Crandall Family Reunion in Sun Valley

So, after we spent a few days in Idaho over the 4th of July, we headed to beautiful Sun Valley! Brett's Grandpa owns a cabin there and we were all able to be there! It was so fun being with the whole family! Watching all the kids and babies play together was adorable. We ate delicious food, of course, and enjoyed the beauty of Idaho. Here are a few highlighted moments. :)

On our way from Soda Springs, Kayla got hungry, so we pulled over in this beautiful overlook to feed her. The sunset was beautiful, as always, so we snapped some photos. It was pretty crazy weather when we left Soda, with tornado warnings for Grace, but as soon as we hit Fish Creek, the storm ended. 

This little cheeser loves her Papi!

 We went to Red Fish Lake the 1st morning. We got up at 7:00 and hit the road. I thought it was a bit early, but it ended up being a good thing we got there when we did. It was so crowded later on and we had an awesome spot on the beach. I LOVE Red Fish Lake. Its so beautiful and right up against the mountains. We rented some kayaks and canoes and took some trips around the lake. It was so wonderful to be out enjoying nature! I really miss the dry heat. It was so nice to stand in the shade and get relief from the heat, unlike in South Texas. We spent a lot of time outside on this trip. 

Four little babies at the beach!

Kayla and Wyatt - he used to be twice her size :)

Wyatt seems frustrated over something but Kayla was right there to comfort him.

Kayla's first time in a canoe! No, we didn't take her in it. I thought we better wait til she's a bit older. She stayed back while Brett and I went out for a trip around the lake.

We took a little walk around the lake to explore. I can't get enough of the mountains!

Here's part of our little group enjoying the day and relaxing!

All the ladies with our babies! 

The scenic overlook on the way back to Sun Valley. We were driving through the tallest mountain ranges in Idaho.

Kayla loves her Aunt Rebecca!

 Kayla loved all of the kids! She'd see them playing and reach down to join them. The boys would play peek a boo and she laughed so hard! The girls carried her around and she just loved being with them. When the other babies would start crawling, I swear she was watching them trying to figure it out. If she could get close enough to the other babies, she would reach out and touch them, whether it was welcome or not. :)

Alex, Dallin, and Kayla

Beautiful Elizabeth and Kayla

Sweet Paige and Kayla

 On Sunday afternoon, we took the kids down for a little nature walk. We found a nice stream and the kids had a blast throwing rocks into the water. The trail was a bit rough for strollers and we had a near loss of Paige's shoes in the stream, but otherwise it was a perfect afternoon. :) Again, I couldn't get enough of just being outside!

I LOVE this face! She's so adorable!

Brett being funny and imitating Kayla chewing on her fist.

My two favorite people!

Robbie thought he'd show off his strength by throwing the biggest rock he could lift! It was pretty awesome.

The girls with the daddies!

Kayla loved the water!

We spent some time wandering around the Sun Valley Resort on Monday. It was fun going through the shops and just enjoying being all together. 

Kayla and the Sun Valley SUN

Haha! This face is hilarious! She looks like she's pretending to be a monster!

We took a picture of the tan line Kayla got in her fat rolls on her wrists. :)

Jared, Kayla, Brett and Caroline enjoying the grass! I miss having grass that you can sit on.

 Kayla and Caroline had the same cute dress so we took some photos! They are both such cuties!!

Kayla's got Caroline's back. That's what cousins are for!

 

Caroline thought she'd give Kayla her finger to chew on to help with her teething :)

All the boys heading out for a morning bike ride! Brett and I also went on a nice bike ride. There are awesome bike trails all over Sun Valley and Ketchum!

Playing with Kayla at the splash pad! She always loves any water.

Kayla loved Elizabeth!

Paige is going to be such a great little mommy! Not many people can get Kayla to sleep like this besides me!

The tandem bike! It was a bit blurry because Isaac and Rebecca were so speedy. :)

Brett driving the boys around in the galaxy!

Every evening after we put the kids to bed, all the adults played games. There was never a dull, or a quiet, moment! Good times!

Out on the front porch of the cabin. 

The 3 Girlies! Kayla, Carly, and Caroline. I love how Kayla is snuggled up against the boppy.

The 5 babies! Wyatt - 10 mos., Kayla - 6 mos., Carly - 5 wks., Caroline - 11 months, and Jake, 13 months.

