Bryce Canyon and Salt Lake City

We have been continuing on our journey... from Zion we headed north into Bryce Canyon and then onto Salt Lake City for the night.

We had previously mentioned the breast milk that is taking the journey with us... here is a shot of the cooler... minus a few bags! And so far, the dry ice has been doing it's job very well!

Kevin and Karsie at Bryce Canyon.

We did the amphitheater drive and stopped at all the overlooks. Bryce Point gave an amazing view of the whole canyon.

The indian name for Bryce Canyon means "red rocks, standing like men in a bowl-shaped canyon"... and that is exactly what it is!

Amazing waterfall against the red dirt.

The colors were just gorgeous.

Walking along the little river.

So, in case you haven't been, Temple Square in Salt Lake City is beautiful. There are fountains and flowers and amazingly perfect grass lawns. We took a little walking tour of the square and couldn't resist the amazing gardens for some pictures!

Karsie thought it was funny to sit beside the fountain!

She loved the flowers... and wanted to eat them.

Playing in the grass.

She didn't know what to make of the grass... kinda pokey and funny feeling!

"Mom, can I please eat these flowers?"

Leaving Las Vegas

Our next stop was Zion National Park in southern Utah.

Karsie loves being able to crawl and move around... what a nice break before the drive ahead.

We arrived at Zion, already sweaty, but excited to explore.

We promptly found a creek and decided that it was time to play!

It was much cooler down by the water... and so pretty.

Karsie was toasty too... so she got her little toes wet (semi-against her will). Once she felt the cooler water she didn't seem to mind as much.

Clapping on the shuttle bus.

We loved walking by the Virgin River down to the gateway to the Narrows... and if we had more time and the right shoes, we would have walked into the Narrows some.

Karsie loves riding along wherever we go. She loved all the green on this walk.

Zion is full of AMAZING scenery... like this massive rock wall that weeps.

On the walk back... getting a little tired.

On the shuttle back... really super tired!

On our way to Bryce!

Vacation Volume I - "108*"

In case "108*" is a bit confusing, let us enlighten you. It was the temperature in Las Vegas when we passed through and stayed for the night. Yuck!

Our first stop was Las Vegas. Since it was a weekday (Sundays are weekdays to the hotel businesses) hotels were cheap, so we treated ourselves to the MGM Grand. It was okay. Not great. We are a day behind on posting, so we'll get yesterday's up tomorrow or tonight. This was a picture taken on our way out to get dry ice on our way out of Vegas. Why dry ice? Breast milk. We are trying to keep 45 bags of breast milk frozen for two weeks. Well, it's 45 minus 3 each day.
Can you tell Kevin had on a carrier backpack for Karsie in 108 degree weather? We decided to take a walk to the Bellagio for a buffet (one that we would not end up getting) from our hotel, which ended up being quite the ordeal. They're doing construction on new condos on the strip and that caused us to go up and down and up and down stairs and escalators for many blocks. Not fun when you're carrying a 20 lb child (okay, more like 18.5 or so).

Kevin got Karsie out of the carrier and went to the garden at the Bellagio to cool off. So sweet!
We placed Karsie in front of some flowers at the entrance of the garden. We got a few looks from staff, but all the guests (and a TON of other people on this trip so far) gawked over how cute she was. Yes, we're proud, biased parents.

After we saw that the line at the buffet was way too long and Karsie was way too tired to justify spending that much on food that we will not get to eat as we take care of a tired child, we settled on McDonald's at our hotel. But before we braved the heat again we found a chair and rug for Karsie to play on. We also enjoyed the air conditioner.

Look at that sweet little bum! She LOVED the rug. A Bug on a rug. Ha ha....ha ha..........ha........................ha. (And yes, we wiped her off before she had a chance to chew on hands or feet).

After her spa treatment... Karsie got ready for bed like a big girl. It was time for her first night on vacation. She did very well. In fact, she has done amazingly well sitting in a car for hours at a time. There are moments, but she's a good little trooper.

Up next.......Utah and some national parks!

Birthday Party #1

That's right... we are those parents, the ones that have two parties for their kid. We had her first party today and despite the fact that she probably won't remember it... we all had a great time!

Cousin London and Uncle Matt playing above the pool.

Cousin Kelty playing with bubbles.

All the kiddos playing in the pool (Kelty, James and London).

Karsie got some cool toys... this is Emily... Karsie LOVES Emily (from the same family as Jaque the Peacock and Mortimer the Moose)!

Karsie and Kelty comparing notes on how to best play with this toy!

Cupcakes for the birthday girl!

Blowing out her candle.

Enjoying cake for the first time... not quite sure what to make of it!

She loved the texture in her hands though!

Olivia helped clean Karsie's mess.

Cake face!

Sharing with Murphy too!

Some Pictures from Today

Who do you see in her (here)... Kevin or Michelle??

Karsie loves lasagna... but not the pasta balls... she makes sure none stay in her mouth.

This meal was promptly followed by...

...this bath.

She LOVES being in the water... be it bath or pool... she is our little fish... which bodes well for her since swimming is a non-contact sport and might suit her tummy well later in life!

San Diego Adventures

Here are some favorites from our San Diego trip...

We had an awesome picnic with lots of friends... 4 babies, 4 dogs and many great friends. It was such a fun time to see some faces we haven't seen in a while and spend time catching up!

Karsie continues to LOVE being in water... she splashed half her bath water onto the floor... but she had a blast doing it.

After bath time, Karsie's curls really stand out!

We also spent some time with Karsie's Auntie Chrissy and Uncle Todd... Karsie loves them and said "Todd" and snuggled with Auntie Chrissy.

We had a lovely Fourth... and enjoyed the COOL San Diego weather!

The view from my parents balcony... at one point we saw 9 different fire works shows over the city! What a treat!

On our way out of town we had to stop at the zoo... Karsie did her impression of the lion for us.

And we enjoyed the time with Karsie's God-mamma.

It was a great trip... and we are excited to get back there pretty soon!

Breastmilk

Well, we made it! We have successfully weaned Karsie off of all medicine (aside from vitamins and Prilosec) and we now are giving her only breast milk. We're kind of at a funny time because we're on a ticking clock with the breast milk. We have just enough frozen to get us to the next G.I. appointment. Remember all those bottles and bags of breast milk in the freezer we showed you a few months back? We've burned through most of those and are quickly getting down to nothing. The good news is that if all goes well and she gains weight on this diet (fingers crossed and lots of prayer) she might be put onto regular cow's milk. That would be good for two reasons:

1. It would save us a TON of time not having to keep on top of thawing breast milk and moving them from freezer to freezer.

2. It would keep her from having to go onto formula because once we get back to the appointment, we'll be out of milk and Michelle isn't producing enough to meet Karsie's needs at this point. It's a good thing she was so diligent at pumping for so long even after Karsie stopped getting it for a long time.

Gain weight little bug!