Family Reunion in Tahoe

Our family from St. Louis arrived the day before Norah's birthday on July 14th and we all headed up to Lake Tahoe for a few days. The trip was perfect and magical. The cabin was amazing...so charming, so many things to do, and not to mention a perfect location right on the lake. What a great way to celebrate Norah's first birthday! Everyone had such a great time and it was so fun to spend time together. We'll have to go visit them soon.

The birthday girls. Norah and Emily share the same birthday, so we got to celebrate Emily's 14th birthday and Norah's 1st birthday while we were in Tahoe. It was so fun to have Emily and the rest of the St. Louis gang there. Special day! I think she liked her cake. What do you think?Birthday girl. I cannot believe she turned 1. It's 2 months later and I still can't believe it. Oh, such a big girl. What they say is true....it really does go by fast.I bought Norah this life jacket before we left so we could take her out on the lake. As you can see, it didn't go over so well. Neither did the ride in the dingy. She clung onto me the whole time. So sad. Sarah and Aunt Sue are professional rowers. There was some gossip about who was working hard and who wasn't at paddling on the float trip. I wasn't there, but experienced first hand on the dingy their skills. Mad skills.

This trip was the first time "Great" Grandpa met Norah. It was really sweet because she really bonded with him right away. She'd come up to him to say hello and "talk" to him. It was great to have him there.The traditional 4 generations picture.
Aunt Sue lounging in the hammock. She tied a extension cord to the tree so you could swing yourself. Funny enough, Chuck was searching around the house looking for an extension cord later that day.....oops!


I'd like to say that someone yelled "Vougue" before taking this picture, which might explain Jason's arm-over-the-head pose. I guess we'll never know what his inspiration was for that one. Still a cutie though.

I told Eric to do something funny, and as he mocked me I took a picture. Pretty funny actually. We took the best hike up for a view of Lake Tahoe. The hike was really steep but short. Well worth it and absolutely gorgeous.

Norah's 1st Birthday Party!

We had a pool party for Norah's 1st birthday and invited all of her little friends. It was so fun! The highlight of the evening (for us as well as for her I'm sure) was seeing her take her first bite of a dessert EVER! We held her off for the first year from sweets, but to be honest I'm not sure how much good it did her. The second she tasted it she couldn't get enough, and ever since anytime she sees, smells, or even senses some kind of treat she comes to your feet with this sweet little face and repeats "num-num, num-num, num-num, num-num..." over and over until we give in. It's hard to resist her.

Notice Tisha in the background helping get everything set up. She is my party-planner life saver!! Countless times she has come the rescue and helped me get ready for events. She's the best party assistant EVER- she always knows what to do and how to help. She deserves a big THANK YOU!

No more cake?! "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to..."
Norah got some really fun gifts at the party. Everyone was so sweet to bring things. I think I was more excited than she was for some of them. This was her getting her first Barbie from the Snarr's....is this for Norah or for me? Gosh I love Barbies.
Funny story about these cupcakes that we can now tell since they've all been eaten and digested long ago. We kept them under the table and when Mom and Tisha went to set them out they were crawling with ants. So gross! Well, the ingenious party planners didn't let that ruin the fun. Instead they just started flicking. Ha! I saw them giggling like school girls over there and asked what was going on..."Oh, nothing..." Oh well, they still tasted good!Colby and Jayden (Norah's cousins from Washington) were visiting California and got to come to her party which was lots of fun. Norah loved playing with them.

My First Blog Ever...

Yes, it is finally official...we have now joined the blogging world. We've seen many of our friends become "bloggers" and have finally been persuaded to get one together ourselves. Hopefully this will make it easier to stay in touch with family and friends who don't live nearby. Hopefully I'll get into the habit of posting some funny stories from Norah or other adventures, but at the very least at least we'll be able to share some pictures with you all. Not sure where to start, so I guess I'll just catch up on what we did over the summer. Hope you enjoy!