 On Tuesday, we took a hike to Baker's Lake. It took quite the drive on a dirt road to find the trail head, but it was an awesome hike! We went up with Rachel, Dallin, and Elizabeth. Brett carried Kayla for most of the way up, but she got tired and wouldn't go to sleep unless I carried her. I now know what it would feel like to hike pregnant, no thank you! Good thing Brett was there to carry her most of the way. It was about 2.5 miles each way and so beautiful! The lake at the end of the trail was crystal clear and you could see clear to the bottom. I love hiking! Its such a rewarding activity. I love the burn you feel and there is almost always a spectacular view at the end. I really do miss being able to go on hikes. Maybe the next place we live will be more mountainous.

Elizabeth, Me, Dallin, Kayla, and Brett

Our little family on the hike.

Here's our little hiking crew!

My sleeping baby! Check out that lake!

Dallin and Nathan, who joined us on the way back down when we passed Meri and Nick. 

Brett holding little Carly

This was back at Grandma Jean's house. We laughed because Kayla so perfectly matched the bedding! So of course, we took some photos!

We got to visit with Grandpa Nip and Kayla got to meet her Great Grandpa! He's so good to us and always entertaining to visit with. Here's 4 Generations!

Grandpa, Kayla and Brett

I LOVE IDAHO! Nothing beats the sun setting over the mountains.

We had such a great time and can't wait until we can all get together again, whenever that will be. Brett's family is spreading out more and more so any time we can spend together as a family is to be treasured!

Kayla 6 months!

6 MONTHS!! I cannot believe how fast time is flying by! My sweet precious baby is 6 months old! She's been 6 months for almost a week now but I wanted to take the 6 month marker photos in the same place as all the others, hence the delayed post. I'm playing catch up. :)

Kayla is such a great baby! 

While on vacation, she was passed around to lots of new people. 

She was so good to let anyone hold her. 

She hardly cried, unless she got really tired. 

While we were in Soda, everyone would come up to Kayla, tell her she was cute, and she would pull her right shoulder up to her cheek in the sweetest way. It was adorable and I have no idea where she learned that from.

 She loved all the other kids! Her cousins would play Peek A Boo and she would laugh and laugh! 

She would reach out to any children and hug them. 

She will reach for people and touch their faces in the most precious way! 

She's such a social little butterfly, although she would always look for Brett or I to be sure we were still close by.

She's getting so close to crawling! She would watch the other babies crawl around, get up on her knees, rock back and forth, and scoot back, but didn't quite master the forward motion. 

She loves her feet and pulls them up to her face. 

She acts like she's teething, and I was quite surprised she didn't cut any teeth before we got home. She chews on everything in sight!

 She loves sitting up and is now sitting like a big girl in shopping carts. She loves being able to look around.
Her sleep schedule was excellent before vacation, sleeping 10-11 hours at night, but it was thrown out of whack with all the traveling and lack of good naps. Hopefully, we can get things back to normal now that we're home. 

Kayla is starting to make more sounds that sound like words. Now, I know that her baby babble is just that, babble, but several times she has said MOM or MAMA and I love it! Even though it probably doesn't mean anything, it warms my heart, nonetheless. 

She makes a cute little gurgling sound and is still a screamer. 

She started a new thing where if she got excited, she would start breathing really quickly, in an excited way, almost like panting. It was pretty funny!

We tried  giving her some baby food before we left and she wasn't a fan, so I decided to bag it until we got home. Its much easier to just nurse while traveling all over creation. Hopefully she does better with food now. 

We weighed her at the clinic I worked at while in Idaho, and she was 17 lbs 7 oz! We have her doctor appt. in a few days so we'll see if that's accurate and what percentage she's in. She's growing like a weed!

Everyone comments how big she is and how advanced she is for her age. 

She loves standing up and if someone holds her hands, she'll even walk around! 

On the flight home, the flight attendant took her and walked around with her a bit because she was just so cute. She charmed everyone on the flight!

We love our Precious (as Brett calls her) and can't imagine life without her!

"Did you say toe-touch, mom?"

She was watching her Papi when I shot this.

While we were home we had family photos taken in Sun Valley (a post with those will come soon) and my best friend also shot some photos of Kayla. She is so beautiful and so expressive!! Here are a few of the photos!

Caroline, Wyatt, and Kayla
3 out of 5 of the cousins born this year

The rest of the photos were taken by Melissa Humble. Check out her website at www.humbletakes.blogspot.com

This picture looks like she's doing a little dance! Ole!

Is she not the most beautiful baby in the world!?

I love my sweet little girl!

Everyday with this baby is an adventure and we can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring! Life is such a wonderful joy! We are so blessed! Happy half birthday, Kayla Rae!