Hurricane Themed Birthday

Evelyn's 1st Birthday happened to land on the same day that Hurricane Isaac hit Baton Rouge. Instead of party preparations we were doing hurricane preparations. We were blessed in the Baton Rouge area. We were not hit nearly as hard as areas around us. 

This past year has flown by! Evelyn has grown and changed so much. She is basically running everywhere now and has FINALLY cut some teeth. As of September 13th (2 weeks after her 1st Birthday) she has two bottom teeth! She is such a sweet and busy baby. She is too curious for her own good but we get by :)

At her 1 year check up she weighed 20 pounds 12 ounces and was 30 inches long. 

Here is how Evelyn spent her 1st Birthday:

Checking out the storm and looking for any damage

 Enjoying a birthday pancake before we lost power

 Tasting cows milk for the first time

 We spread out the birthday gifts to make the day more fun. Plus how much attention span does a 1 year old really have...just saying. This was a princess little people castle from Nana and Papa. Evelyn already opened her gifts from Grandma and Grandpa while we were in California. 

 After lunch Daddy gave Evelyn a E.L. Fudge Cookie as a treat

 Mommy and Daddy got Evelyn a baby doll and stroller. I was worried she wouldn't care too much for it, but I was wrong. She hugs the baby all the time and pushes her in the stroller. 

 Taking a break to check out the weather

The next series of pictures is Evelyn enjoying her cake. Sorry some are dark. We had lost power by that point and Evelyn doesn't always do well with flash.

 What a mess but we loved watching her!  

 The bath water after was nice and brown

 After cleaning Evelyn and the highchair up we sat outside for a bit to cool off

Guess you could say it wasn't the normal 1st Birthday most kids have

3 Year Anniversary

Ben and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary while in California. We left Evelyn in the trusty hands of my mom and took off for the day. We drove all over and had a blast. Our day started out by window shopping in Santana Row (which we forgot to get a picture of) followed by some lunch. 

We then decided to drive up to San Francisco. Besides some wind the weather was beautiful. 

 Ben had his first experience with the trolleys

 This is the view from the top of Lombard Street

From San Francisco we drove across the Bay Bridge to the Oakland Temple where we were married. We were able to walk around the grounds and enjoy the peaceful feeling that can be felt even outside the temple. While stopping into the visitors center to go potty the sister missionaries convinced us to watch a film on eternal families. Fitting right?

 The grounds were as beautiful as ever. We laughed over the fact that the fountains had water running in them. They were not working when we got married and I was really annoyed about it the day we got married. I guess if that was the worst thing that happened than I can't complain. 

After we left the Temple we drove all over in search of a Macaroni Grill (where the luncheon after our wedding was held).

All in all we had a great day. These last three years have been so much fun and full of adventures. We look forward to many more years and all that life has to bring!

Random Moments in California

Evelyn said "Hi" the same time Ben took this picture. She was loving walking around on Grandma's patio and finally ventured onto the grass near the end of the trip. Evelyn hasn't always been the biggest fan of grass. 

She is the reason we have plug covers in all of our plugs 

 We let Evelyn sit in the Jeep for a little bit before Mommy pulled it into the barn

 We celebrated my 25th birthday while in California. All I wanted was some good Mexican food, so we went to Jardines.

Evelyn had her own meal, though I think we ate more of it than she did!  

Evelyn was spoiled with some early birthday presents from her aunts and uncles 

Her uncle Jared thought it would be funny to put her in one of the gift bags

 Cousin Evan

 Grandpa with 4 of his grandkids

 Evelyn and Cousin Jack

 Evelyn loved her Uncle Jared

 Cute babies

Look out Nana, Evelyn is already wanting piano lessons!

Twice Ben and my Dad tried to go raccoon hunting...twice they came up short. The raccoons have been making a muddy mess in the pool every night and we were getting a little tired of it. Oh well. At least we don't have to worry about being sprayed by these nasty creatures!

Roaring Camp Train Ride

While in California we drove over to Santa Cruz and rode the train through the redwoods. It was a beautiful ride. The train we rode was an old steam train.  

What a cutie!

Snuggling with Grandpa

 Old railroad tracks 

On the train

First Beach Experience

While in California we took Evelyn to the beach for the first time. It was a little windy and a little chilly but it was great! 

Surprise!

Sparks Baby #2 Due February 14th!

Yes...it was planned:)

Evelyn and the new baby will be 18 months apart.