Let It Snow!!!

Ok, so maybe Lewis is still too young to fully appreciate experiencing his first snow fall. I know there will come a day when he's begging us to take him to the snow! The photo of me in front of the apartment building is West Cambridge, aka, Condo Row, just south of BYU campus. That 1st floor window is into the living room where "The Purdy Sisters" lived during most of college. Lance lived just 2 condos down at East Cambridge, and we were in the same ward for 2 years; however, we don't remember ever meeting each other. Now 15 years later we're married with a 2 year old, and life is good! Crazy how things turns out. Lance and I enjoyed visiting our old college stomping grounds together with Lewis and truly appreciate our family. It was worth the wait! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation in Utah visiting our families and look forward to seeing more of them over Christmas.

Our baby boy turns 2!!!

We had a great time celebrating Lewis's birthday with family and friends, but we decided we'll give Chuck E. Cheese a rest for a few years!
A little story about Lewis just before he turned 2 years old... Lewis and I were at the water park where I was feeding him fish crackers. To my dismay, each time I handed him a fish cracker, he would throw it into the water, then after a while pick it up and eat it. This is something he has never done before, and I was so worried he would get sick from the germs!
A few days later, we were reading a book together and it finally hit me... As I pointed to a page showing fish in water, I realized that Lewis had thrown the fish crackers into the water before eating them because he knew that fish belong in water!
This is one of the many examples demonstrating that kids know more than we think. There was a method to his madness. What an insight into the beautiful minds of children… I realize more and more every day that it's the small moments I appreciate the most.

Go Catch a Wave!

A couple weeks after Yosemite we went to Lance’s family vacay in San Diego. We stayed at a beautiful, big beach house with the whole family just steps from the beach. Lewis had a ball on the beach and loved playing in the waves. Even after getting knocked down a few times, he wanted to keep on playing. At the end of each day we had hot tubs to relax in while watching the sunset over the ocean. Alex and MK created a McKinlay family movie that pulled together years of family memories from video and photos With all the family activities, around the clock yummy food and CSB's (cold sweet beverages), and being surrounded by loved ones, we did not want this vacation to end!

"Go Climb A Rock"

Yosemite was incredible... We loved staying at Yosemite Lodge where we could walk right out to Yosemite Falls.. What a sight!
Here are some of our highlights:
Deanna: spending memorable time visiting and reminiscing with family in the beautiful outdoors, eating s'mores, hiking Vernal Falls and the talent show.
Lance: hiking Half Dome (not sure which was better, reaching summit or being received
by Deanna and Lewis .5 m from the bottom on the way down and getting hugs, kisses and fresh water.
Lewis: throwing rocks into rivers, streams and creeks, being surrounded by all his fun cousins, and getting dirty.
So many great memories made here, we will definitely come back again...

Summahhh Time!

Ok, so summer is more than half way over, but better late than never! Just packing up for our big Yosemite 2010 Purdy Vacay and I'm sooo excited!!! Will bring back lots of great memories and pics for sure. Here are a few summer time pics in the mean time..

Spring Days...

Enjoying the out doors as a family whether we're at the park or in our back yard is one of our favorite things to do. Simple spring days with the family makes the world go around...

Happy 2010!!!

How cool sounding is the year 2010, right?! We got married in 2007, had a baby in 2008, so I can’t even imagine what exciting thing could happen for us in 2010…
How about some twin girls?!
Ok, so I’m not even pregnant, but Lewis has been such a blessing and joy to us that we would love to have more… Maybe with this being the Year of the Tiger, some exciting things will happen;)