salt lake

After we watched the bison run down the hill and through the campground she wanted to watch them from the bed. 

Sunning bison on the salt flats of the Great Salt lake in Utah 

An Antelope 

Palisade State Park, Utah

This is how we begin each morning. Ella wakes up and throws the curtain open behind our bed. 

Then she sits and tells us about everything that is happening outside. 

We didn't drive too far today. It began snowing and the wind started blowing the second we left the park. We made it about 150 miles but it took longer than normal. We are listening to Sue Monk Kidd's "the invention of wings" audiobook. I downloaded it off Audible another Amazon company. The first book is free so it's worth a try! 

We are staying at this beautiful state park right next to the lake. We walked around the lake today in this windy weather just to get out and stretch our legs. Ella also enjoyed the playground for a little bit. 

Eating broccoli 

Playground 

Walking the lake trail 

Janice made dinner again and of coarse I ate too much. Then we watched an episode of the documentary "America,  how we were made" or something like that. Jason is letting gordo sleep inside tonight! 

Forth day in Capital reef National Park

It was an overcast cool day in the park. Jason and I drove to Torry for some groceries and Elbert and Janice watched Ella. Then we walked to the visitor center to meet up with them. 

On our way back we stopped at the Nature center. They had a ton of activities for kids and Ella loved the wall full of stuffed animals. For some odd reason she did not like the raven. She kept throwing him aside. 

We pretty much just hung out all afternoon. I cleaned the trailer while Ella napped and in the evening gordo got a much needed bath. He is happier to be clean. 

If we come back in the fall we want to stay in loop c which is in an apple orchard and I learned today that field 2 has eight varieties of apples, so it's one of the best to pick fruit. $1 per pound to collect and whatever you eat while in the orchard is free. 

Third day in Capital Reef National Park

We went for our morning hike. This is the Fremont River Trail. It was a hot morning but the temperature did cool off as clouds formed. 

We took a nice break at the top. Ella played in the shade. She can be very serious when she is in deep thought. 

Then in the afternoon Elbert and Janice joined us. We went for a drive through the park and on a little walk. The host of the campground got mad at us for reserving a spot for them! He was a bit overwhelmed with all the people wanting a camping spot. This place fills up quickly. 

Walking on an original road. 

In the evening we had dinner together and ella played in their big camper trailer. 

At night, Jason stepped on a turd that fell out of Ella's diaper. It was the funniest thing that has happened in a long time!!! :) 

Second day in Capital Reef National Park

  First thing in the morning, we walked over to the little store to buy coffee and a cinnamon roll. They sell local arts and crafts and baked goods from the nearby town of Torry in the style of the Mormon settlers that were first here. The orchard provides fruit for the baked goods. 

Eating apple, banana and cheese for breakfast. I think she is going through another growth spurt because she had been very hungry. 

Morning hike to Hickman Bridge 3 miles

Dome shaped mountains, like this one, gives this national park its first part of its name, Capital. The early explorers thought it resembled the capital building in Washington, D.C.  

Jason is taking a 360 photo

We hung out under the bridge in the shade. It's hot and dry! 

Ella says "Oooo" or "ewww" when she finds something new to touch and play with lately. It's really cute. 

Then she found these natural shelves in the rock work and began collecting things to put on them. She was having so much fun! 

It's beautiful here 

The hike back next to the Fremont River. 

The early natives here are refered too as the Fremont People. They drew different rock art, had different style homes, and different pottery and basket styles than the puebloen people (Anasazi) that we recently learned about in the other parks. Here they dug large but shallow pits for homes that they covered with juniper logs and leaves. (Instead of mud and rock buildings on the sides of cliffs) Their pots were plainly decorated and used for carrying seeds not water. They built baskets out of willow and lined it with a material that made it impermeable which they used to carry water. Small clay dolls have also been found in the area which is unique to the Fremont People. They also used an alata to kill animals until the bow and arrow was introduced. From the bones collected scientist believe that the Fremont people died of anemia. No one today is really sure what happened to them but they hypothesize that they killed all the prey in the area quickly when the bow and arrow was introduced. Today the bighorn sheep has been reintroduced and there are deer living in the park. 

After our walk to the school house and to the petroglyphs where we heard a ranger talk we walked back to the camper to let Ella play. After dinner we went to another talk to learn more about the area. Ella loved being around so many people. She talked and play hide and seek with the people behind us. Gordo slept in the stroller!