I know I am Cute

These are just some photos Lee and I have taken over the past week or two. Cora is getting soooo big. We are having more ad more fun with her each and every day. She has an incredibly fun personality. She is so hyper with Lee and me, but gets really shy around new people. She has started to wave and loves to wave at strangers on the bus. Of course, she has the ultimate death grip on me with the other hand. She also loves to smile at the homeless people downtown. They of course flock to her in response and I get to sit there while everyone exchanges toothless grins and babbles incoherently. In all seriousness, it does make me feel good that Cora can bring joy to everyone that she comes across. And she passes no judgement. If they smile (or sometimes even if they don't), that is good enough for her.

Lee's father's day card from Cora.

She is sitting up! And sees grass. :)

This series of photos is one of my favorites. She was in such a great mood!

Talking and chewing on her tongue at the same time. She is so talented! :D

Say what? I can't hear you!

I shot this video to remind myself what it is like to get her to sit still for pictures. Too funny!


This one is a video to show how excited she gets about her Elmo doll. She loves this thing!



Finally, a photo to catch a glimpse at her ever changing eye color. Aren't they cool right now?

Our Old Stomping Grounds

We were fortunate enough to spend 1.5 days in Laramie, Wyoming on our drive back to Edmonton. Boy, do we miss this place. I can't even begin to describe how incredibly beautiful campus was. Most of these pictures below were taken in Prexy's Pasture. We used to spend so much time in this area, especially when we had Reg in Laramie. Reggie loved it here. I would lay in the grass while he roamed around campus. He is such a good dog. He was never the only dog either. Laramie is a place where you need a dog. Reggie would bring his tennis ball with him to campus and carry it home. He hated it when I went into a building and left him outside though. Can we say separation anxiety? When Lee and I first started school here, you could drive around Prexy's Pasture to access the building on the "inside" of campus. A few years later, they tore the road out and added big sidewalks. The removal of the road was great! When they were beautifying this area, they tore out a bunch of big trees. The campus community was up in arms because the trees were so amazing. They were huge. In fact, I helped put up and maintain nesting boxes in all of these trees, so it was sad when they tore some of them down. Looking back now, I think it was OK. The trees were old. It is still sad because old and dead are not synonymous. But, UW made up for it with what they have since added to Prexy's. The brought in rocks from Vedauwoo and placed them in all 4 corners of the pasture. They have planted native wildflowers including all around. There is modern art to balance the natural aspect of the pasture. It is amazing. I love this campus.

We didn't make it up to Vedauwoo or the Snowies, but we saw each from a distance. It was quite emotional for us coming back. We have so many great memories there. Now, we are taking Cora to these places. It was really sentimental. We also found out the Beartree Tavern and Cafe in Centennial is for sale. Only $685,000 for this gem. Again, we have so many memories of this bar. Lee's after graduation party was held here. It was so much fun and we still laugh for hours when thinking about that day. Lee and I ate here the night he proposed. They have delicious pizza. We stopped to share a chicken and artichoke pizza before heading into the mountains to scout for moose, or propose as Lee had in mind. Oh, the fun we've had at the Beartree. It is the PERFECT bar. It doesn't smell, the food is great, the beer is good, the live music is outstanding, and the people are wonderful. I wish we could buy it. :)

Lee and Cora playing at the rest stop in Kaycee, Wyo.

She is smacking his chest because she wants him to keep doing whatever it was he was doing.

The Heart City

We took our first big road trip with Cora Bear (Lee's new nickname for her). And by big, I mean really really big. We drove all the way back to Valentine, Nebraska to attend Lee's cousin's wedding. That's about 20 hours in the car with a 6 month old baby. Needless to say, I was certain it was going to take a while. Why did we drive anyways? Well, for those of you that don't know where Valentine, Nebraska is, it is about 3 hours from the nearest airport. We also wanted to stop in Laramie, Wyoming to see Caitlin, Brendan, Amelia, and Falyn. Again, no airport close by. So, we drove. Turns out, the drive was fantastic. Cora did amazing!! She wanted someone back there keeping her company when she was awake. Lee drove most of the way, and I entertained. We actually had a lot of fun.

Ashley and Walker's wedding was fantastic. Ashley looked beautiful and Anne made a gorgeous bridesmaid. Cora didn't scream at all through the ceremony. In fact, she ate through the entire thing. :) Here are some pictures of the Belle at the wedding.

Great Grandpa Dick and Cora hanging out in between the ceremony and reception.

Dick, Lee and Bob. Handsome men.

Cora and me outside the church.

Aunt Anne loved seeing Cora's toes flex and curl when she pressed in certain spots.

Grandpa Bob playing with Cora before the ceremony.

We were able to spend a couple of days in Valentine. We had so much fun! I love love love Valentine. Lee loves it even more, so we know we'll always have a great time. We hung out at the house. Lee got to do some fishing. We saw some great friends. Thanks, Cara and Devin, for coming out to see us! We were able to spend a whole day out at Flip's house playing with all of his animals. Lucky us!!!

Anne, Cora, and me walking over to where Bob and Lee were fishing.

Aunt Anne and Cora

Great Great Aunt Elsie and Cora. A picture we will cherish forever.

Cora was mad that we were leaving Flip's house.

A cute picture of her in her carseat. This is before she realized she was going to be in her carseat for a while.

Petting the nose of a water buffalo. Cora loved feeling this lady's nose. :)

Watusi. These were soooo cool.

Cora "riding" a 1 month old miniature pony. Does this qualify as her first horseback ride?

Lee fishing out at Flip's place.

Flip showing Cora another kid goat. She loved the goats.

Look at the goats in the background. Cracks me up!

She loved this little guy. She asked Grandpa Bob to buy it for her. :)

Cara and Cora

Reggie. Definitely older, but looking great!! I miss that dog more than ever.

She loved his chain. I think she could have played with it for hours.

My girl and me.

Like father, like son. Enjoying some European beer. It was mighty tasty.

Cora had a bit much and passed out. Light weight. LOL.

The backyard. Why did we have to leave?

Cora was having way too much fun for one day.

I couldn't believe how green it was in Valentine. It was absolutely beautiful. Edmonton has been incredibly dry this year. The grass is not green. A huge silk worm infestation has destroyed trees all across the city. It just isn't pretty here this year. And, of course, a beautiful year in Nebraska and Wyoming. What a way to make us homesick. Oh well, we aren't moving back to Wyoming anytime soon so we should just suck it up. :) I wonder what Alaska looks like right now?