Teton Trekking

My brother Ray and I just got back from a backpacking trip through the Grand Tetons! Wow--it was gorgeous! We had a good trip and saw some beautiful country. Here's some pics...

Whew....

For whatever reason, a little while ago I was worried about Tanner growing up with 3 older sisters in a house filled with Barbies and Polly Pockets and Strawberry Shortcake things. With all the girly things everywhere, how would I make him "manly" enough? My fears were layed partly at ease when I got him a toy truck the other day, and almost instinctively, with no prior training or teaching, he knew exactly what to do with it. He started pushing it all over the house, making made "vroom-vroom" noises for hours on end as he played and played with his toy truck. Fears were squelched--he's all boy!

Slideshow of East Coast Trip

We had a great trip to New York, Baltimore and the East Coast 2 weeks ago. We flew in and out of JFK and rented a car to drive down the coast, stopping at some of our favorite spots from when we lived there. Tanner stayed home with Aunt Tricia and the girls had the time of their lives and such hotspots as the American Girls store, Mary Poppins on Broadway, the beach at Ocean City, New Jersey, Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster County, the Hershey Chocolate Worls, picking blueberries, touring Washington DC and everything else. Here are some pictures from that trip!

Summer 08 Alphabet Soup

A is for the American Girl Store in New York, where our girls were excited to have a tea party with their dolls on our big family vacation to the East Coast.
B is for biking, which Melvin has been trying to master on his mountain bike, despite a few big spills, and enjoyed on a Moab camping/biking trip.
C is for candles atop several birthday cakes this summer including a train cake for Tanner, a pioneer cake for Kaitlyn and a Strawberry Shortcake cake for Lauren.
D is for dance recital, where the girls were all spectacular!
E is for excited to watch the upcoming Beijing Olympics!
F is for fishing, which we attempted with dubious success at East Canyon Reservoir.
G is for Girls Weekends, which Tami has enjoyed with both sides of the family.
H is for Hershey, Pennsylvania, the most anticipated stop on our big East Coast trip.
I is for insane, which Melvin thought he would become while trying to put together a large outdoor swingset.
J is for jamming, which we did with Margie and Lucy at a fun Peter Breinholt concert when they came to visit us.
K is for Kaitlyn’s baptism, a very special event for our family! We were blessed to have Mom and Dad Richardson come and join us for the special event.
L is for Lagoon, the amusement park. We splurged on season passes and have loved going there often—it’s only 5 minutes away!
M is for Mary Poppins, which we absolutely loved watching on Broadway.
N is for Number 5 Pregnancy, which Tami has been doing well with—we’re told it’s a boy!
O is for the Opera Festival that Melvin and Tami got to enjoy in Logan, Utah.
P is for Park City, where we enjoyed a week-long vacation with Margie and Lucy and had a great time swimming and hiking and playing together.
Q is for quiet—a rarity at the Richardson house with usually lots of neighborhood kids over to play.
R is for running, which Melvin has been doing a lot of as he ran a half marathon and several 5Ks and 10Ks this summer.
S is for swimming, which our girls have loved doing in swim lessons and on vacations.
T is for tomatoes in our garden outside. It’s been so much fun!
U is for underwear—Lauren is (finally) potty-trained!
V is for violin, which Tami plays in a local community symphony orchestra that has had several summer concerts.
W is for walking, which Tanner finally started to figure out after being taught by his cousin Lucy.
X is for the Xango Triathlon, which Melvin trained for and completed this summer!
Y is for our new yard, put in this summer. It’s been fun to finally have grass to play on!
Z is for zephyrosaurus, among many dinosaurs we’ve admired at the Ogden Dinosaur Park.