Introducing Baby #2

It may not look like much but this fuzzy blob is going to be the newest member of our family. The due date is set for April 12 2013. Here's hoping this one shows up on time.

Utah Summer Vacation (Part 2 with the Kraczek Family)

Our second week in Utah was spent with Grandma and Papa Kraczek and all the Kraczek cousins.

On our first day we went to Lagoon. While the big kids went on all the big scary rides, Evan and his cousin Kaitlyn had a blast riding all the rides they were big enough for. Even though he was very brave and had fun on all the bigger rides too, his favorite ride was Bulgy the whale.

We were there all day. By taking just a little nap in the picnic area under some trees after lunch, Evan was good to ride the rides till closing.

The Kraczek Family 

While in Utah we were able to go to two family reunions, one for the Kraczek family and One for the Western Family (Grandma Eileen's side) It was a lot of fun to see everyone and get caught up.  It is always exciting to see how much all the kids have grown and get to know the newest members of each family that we hadn't met yet. Evan loved being around all the cousins and would assimilate immediately into the kid collective wherever we went. We will miss everyone and can't wait to get together again when we come back.

Utah Summer Vacation (Part 1 with the Saunders Family)

"That's Evan's Plane!"

Our summer vacation started with a 4 hour plane trip from DCA to SLC airport. Evan was very excited to ride on a plane and he was very good for most of the trip.  Toddlers are just not built to sit still for that long.

Papa Saunders picked us up from the airport in Salt Lake City and Evan was so happy to see Papa and to tell him that he flew in an airplane way up high in the sky.

One of the fun things that we did in Utah was go to the Hogle Zoo with Uncle Alec and Uncle Chris. Our D.C. National Zoo pass got us in for free which was a nice surprise for mommy.

"Uncle Chris is a elephant!"

The Hogle Zoo has African elephants with saggy baggy skin and big ears instead of the Asian elephants at the D.C. Zoo.
The D.C. Zoo is bigger but the Hogle Zoo has more big animals like Giraffes, a Camel, Rhinoceroses, and...

A Polar Bear that has been trained to swim right up to the glass turn around and swim back to the glass again. It was a lot of fun to watch. You can just see Evan's head right up against the glass in this picture.

One night Grandma and Papa Saunders took us to the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum.

"It's bones mommy"

Evan is really into the kids show Dinosaur Trains on PBS and knows more about dinosaurs at age 2 1/2 than I ever have.

"A shark called Cretoxyrhina"

We had a lot of fun running around the museum naming all the dinosaurs we could recognize. They look a lot different as bones as opposed to cartoons on TV.

The best thing we did in Utah was hang out with our family that we don't get to see very often. Evan had a lot of fun playing with his cousins Jonny and Tommy; they share a love of all things trains.

They have a great pool at their apartment that is just the right size.  We can't wait till our next Utah vacation to play some more.

We all scream for Ice Cream!

This summer Evan has discovered the joys of an Ice cream cone.  He especially likes chocolate ice cream in his ice cream cones. He won't eat ice cream in a bowl with a spoon that is just too much work, but ice cream cones are a favorite around here.

Gotta love that happy ice cream face!