just a little more Julia

I know, I mostly post about Julia. But hey, she is pretty much what is going on around here. And she is looking so much older these days. So I thought I'd share a few pictures of her grown-up looks.

dancing (and a few other things )

Julia has taken up dancing. She loves to push the button on her ball-popper toy, providing some obnoxious circus-like music, and jam out. Twirling and head shaking are very popular. Here is some footage caught after a fun race we ran last weekend. (I think the camera is shaking at the beginning because Jonny is dancing too!) When she's not stuck in her stroller, she has even more sweet moves.


Oh, and here is a rare picture of active Julia. This is how I found her one morning after our run. She's not sleeping, just resting in the middle of the kitchen.I might as well post a clip of Julia loving the ducks at the Thanksgiving Point Farm Country. She didn't care much for the other animals, but the ducks were fascinating. Maybe because "duck" is one of the few words she can say??


Okay, one more picture. This is Julia's new way to walk. (Our trips to the mall and other stores are even more limited now!)

Just Be Cousins

Over the summer we tried to get the three families of Utah cousins together once a week, along with their Grandma and Grandpa. (We REALLY missed our Maryland cousins - Jeff, Ethan, and Jane - each week. We love you three!) Mom had the idea to call this time "Just Be Cousins," based on a song she wrote that the older cousins in our family used to sing together. (And were you a touring group with that name as your title? I thought I heard something about you guys singing at Malls!? I need more info on that.) The kids loved our weekly events - especially Julia who adores her cousins. We had picnics, played tennis, hiked, went to the aquarium, played in the sprinklers, worked on Giant Journals, swam, had outdoor cinemas, had sleepovers, and more. Let's do it next year, okay cousins?

P.S. Jonny always liked to ask "Why?" when I told him of the week's outing, trying to trick me into answering "Just Be Cousins!"

Toward the end of the slide show you will see pictures of the Allyson and Julia Exclusive Just Be Cousins. I think this was Julia's favorite one - she dragged Ally around all day!

Your husband will learn to love these films directly. Capital!

This is Jonny and I’m a dude. However, I do enjoy some movies that are, well, viewed more often by the chicas.

Melody suggested that I post about my affection for a specific genre of movies. These movies are usually 5-6 hour series made by the BBC or Masterpiece Theatre.

It’s amazing to me that I enjoy these films because there are a couple things that seem to repeat:

-There is always some dance where the girl dances with the dude she doesn’t really like, but should like.

-There are always two main problems to overcome: pride and prejudice

-Always some guy in the army

-It is always so exciting to take a coach to London

-Someone has the hots for their cousin

-There has to be at least 3 marriage proposals, preferably to the same woman

-Oh, only if she knew, only if he knew

-He makes 20,000 pounds a year!

My favorite films are the Dickens’ stories as the pride and prejudice is only a sub-theme and there is always a murder mystery. If I would recommend these films to any of you ladies that want to get your husbands into these kinds of films.

Our Mutual Friend

Martin Chuzzle-ma-nuzzle-wit

Bleak House

Nicholas Nickleby

Once you have their attention, try pulling out a few of these:

North and South (let him think it is the civil war one)

Pride and Prejudice (BBC version)

Wives and Daughters

Emma

Persuasion

Wuthering Heights

Adam Bede

Sense and Sensibility (new BBC version)

Visiting Colorado

We successfully made it to and from Colorado. Thanks for all the great road trip entertainment ideas. Julia was pretty content in the car, as long as I almost-constantly supplied her with various books, toys, snacks, and movies on the portable DVD player. I think we watched "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" a dozen times - and "Antarctic Antics" at least that many as well. (I do love the Scholastic Video Collection...but maybe not that much.) She did have a hard time the last two hours. But you can stand anything for a few hours when home is your destination!

We loved spending time with Grandpa Gene and Jenny and Salida, then Dad, Mom, Rudi, and Emy in Durango. But instead of writing all about our trip (which sounds exhausting right now, plus I have already done so in my journal) I made one of these fun wordles:

Oh, here are a few things I wanted to detail briefly:

-Julia LOVED the river. She would've splashed in the cold water all day.
-Julia LOVED the dogs. I thought she'd be scared of them, being bigger than her and all. But, as you can see from the pictures, she was crazy about them. (James and Danielle, I think she's ready to give Cocoa a second chance!) After the first day, the dogs were actually avoiding Julia! I guess she was a little too enthusiastic for them and they ran whenever the toddled toward them. It was hilarious to see the poor girl chasing them through the house and yard!
-Hiking Mount Shavano: We've had a goal to hike one of the famous Colorado Fourteeners (mountains that peak at or above 14,000 ft) with Julia this summer. Mt. Shavano is just outside of Salida, so we picked this 9.5 miler. We knew it would be a challenge, but we weren't aware of just how steep the trail would be! Part of it was shaded in a gorgeous forest, but it was like climbing up a rocky staircase. Above treeline, the trail was just as steep, but dusty and full of loose rocks. And the "trail" at the last stretch to the peak was composed of huge boulders, and even steeper than before. It really was very challenging. I can't remember the last time I had that feeling of discouragement on a hike ("How will we EVER get down this mountain?"). It was incredible and fun, but difficult most of all. Anyway, we were nearly to the top when we stopped to rest and let an upset Julia stretch her legs. We decided it was best to head down, since the climb to the top was very technical for baby backpacking. We were content, having made it up to 14,000 feet at least, and ready to start down. I don't know what was harder-the downhill or up. Let's just say we left that mountian after 5 and 1/2 hours with spaghetti legs. And walking up or down a staircase is still a little painful for me.

P.S. Jonny just came home with some interesting specifics about the hike. 4,600 ft elevation gain over 4.5 miles=20% grade. I guess that confirms the steepness. Oh, and don't worry, we kept a close eye on Julia for any signs of high altitude sickness. She was just fine.

This picture...

reminded me of this one...

...taken about a year earlier.

J-cumber

This one grew for Jonny and Julia, I guess. I'll be sure to keep you posted if an M-cumber grows for me.