Aurora's 1st (13 month) Birthday Party!

On July 24th my sister threw a birthday party for Aurora so we could celebrate with our family in Minnesota and Aaron's parents from Wisconsin.

The birthday girl is ready to party!


Cousins, hanging out on the couch.


Look at all these birthdays!


My sister is very creative and handy, look at this wonderful cake she baked and decorated for us. (Yummy too)


Daddy helping Aurora open her presents.


Taking a break, opening presents is hard work!


Any more gifts in here?


Aurora really seems to enjoy putting strings, pieces of grass, etc between her toes.


Getting ready to blow out the candles (okay, I did that part).


Ready for our first bite of (carrot) cake. (Notice we decided to remove all clothing for easier clean-up.)


Yummy! While Aurora did like the cake, the ice cream was still her favorite.


Get me away from these strange people!


Nothing tops off a birthday party like a lovely rainbow, look closely and you can see all the colors.


Nothing beats a good swing either.


Except perhaps blowing bubbles...


Thanks again to Jessica for putting together such a great party for us and thank you to all who came.

Next up, first hard-soled shoes and a trip to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa Sarver.

Julie and Mike's Wedding

On July 23rd my cousin Julie got married to Mike Rue in Mountain Lake, Minnesota.


Aaron with cousins Corwin and Grant. Aaron is still the tallest, barely!


Julie and Mike sharing their first slice of wedding cake.


Ciel was the flower girl.


Aaron and my sister Jessica (who just accepted a new position as an art therapist! Congratulations Jessica! :-D).


The birthday buddies (both are 11/13), Ciel and my cousin Audrey who is starting graduate school in the fall studying geology.


Ciel sharing a dance with the father of the bride.


Theo, dancing up storm.

To see Theo in action you can download one of these videos: Theo Dance 1 and Theo Dance 2.

(Great) Grandma Nelson enjoying a dance with her son Wade, father of the bride.


Aaron and Aurora getting down on the dance floor.



Congratulations Julie and Mike!

Too hot, went to the lake

Okay, it's probably never that hot here in San Francisco. However, when we were visiting in Minnesota a month ago it was hot! A perfect day for Aurora's first swim in a lake.

Ciel and Theo ready for a swim.









Aurora and daddy ready for the lake. First steps.


It's cold! Pick me up!


Maybe I'll just watch the other kids for a while.


Eventually Aurora did warm up and enjoy the water.


All smiles.


Motorboat motorboat...


The happy swimmers.


Next up, wedding photos.