July 2010 - FHE Can Be So Much Fun

We had a great Family Home Evening lesson the other night as we learned about Adam and Eve. The highlight of the evening was when mommy put out some applesauce so Ainsley could feel apples and play with them. Kind of promoting the decision but Ainsley loved the object lesson.


"There might be something with this fun stuff, maybe a lotion or something for my legs."

She watched this little glob so closely and played with it on her fingertips, trying to figure out more precisely what it was.

Oh well, it was so much fun to play with apples. "Thanks mommy for not being affraid to let me get super messy." She loves bathtime afterwords though.

July 2010 - Cabin Escape

We took a Sunday to meet as a family up at my grandparent's cabin in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It's in an incredibly relaxing place, beautiful cottonwood trees and mountains everywhere. It was good to take a break to recharge for more school and such.


The cabin is very comfortable and Ainsley was unusually cranky that day but we managed to still have fun.

We found the trick was to go outside and explore the forest all around us which includes pretty flowers that Ainsley loves to pick and carry (and eventually eat).

One of her favorite ways to travel is on daddy's shoulders. She pulls pretty hard on my hair but she loves it so much that its hard to say no.

Here's Ainsley, me and my mom. We enjoyed our quick hike around the beautiful forest.

July 2010 - Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes

Our landlord is so nice, it helps when she's your aunt, and she let us paint a little bit of the house. We took one of my few days off to go through the house and paint.


Here's the office room were I spend many hours studying so I gave it a more friendly color for my studying habits.

We painted the bedroom and bathroom a pale blue color that looks great on the walls. Very calming and we have noticed our color choices have matured now that we're parents.

Ainsley loves music and after a hard day's work Ainsley loves watching dance to her favorite music; cute girl.

July 2010 - BYC Game Night

Two weeks ago we had the Stout Family's yearly competition, the BackYard Championship. This is the epic competition in which we all compete as a family for the prized trophy that signifies sporting excellence. We golf around my parents backyard, setting up new targets as we go. We had a fun time and celebrated Jared's birthday that night too.


We found a golf club that was Jackson's size and he had a fun time golfing around the yard.

Ainsley didn't want to golf at first but she definitely enjoyed sticking her tongue out at the lawn.

Ryan was taking an early edge, pushing the defending champion (Steve) into a defensive position.

Ainsley ended up getting into the competition when everyone offered her the golf balls. She thought they were fun toys.

The second part of the evening was a home-spun version of the game show, Minute to Win It. We played the games from the show in the backyard and inside. Jackson was having fun with the games, using some special strategies of his own to succeed.

Ryan ended up wining the competition, forcing my dad to give up the coveted trophy for this year. I think I'll have a good shot at next year; maybe I'll ask Jackson for some tips on my short game.

We had so much fun with the games from the TV show. We send out a big thank you to Ryan for setting them up.

July 2010 - Our New Place

We moved the first part of July after getting back from Disney World. What a quick transition! Nate's already gone through his first class and is almost done with his second. Ainsley and Aubrey wanted to show off the new place.


Ainsley loves the new place and also has picked up a fun new activity; brushing her teeth. She has six now and thinks its funny to brush them.

Here is the kitchen. Aubrey is enjoying the appliances we have here and so much counter space and shelving/storage.

Here's the slow, moving process underway. This room will eventually become the family room for sitting in.

Ainsley decided mommy was having too much fun showing off the rooms so she volunteered to take the next room. Here's the bathroom with the funny girl that she sees in the mirror. She has cute red hair just like Ainsley and is so funny. She can just laugh and laugh with her reflection.

She also wanted to show off her bedroom that's still a work in progress. Wheel of Fortune might be down her road, she's a natural.

Ainsley loves helping daddy with his homework. Although her typing skills and random button pushing makes the process even longer. She's such a cute helper though that it's hard to say no to her help.

Thank You Brook!

We have to give a shout out to our friend Brook Wilberg. This was a few months ago but I wanted to spotlight the great family pictures she took of our family. (Just so you know, she is okay that I'm putting these up here (at least I think so)) Brook, you're awesome; thanks for catching the quirky little personality of our little princess (or turtle)! Hope you enjoy.

Disney World Vacation June 2010

At the end of the month we went as a family to Florida to play in Disney World for a week and had so much fun together. It was hot, taking a baby was hard, lines were long but we had such a great time together; sneaking in a week of family time before moving the next week and Nate's graduate school started the week after. Here were our highlights of the trip:

Nate's holding Ainsley in the Baby Care Center in Animal Kingdom. Among the five theme parks we visited, this one was the most baby/family friendly. The facilities were great and it was nice to take a break from the extreme heat.

Everyone kept hurrying from ride to ride but we took a few moments to do something Ainsley would enjoy every once-in-a-while. She loved playing with Eeyore...

And Winnie the Pooh (and Tigger too). She was so cute with the characters and watched curiously as they would offer her their hands to touch. She loved having moments for her.

Also high on the list of favorites would be the safari. At first Ainsley only wanted to sit up tall and see the animals, trying to support her head alone. She quickly got tired and ended up leaning back to rest against mommy. We saw a mommy and baby elephant that were so cute.

We loved the Harry Potter park inside Universal Studios: Islands of Adventure. For most of the day there was a 2 hour wait to even get into the Harry Potter section of the park. Our solution: wait until the late afternoon after most had already seen it, which worked well. Gigi (Grandma Stout) got everyone a pair of Harry Potter glasses to wear inside the park. Ainsley mostly wanted to eat them. It was a lot of fun.

Ainsley got a fun pair of sunglasses that were so funny on her. Okay, does she not look a little like Elton John with these on?

Jackson (Ainsley's only Stout cousin) really wanted to show off his cool sunglasses when the camera came out. He was so cute with Ainsley during the trip, always trying to take care of her.

Ainsley learned a little more to get over her pickiness as the heat made her more and more thirsty. She learned to love to drink cold water out of a cup, straw, and baby bottle. She looks so funny drinking out of a straw but she needs to drink more water so...bring on the funny baby!

Here's almost the whole group. Aubrey was taking the picture. We had a fun time together.

Ainsley loved having her mommy near. She would go to others and have a fun time but naps and mommy were necessities to having a fun vacation.

One of the group's favorite rides was the Toy Story Mania interactive ride. Jackson rode with grandpa and had a blast.

At the end of the day we had a dance party as we couldn't make it into the Fantasmic show. It was fun just dancing together. Jackson showed off his amazing break dance moves.

In Japan we ate a family meal together where they prepare the food in front of you. It was tasty and fun. It was fun to have things to do together but also moments where we could break away and do our own thing for an hour, mostly to give Ainsley time to eat, play her way, or just be quiet. She would talk and talk to the other babies in the room for nursing. She grew up on us during this trip. Our little baby is turning into a little girl. Her personality keeps developing and growing. What a joy.


Walt Disney World was so much fun but wiped out our little girl. She had so much fun that she would crash in the van each night. Disney World + baby = very difficult + so much fun + wonderful memories. Thank you grandpa and grandma Stout, that was a wonderful trip filled with great memories. Goodbye Disney World, we hope to see you again soon (hopefully less than 50 years).