Daddy Time

Ok, so Steve is pretty awesome, and it didn't take Jake too long to figure that out :) He LOVES HIM!!!! As soon as Steve walks in the door from work, it doesn't matter if Jake has been fussy for hours, he will automatically smile and crawl as fast as he can to him, and he's happy as a clam. Which leaves me thinking... "Ok, what's wrong with this picture? Do I smell bad or something?" (Don't answer that, Devin :) !!!) When in reality, the truth is that Jake and his dad just have a very special bond that I can't really explain. I think they will end up being pretty good pals ;) So, here are a few recent pictures of some Father-Son time!

We love you Steve! Thanks for being such an AWESOME Dad!!!

Hello and Bye-Bye

Jake knows how to wave now! A couple weeks ago he was doing something different with his hands and I wasn't sure what he was doing, but now I think he was practicing waving. He actually started doing it for real a few days ago! Check it out:

A Wedding, Shamu, and a 20 Hour Drive

So for the last 2 months I feel like I've been doing nothing but traveling, but it's been SO SO fun!! The first of our travels was for my sister Emily's WEDDING!!! She was married to David Hogg, my now bro-in-law :), on July 18 in the Manti, UT temple! It was a gorgeous wedding, with lots and lots of family and friends and HOT HOT HOT weather, but that didn't stop us from having a blast.

**(WARNING: there are LOTS of pictures of these past two crazy months! Enjoy!)**

The lovely newlyweds--- David and Emily Hogg :)

Mi familia!

My cousin Ashley with studly Jake in his little tux
Us with my Dad's side of the family

My family again, ha

The beautiful bride and her bridesmaids

Sarah and Jake after we took off all his clothes, haha. It was way too hot for a tux!

Cousin hugs :)

Aunt Jane and cousins at the luncheon

More aunts, uncles and cousins

Steve, my sisters and brother, and Grandma

Hannah and Jakers... oh, and Peanut, the stuffed elephant :)

Tee-hee

Jake loves his Great-Grandma!!

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OK, so after the wedding weekend, my family and I went from Manti straight down to San Diego for a week-long vacation. It was complete with beach visits, Sea World, lounging at the resort pool, lots of games, restaurants, long walks along the oceanside, and of course... shopping!!

Enjoying the trip down to San Diego, for the time being, haha

Waiting at Village Pizzeria (in Coronado)

More waiting.... it's good pizza!

Splish-Splashin'

Walking around La Jolla beach. GORGEOUS!

SEA WORLD!!!! The manatees were way cute.

Jake had fun watching everything through the glass.

YIKES!! How would you like to run into one of these bad boys in the ocean?

Aww, I LOVE polar bears!

In a polar bear cave. ROAR!!!! :)

Jake had fun with Grandpa while the rest of us went on a ride. Thanks Dad!!

HA! They had this thing full of penguin stuffed animals, big and small, and Jake had a BALL crawling and jumping all over them.

At the Shamu Show!!!

These animals are absolutely majestic. Sounds corny, but it's true!

Shamu doing a huge flip

And this is how much fun Jake had at Sea World:He hardly woke up when we were getting him situated in his carseat, just enough to grab his Shamu stuffed animal and stick his two fingers in his mouth!

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Moving right along... up next in our summer plans came the LOOOOONG drive from our home in Murietta, CA to Seattle.... a 20 hour drive. My dad, brother, and sister Sarah had flown home to Seattle already to get back to work and other things, but my family still had to get their car home after driving down for the wedding and San Diego vacation, so who had the priveledge of driving it back??? Me, my mom, sister Hannah, and..... the baby. Jake and I went with them so I could a) help my mom with the drive; b) spend more time with my family; and c) help with Emily and David's wedding reception. Even though it was a long trip, Jake only had one little meltdown! He was so so good in the car, thanks buddy!!

Toward the end of the trip.... his face didn't get any happier than this, haha.

Almost there! Hannah's face says it all.... "Ugh"... She spent a lot of the time in the back with Jake, she was a trooper!!Reception time!

The lovely couple again, after a few weeks of being married

While we were visiting, Jake had fun: ...............

Playing naked in the kiddy pool

Climbing in and out of his carseat

Climbing the stairsPlaying with Grandpa

and eating lots of messy food....

But he DIDN'T have fun: ....

When we put this thing on his head and he couldn't get it off!!! HAHA!

Unfortunately, this jam-packed, fun-filled summer had to come to an end at some point. After two weeks of being in Seattle, it was time to pack up the suitcase yet again, and say good-bye :( We had SUCH a fun summer, and it was so good to be able to spend so much time with my family, because with us living far apart, we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like. Thanks for the great memories, mi familia! We love you and miss you, but we'll see you soon at Christmas-time!!! (It'll be here faster than we know it.)

This is how Jake spent a lot of his time when we got home, which says a lot about what a fun summer he had as well :)