A Wigginton Family Tradition

Every year the Wigginton family takes a week off and travels to Lake Tahoe...a tradition that Jim, Talmage and I gladly joined this year! We were there for four days and it was so relaxing and beautiful. I just love Tahoe water. It's so cold and refreshing it takes your breath away.

We took the gondola to the top of Squaw Valley and hiked around. It was beautiful, but unfortunately Talmage got his first nose bleed. This poor kid! I looked down and he had smeared blood all over his face. I won't lie...I freaked out! But fortunately there was a doctor on deck (AKA--Papa) and we got Talmage fixed up (and me calmed down) in no time.

Everyone enjoyed hanging out with the kid. We honestly LOVE living near family. So cute that he stayed asleep while his dear Auntie ate!

We toured this old home called Vikingsholm. So beautiful. A woman named Laura Knight had it built in the 1920's and it was done so well that they have done virtually nothing to restore it. It was a very family friendly activity which Talmage and his parents greatly enjoyed!

And of course, we all enjoyed the crisp water. It was so fun to see Talmage's face when his feet touched the water. He absolutely LOVED it. And he was so interested in the sand between his toes. I love when he discovers new things. Anyway, it was a great week!

Clarke Family Reunion

We returned last night from a fabulous family reunion in Chicago. It was both Talmage's and my first visit to the city and we fell in love! Mum graciously allowed us to stay at her home and was, as always, a loving and doting hostess. We enjoyed meeting new members of the family, exploring the sites of downtown and spending some quality time with Mum, Jim's Mom and Aunt Nancy. Here are just a few pictures from our wonderful adventure (I took about a million and have had a hard time deciding which ones to share!)

On our first full day in Chicago we rode in style to The Drake (a hotel in the heart of downtown Chicago) for lunch. So fun! We took a bus tour of the city and visited Lincoln park. I love this park because they have a FREE Zoo and Plantetarium. We didn't have much time, but were sure to get one picture in each location! Talmage was so exhausted from the fun that he fell asleep sitting up in my arms, it was a rare and precious moment.

This park right on Lake Michigan was so sweet. Talmage was thoroughly entertained by these swings. And look at my two handsome men at the picnic!!! That night we had a quiet dinner at home which was perfect.

On our last full day the three of us took a train into town to do some exploring. We spent most of our time in Millenium Park and boy was it entertaining. Between the Bean, the skyline, Abe Lincoln and the street performers we were in seventh heaven. It was thrilling!

Anyway, the flight home was fairly uneventful...until Talmage decided that enough was enough and screamed the last 30 minutes on the flight. I'm not talking about wimpering, or moaning or crying even...he had veins shooting out of his head, big bulging eyes and was turning bright red. We decided next time we fly it may be wise to pack some parachutes, just in case! All in all, it was a great vaca! Thank you, thank you, thank you to the Clarke family!

Happy 4th of July

I was a little concerned about how Talmage would react to fireworks, but he absolutely loved them! His eyes were bugging out of his head looking at all the colors and he didn't cry, not even once. As shown below, Mom and Dad could take a break to cheese for the camera, but Talmage was way too mesmerized by the lights! Jim says we need to have a firework show every night!

And PS...how cute is this! Talmage surrounded by two beautiful young ladies! Kaci and I couldn't resist putting our very patriotic babies together for a photo shoot. Our little ladies man is over 3 months younger than the twins, but he's definitely holding his own, huh?

First Swimming Experience

So, here's what Talmage has to say about his first experience in the swimming pool. He did like it for a few minutes, but then he was very quick to show his dissatisfaction! Is it awful that I just adore his crinkled up screaming face...so cute! Oh well, better luck next time!

Happy (Belated) Father's Day!

Father's Day number one was a success! I took James on a day-date (the first since Talmage joined our lives) on the Saturday before Father's Day and my mom watched the kid. It was great! We started at the temple, then had In-N-Out for lunch, and then headed over to Lake Natomas and went Kayaking. Instead of each having our own kayak, we opted for the tandem...such the good decision! After about point two seconds I was exhausted and would point and say, "Good job honey, now let's go that way!" He got the work out of the century for sure! It was hilarious and such a good time. James is such a great daddy and I'm glad his first official Daddy's day was so good!

Talmage's Week FULL of Adventures

This week was super fun for our main man Talmage.

Papa and Joyce generously treated us to SUPER yummy Chinese food Monday night. Joyce said she has trying not to be selfish and hog Talmage, but she knew on this occasion she'd have him all to herself! After about 5 minutes she called Jim over to rescue her from our little acrobat. He is so active that her arms were super sore. Story of my life, every night I get in bed SO SORE from bouncing, rocking, feeding, picking up, putting down this nearly 15 pound bundle of joy. Anyway, it was fun. And who is loving the I love Mommy outfit!!!

Now that Uncle Chase is out of school, Talmage is loving spending some quality time with him as well. Here they are laying on the floor together watching Baby Einstein!

And boy did these boys LOVE spending some time together. My Uncle Jason and Aunt Tasha's kids came over to play on Thursday and we had so much fun. Bailey loved snuggling with Talmage (well, until he started screaming at least!) and Maisen and Aiden helped give him a bath. It was so cute, and they were super helpful! I hope all these boys grow up to be good friends.

And last but not least, Talmage saw his first movie in the theatre! On Friday, we went and saw UP and it was so good. Really, I laughed, I cried (unfortunately that is true-multiple times even!) all in a Disney animated masterpiece! And even better, the little angel child slept through the whole thing. We all really enjoyed it!

Peace Out to the White Stallion!

Sad day. The White Stallion has officially left our family. Silly as it may sound, I was really sad to see it go...and may have even shed a few tears! I guess it just means we're one step closer to peacin out ourselves!