Burnout in the Basement

Alena sure loves her Dora the Explorer scooter that Grandma Hawkins bought for her last spring. Lately, she's been trying to turn the ferris wheel on the hood into powder by crushing it with her kung foo grip. In this video, Daddy is actually trying to stop her from driving too fast. It may not look like it, but she is actually pulling him around. The blank expression on her face is the dead giveaway!

For Auntie Ashley and Auntie Avery (and other family members, too)

I totally didn't even stage this photo! She picked this toy out at a garage sale a few weeks back and since it was a quarter, I bought it. Looks like we might have another musician in the family! She loves to try to "sing" at church when she hears music, and especially when Mommy and Daddy are singing! She has to make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

She's wearing the outfit that her aunties bought for her (and she's in Wyoming)!

This was shot right after I had some music on and was singing to it. Again, she had to sing along. It sure got her talking, though! She had the carrot to keep her busy while I was chopping up some carrots for supper. Her 2 little teeth took some good chunks out of it :)

Wyoming, Take 2

Alena poses at Uncle Don & Auntie Janet's house with Auntie Janet, of course!
It sure is fun playing with Daddy, especially when Alena grabs his nose!

This was the first time that Alena was in a pool. We knew that she would love it considering how much she enjoys baths!Having pool fun with Mommy Here we are at a scenic lookout in the Badlands.

Prairie Dog Hunting

Here we are, getting ready to take a few shots at those pesky prairie dogs!

Eric is posing by his kill.

We had some time while on Uncle Don's ranch in Wyoming to go prairie dog hunting. For all those who think that they're cute, they're not so cute for ranchers. Not only to they harbor disease, but they dig holes that cattle can break their legs in! Out there, it is a necessity to help control the population. We were happy to help!

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

Eric's Uncle Don & Auntie Janet come to Wisconsin at least once a year. Every time they come out, Eric and I have always talked about going out there to visit them. Well, this year, we made it! We planned way ahead of time and pinched pennies to make it all happen. My mom and stepdad, Mitch, came along. Mitch bought an antelope tag so he could hunt, too. We had a great time just being out on the ranch and sightseeing, but wished we could have stayed out there a bit longer! Here are a few highlights (I'll be posting more later as I need to get more photos from my mom):

Not long after arriving at Uncle Don & Auntie Janet's house in Wyoming, Grandma helped Alena to have some fun on the rocking horse (Uncle Don made it).
kAlena is super excited to see Grandpa Hawkins' antelope! Grandma helped Grandpa with the hunt.Scene from Uncle Don's North ranch. You can see the Missouri Buttes to the left and Devil's Tower is just to the right of my head. Gorgeous views!Here we are at Devil's Tower! Alena squealed with delight almost the entire way around the base (1.3 miles). She sure loves being outside :)

We left Wyoming a day earlier than expected because we knew some nasty weather was on its way. We stayed the night in Rapid City, SD, then drove into the Black Hills the next day. They got nearly a foot of snow in places! Here some mule deer are playing around. It was also super foggy in the "Hills," so, instead of going to see Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore, or going on the 1880's train (what I really wanted to go on, but it wasn't running because of the weather), we went to a winery as seen above. It was nice an cozy by the fireplace, even when the power went out! We also went to Reptile Gardens. Grandma stayed in the gift shop and probaby wouldn't like to see this photo at all! Alena was fascinated by the albino Burmese Python. Thankfully, Alena slept a lot in the car. We left Wisconsin at 8pm... right around her bedtime. She slept nearly the entire way out there. She was just getting over a cold and was coughing every now and then. Of course, this sometimes woke her up. I just had to put the nuk back in her mouth at times so she would conk out again. Grandma also helped to entertain Alena on the way home by blowing bubbles with her gum. Overall, we were pretty impressed with how well Alena behaved in the car!