July 31, 2009

Who Needs Carnival Rides When You've Got a Lollipop

We broke tradition slightly this year and went to the Provo parade on the 4th of July rather than the Murray parade. The floats were throwing tons of candy to the kids as they passed by. Unfortunately, we arrived a bit late and were therefore outside of candy throwing range. So, Larry's brother Jamison took Ava and wormed his way through the masses to get Ava a front row seat and all the candy a kid could possibly want. However, as soon as she got this lollipop she was content to return to the safety of the sidewalk.

Larry's brother Danny and (Danny's then girlfriend/now fiancé) Patricia came down from BYU-Idaho to attend the 4th of July festivities. Here's the happy couple practicing for their engagement pictures.

Larry's aunt and uncle from Washington D.C. were also in town to help move in their daughter Katrin (Larry's cousin), who is starting her freshman year at Utah Valley University. Here's Katrin along with Patricia, Danny, Ava, and Jamison.

After the parade, we all headed over to the Provo carnival to take Ava on some rides. There were only two rides which Ava was big enough to go on. The first was an inflatable obstacle course. Ava was very excited to go on it at first. However, she didn't make it very far before getting stuck. She quickly admitted defeat and asked to get off (it didn't help that the rubbery plastic was very hot to the touch due to the extreme July temperatures).

The other ride was a giant inflatable slide. Ava quickly shied away from what looked to be too scary of a height for her liking, thus forfeiting her tickets to Danny and Patricia and reclaiming her lollipop. Later that night, we hosted the annual 4th of July party, which is now permanently held at our house due to the fact that our backyard provides an excellent view of the Thanksgiving Point fireworks.

July 28, 2009

Sun Valley Serenade

Last June, we made our semi-annual trip to Sun Valley, Idaho with Krista's family. One of the fun things we did while there was to take Ava swimming. She was very excited while at the hotel (as pictured below), but was absolutely terrified to get in the water once we got to the pool. After trying to coax her in for nearly 30 minutes, Larry finally took her in kicking and screaming. Within minutes she had calmed down. And an hour later she had completely thrown caution to the wind and was acting as though she could swim if we would just let her go.

We did many other fun things in Sun Valley (eating, shopping, biking, watching Sun Valley Serenade for the millionth time), but failed to take any pictures until our last day there. Here are pictures of Ava with each of her parents.

For those that are curious, Krista was about six and a half months pregnant in the above picture.

We also got some pictures of Ava with her cousin Annissa. They make a cute little pair.

You may not be able to tell it from these pictures, but they were both extremely nervous to sit on this rock. They were certain that they were going to fall into the little stream behind them.

There's another trip to Sun Valley planned in September, but it just so happens to fall on the same weekend that a certain someone is scheduled to make their grand appearance. So, it's goodbye to Sun Valley until next year for the Furr family.

July 22, 2009

The Crib Is Where The Heart Is

When we first found out we were expecting a new baby, we started preparing our guest room to be Ava's new room after Jellybean is born. The room has been done for several months now, however Ava does not want to give up her crib for a bed. She is very excited to play in her "bee room" (the name she dubbed for the room due to the bumblebees embroidered on the comforter) during the day, but does not want to sleep in there come nighttime.

The first night after the room was done, Ava was so excited to sleep in the bed. We tucked her in and she had a huge smile on her face. As soon as we walked out of the room, however, she promptly let out a little yelp and told us that she wanted to go back to her crib.

Since that day, we have been trying to transition Ava to her bed by telling her that Jellybean will need to sleep in the crib. We have even redecorated her very girly nursery to a boyish beach theme. Despite our efforts, she would respond by saying that Jellybean could sleep in the bee room and she would stay in the crib. We next tried telling her that since Jellybean is a baby he will need to sleep in the crib. Now she says Jellybean can sleep in the crib with her. Lucky for Ava, she still has more time in her crib since Jellybean will sleep in a bassinet for the first couple of months (or possibly longer if Ava has things her way).

July 16, 2009

Weeva the Woodchuck

Ava went to the zoo last fall and had such a fun time that we decided to all go back again this year.

Our first stop was the bird show. Ava was amazed as several birds swooped just inches above her head. She enjoyed the wildlife so much that she decided to imitate a woodchuck.

After seeing an elephant show and several other animals, Ava compared her wingspan to that of a gorilla.

We tried to get a picture of her with Krista, but she played coy, wanting to go see some more animals.

It appears that we will need to take her to the zoo more often.