The Guddat Gang

This is Jon. I took my three girls out to Umptanum Falls on Sunday and they loved it. Brittany and I used to go there when we were dating and we hadn't been there in more than three years. I had Addy Bear in my backpack and D-Rae had "Rosie" in her backpack as you can see. We saw plenty of birds and Delaney chased a squirrel and got more adventerous the closer we got to the falls, which certainly gave dear ol' Dad some heart problems! Both girls loved the water and really enjoyed the nature walk. Mom and Dad were thrilled and our next trip into the wild will be soon!

Delaney and I have found a friendship this summer that is so much fun. She is in a stage right now where she likes to get blankets and cuddle, which I certainly don't turn down from such a busy girl. She asks pretty much every night, "can we cuddle and watch a mobie (movie)?" It's so cute! She wears glasses and is not entirely fond of them, so her and I wear them together and are glasses twins. Whenever I wear mine she magically wants to wear hers, at least that's one good example I can set. (jk) We are just so proud of our big girl and how much she has progressed just in the last few months. She almost has her ABC's down now and counting to 10 is pretty good. I just can't believe she will be four in October!

My little girl is growing up (she will be one in 2 1/2 weeks!) and certainly testing her limits. She is walking around the furniture and climbing and crawling and insisting on sitting and standing in the bath by herself. We keep thinking it will be any time now when she just takes off and starts walking. Yesterday she walked with me while I held just one of her hands for about 10 steps! We can't wait to see her reach this new milestone, yet I know when this happens nothing in our house will be safe again :)

My best girlfriend got married in Victoria this past weekend and it was such a wonderful time. She married her sweetie Jake at the Empress Hotel in downtown Victoria. The hotel was elegant and beautiful. The staff puts on a perfect wedding and treats guests very well. It was very impressive what with the 28 untensils set out at lunch alone (jk)! Jon and I got to try the famous Empress tea which was good but we both burned our tongues! Jon and I loved the royal treatment and were very touched to be included in such a posh, private affair. The bride looked gorgeous and the groom very proud. It was full of touching moments and overall a very special day for us, as I am sure for all that were included. We are so happy for them and wish much joy and happiness in the many years that lay ahead.

This is Jon. Brittany and I went to Victoria to see her friend, Cassandra, get married and we tried to get as much in as we could in 24 hours. We walked around the Inner Harbour (Canadians put "u" in everything, and spell everything with an "re" instead of "er") which included the Parliament Building (in lights in one of the pictures) the famous Empress Hotel and stopped in all the shops in the downtown tourism district. Our hotel room looked like we stepped into the 1920s, including a real fireplace and big windows that overlooked the streets below. There was a pub underneath the hotel, too, which I added some class to Friday night. We got gelato, which is a different way of making ice cream. All I know is that the ice cream "loafs" were probably the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. The ferry ride home was a bit crazy with the boat really rocking and the waves crashing over the bow (isn't that the front of the boat?). It was awes...

People keep saying that these two girls look so much alike. I agree, especially when sleeping. Well, I decided to do a little comparison. Let me know what you think and,of course, whether you know which one is which! They are both so adorable we are lucky however they look, aren't we?

On Sat. Jon and I went to a wedding in Lakewood so the girls got to spend the day with Grandpa Jeff! The girls had so much fun, Delaney is still talking about it today. They hung out and played and ate snacks, and boy do they love Grandpa Jeff! They can't wait to see him again. We loved it because we got some time to ourselves and the girls were exhausted today which is definitely a bonus!!! This is one of Delaney's favorite pictures of her and Grandpa when they baked cookies together a few months ago.

Well we had one fun 4th of July. We bbq'd some good eats, made yummy smores and had a old-fashioned family campout in the backyard. All of us in a sweaty tent not sleeping at all, it was great. Of course it wouldn't been complete without Jon trying to blow his hand off holding a few roman candles in honor of his brother.

Delaney had a really chapped top lip and decided that she needed a band-aid on her top lip. I tried to convince her that it would not stay there very well and be awkward, but she insisted. Needless to say it provided a very good laugh for Mommy and Daddy. Jon thought she looked like Charlie Chaplin, but I thought since it was a blue band-aid she looked like Papa Smurf.

We are loving the heat over here! It has cooled down a bit to only 80 right now and is just about right. We hope everyone has a happy 4th of July!

Little Addy Bear and Mommy hanging out, seeing if I know what I'm doing!