Summer Fun

We are having a lot of fun this summer. Our neighbors are the greatest. They sit out almost every night and visit with one another. Mostly we congregate across the street. Brendan likes it so much that the other day, we got home from running errands and I got him out of the car. I turned to go and get Eliza and when I turned back around he was heading down our street, crossing the street and strolling over to our neighbors. Unfortunately they were not visiting outside but just getting into their cars to go get something to eat. I think another reason why Brendan likes it is because they always have chips and he gets to drink soda. When we get home it takes him a while to settle down and go to sleep, but it sure is nice to get outside and visit with such good people. Our neighbor Rick let Brendan sit on his motorcycle the other night...we thought it was pretty cool!

Eliza is just starting to giggle. She has been cooing a lot. Sometimes we think that she will start talking before Brendan ever does. She is really a good baby and we love having her in our family. Brendan loves to give her kisses on the head. His kisses are pretty cute now because he purses his lips, says "mmmmm..." while he delivers the kiss and then makes the "mwuh" sound when he is done. We have such cute kids and we love them a lot! (That doesn't mean they aren't a whole lot of work though)! ;)

The Father and Son Outing

Brendan and Neil were able to go to their first Father and Son Outing during this past week. I think that they had fun. Eliza and I sure did :0)

The Outing was on some property of our old Branch President. Some people pitched tents and spent the night, but Neil and Brendan came home after the evening's festivities. The night before the Father and Son, Brendan screamed uncontrollably for about an hour (it couldn't have been because he drank 1/2 of Neil's 44oz. slurpee for dinner). Neil told me that he didn't want to have to deal with that by himself in a tent. The way that Neil deals about things like that at home is just sleep through it...but he figured he would have to wake up if the screaming was only 2 feet from his ear. So we elected to not spend the night in a tent. They played games together and had fun with the men from the Branch and then came home to a nice bed. I don't know if Brendan will let Neil have the easy way out (coming home early) when he grows up a little bit more. He loves the outdoors too much.

Neil and Brendan a the Father and Son Outing
Men and boys from the New Castle Branch

Growing Fast

Look how big Eliza is getting. The other day she even rolled from her tummy to her back. Brendan and I were there to cheer her on. It is so much fun to watch Brendan interacting with her. He is just as excited as we are to see that she is growing up...and fast! We sure do enjoy having her in our family.

Brendan is growing up fast as well. He is such a boy! He claps after he burps...(thanks to dad.) His vocabulary is growing, not as fast as he is, but he is learning new words and how to use the words that he already knows everyday. He loves to visit the dogs in our neighborhood, look at the birds in our yard, play in the water and then go directly to the sand box. Needless to say, he has been getting in the bathtub on a daily basis.

UTAH

We just got back from an amazing vacation in Utah. We went out there to bless Eliza and for the Rugg family reunion (that is Neil's mom's family). We had a really nice time visiting with everyone...especially Brendan and Eliza...they got to know their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins and miss them terribly.

Eliza was named after her great-great-great-grandmothers on both sides of the family, Eliza Ann Barrett (Erickson side) and Eliza Dorcy Brian Kinghorn (Bedke side). She was blessed in the evening of the 27th of May, 2007. It was really nice because we were able to have Grandpa Paul Rugg talk a little bit about Eliza Ann Barrett and then Aunt Lorraine Midgley (Grandma Ruby Bedke's sister) talk about Eliza Dorcy Brian Kinghorn. After they shared a little bit about each of these ancestors, Eliza was blessed by her dad. It was so nice to be surrounded by so many family members. We know that Eliza is loved by so many people and we appreciate the support that was shown that night.

Her dress that she wore was made by her aunt Sarah Bedke. Jamie and Adam Bingham were able to come down from Rexburg, Idaho (right before Eliza's cousin Kaleb was born). Grandma and Grandpa Bedke weren't able to be there because they were in Japan visiting Anna Jones ( and the rest of the Jones family). We missed them, but knew that they were there in spirit.

Eliza loves talking to her dad. I know that they will be great friends

Brendan really had a lot of fun being the center of attention a lot of the time. Getting to know his cousins Trey and Tye was a cinch because they were so fun to play with. The day after we got home, I loaded the pictures on to our computer. Brendan saw me doing this and then saw a picture of Trey and Tye. His eyebrows went up, his eyes got big, a huge smile swept across his face and then he started laughing and clapping and ran over to be closer to them. I had to put one of those pictures as the wallpaper. Without fail, he gives the same reaction every time we turn on the computer now. I just wish that we were closer so that he could enjoy these relationships more. (I've written of Trey and Tye, but I should add that a pretty similar response happens when he sees Grandpa, Grandma, and all of his aunts and uncles.) He always tries to honk grandpa's nose and expects the "a-woooo-ga" sound to come out!
Here Brendan is standing on Grandpa Erickson's hands, being helped by aunts Nicole and Jamie and cheered on by everyone else!
Eliza got to meet her cousins on the Erickson side for the first time. She loved being held by each of them. Here, Tye is being a big helper and loving Eliza even before he got dressed for the day!

Chad was a good friend to Brendan and Eliza as well and got to spend a lot of time with them because he was off track from school.

For the Rugg Family Reunion, we camped at Heber Valley camp, Camp Sariah (in the same campground as last year.) Thank heaven for all of those built in family babysitters--that way it was a real vacation for mom and dad, too!
Oh, boy! Brendan loved camping!!!

Brendan absolutely loved playing outside everyday almost all of the day long. We don't have mountains anywhere close by in Indiana, so Brendan had to go and discover all of the neat things that Heavenly Father created for us! He wasn't timid about it either. First thing in the morning was to go and explore.
The service project was one of the highlights of our days up at camp. Everyone had a job to do, and did it well. The missionaries had a separate project for the little kids. They were to clear the small sticks and brush away from the cabins. Here, Brendan is helping clear a pretty big stick and is on his way to the stick pile. I was so impressed by all of the work that we got done, in such a short amount of time. Many hands can accomplish so much and I know that we are blessed when we work together.
Even Eliza had a great time camping, even though it was kind of cold and windy at times...nothing that a warm coat and blanket couldn't remedy though!
Dad was such a good sport in playing with Brendan at camp. They were good pals when it came time to look at the deer that walked through our camp, completing the challenge course, going on a walk, or scoring the winning point in a volleyball game.
What boy wouldn't like to play in the dirt or with sticks?
Camping with cousins is the best way to camp! Brendan beckoned to Amber to come and play with the rocks in front of the grown-up cabin.
And I guess he roped Troy into playing with more rocks.
Eliza was a good sport in dealing with the elements. I don't know what kind of pioneer mother I could have been...WOW!

We miss everyone so much. Know that you are always in our prayers and that we love you. We can't wait to see you in July when we get to come for Sara's wedding!