Summer Fun

The month of June has been lots of fun for Zola. Here are some of the things she's been up to:

--- Enjoying the sunshine, during the brief moments that it appears.



---Working on her dance moves.
When she's not distracted by "Mommy's Bike" (really John's bike), she's trying to get the twirl down. Incidentally, that track of "Staying Alive" playing in the background is pure vinyl, baby.



--- The Lemont Strawberry Festival, complete with strawberry desserts, music, and pony rides.



Zola was a little nervous at first, but she quickly got the hang of riding.








After all that excitement, Zola just wanted to relax and listen to the bluegrass music. So, she found an empty seat in the crowd and decided to make herself at home. Luckily, her new friends were very nice and let her stay awhile.


--- Cycling. Although Jana has been hitting the bike lately, Zola's excited to take it up (eventually).






--- Partying.
Yesterday (June 21), we went to a friend's birthday party. The Tumblebus was there in all its splendor.



If you're like me, you might not know what The Tumblebus is all about. The lettering on the outside says that it's a "gym on wheels," and that pretty much sums it up.



The Tumblebus Driver was very good at helping Zola with her gymnastics routine:






"Daddy! School Bus!" - credit for "Best Zola Video Ever" must go to Jana here.



Zola loved playing in the rice and beans.




--- Looking at Backhoes. Zola loves construction equipment.



--- Feeding the ducks and playing in the fountain in Bellefonte.






And summer has just begun . . .

Jump On Mommy!

Who would have thought that this sweet, mild-mannered, ponytail-wearing little girl had a professional wrestler inside of her?





Oh yeah, anyone who's ever met her. That's who.

Zola loves to play "Jump on Mommy!" Her second-favorite game is "Jump on Daddy!" Surprisingly, she's not a big fan of "Jump on Zola!"

What in the world?

What in the world has Zola been up to?

It's been awhile since we found the time to post new pictures, but here's a sample of all of the crazy things Zola's been doing. I've got to post more often because she's changing fast.

In April, we made several trips down to DC to see Jana's parents as they finished up their mission at the LDS Washington DC Visitors Center. We were especially lucky to spend a little time with the Cardons - Jana's sister and her family.

Zach takes care of Zola like a good cousin should.


We went with the Cardons to Baltimore, to see an Orioles game at Camden Yards





We also took advantage of Grandpa's extensive knowledge of the backwoods trails around their apartment. Who knew of all of the cool stuff around town?

A vista of what Grandpa called "the Grand Canyon."



"The Pagoda"



And, most mysteriously, "The Leprechaun House."








And we can't forget about the great little park next door.




Grandpa and Dirk share the same birthday, although Grandpa had it first. Jana made this awesome cake for us to celebrate. Seriously, it was amazing (and tasty). We're going to miss having Jana's folks within driving distance.




Not to be outdone, Dirk's parents made the trek out to State College to visit Zola.



Of course, no trip to central PA is complete without a visit to Hershey. Zola has a thing for Hershey's chocolate milkshakes. So does the monkey on her back. Mimi was kind enough to share.



But before you get the wrong overall impression, you should know that Zola has a lot of troublemaker in her as well (she gets this from her mommy). This is the timeout chair. Zola spends a lot of time here. Here she is looking sufficiently penitent.




Last week, Zola enjoyed her first ice cream cone at the house of a friend. She ate it like a pro.



A new twist on bath-time.




This is where Zola does most of her heavy reading.




Adorable, aren't they?

Tremendous Front-Butt Potential

I saw greatness today, and snapped a photo.

Zola goes to Washington

Zola and I decided we needed another cross country journey and decided to go visit family in Duvall, Washington. We had a fantastic time with my sister Shauna, her husband Jeff, and their three sons Nick, Chase, and Zach. Zola fell in love with all of them and literally still talks about them now.














Zola loved walking around with the big boys, Zach and Chase.














She loved cheering for Nick at his basketball game.














Although Nick wasn't that happy about the game, we think he was a Rockstar.














Speaking of Rockstars.... (Notice little Z on the drums)














Zola loved playing with the boys. Especially being pushed around in their car.














Or swinging on swings and climbing the rock wall.














Did I mention the rockstars?














We had a blast! Thanks Cardons!!!!!

Happy Mardi Gras!

I hope your Mardi Gras was as wild as mine!

Crazy From Cabin Fever

Since it's so cold around here, we have to constantly try to find ways to keep entertained without going outside. Here are a few of them:

1. Elmo. Like every little kid, Zola seems to have a thing for the ticklish red monster with the weird voice. She loves her polka-dotted Elmo dress, and it's good for 15-20 demonstrations per day of where Elmo is and where the dots are.




2. When Zola wants to get away, she retires to her "Fortress of Solitude" in the front room. Here, she's saying hello to any unsuspecting passers-by. The Fortress is also quite handy for puppet shows.



3. Zola loves to color. We like to think it's because her namesake, Jana's Aunt Zola, is an accomplished artist. Or, it might just be because coloring is pretty fun.




3b. Unfortunately, sometimes Zola likes to color on the walls. Genius Jana saw this coming and insisted we use washable crayons. Genius.

Zola didn't seem to realize that coloring on the walls is a bad idea. On the bright side, though, she didn't get angry when we so cavalierly washed away her artwork. In all, the crisis ended well.




4. Crazy glasses always crack me up too.




5. Zola is now a pet owner. Since Zola doesn't know many words or how to name things, we decided to go ahead and name her fish. His name is "New World Bistro," or "Beast" for short. We think it's a nice homage to a local restaurant which most locals think we used as inspiration for Zola's name. At least it's a really nice, fancy restaurant.



6. Like we did all summer and fall, we still play "ball," but now we have to play indoors (lame).



7. Zola loves puzzles. This one is pretty tricky. Even I have trouble telling the oval from the circle. But I've watched Zola do it now about 2,382 times, so I think I have the hang of it.
[In deference to you, the viewer, the following video has been edited for length.]




8. We eat. Sometimes Zola insists on having silverware in her hand just like her parents do, but she hasn't quite figured out what it's for. I think it might be a show of baby-bravado, as if to say, "I don't even need this fork, but I can hold it while I eat just the same." Babies are such show-offs.

This video might be a little more boring than the others, but there's some backstory to both parts (it's been spliced). The first section shows Zola's first encounter eating cold cereal with milk, in a bowl, holding (but not using) a spoon. The second part I filmed last week out of sheer amazement as she polished off four (that's right, four) scrambled eggs all by herself. She literally ate both her own and Jana's breakfast.




9. And Sometimes we even do a little cooking.




Our Cabin Fever is getting pretty bad. I hope we can hold out until Spring.