Eli's Second Birthday!

Our sweet little boy is getting so big! He is now two years old and growing up so fast. We had a fun pirate party with friends and then another party later with family. Eli got an extra treat by having Grandma and Grandpa Williams come up for his birthday! Here are the pictures of the party!

Arrgh Matey! Eli is turning 2!

Here are the treats that my sister Brandie and I (mostly Brandie) put together. We had a fruit pirate ship and shark, hot dog octopus's, cheese ball island, cupcake islands with treasure, and of course our treasure chest cake! 

Playing catch the fish game. The fish were fake and the kids really just had fun splashing in the water.

Enjoying some snacks with friends.

Blowing out the candles on his cupcake!

Pictures of Eli opening his presents. As soon as he would open one the other kids would claim it and start to play with it, good thing he had lots of presents to open.

Playing in the pool after the party. We had a couple of friends stay and play in the pool after. It was Eli's favorite part!

One of Eli's favorite friends Mckynlee stayed to play in the pool. When we finally pulled them out there was a lot of sadness and crying, they love to play together!

Extra special birthday breakfast for Eli! Waffles with strawberries and whip cream, yum!

Party is over and it's time for a nap, but we don't want to let go of our new Percy the Train :)

Grandpa Peterson got Eli a lawn mower for his birthday, now he can be just like daddy!

Something has already gone wrong with the new toy, leave it up to Grandpa Williams to fix things right up.

 Mama's little rock climber! Daddy and Eli found a hole and Eli really wanted to explore it.

While Grandma and Grandpa Williams were up we did a short hike at the top of little Cottonwood Canyon. We hiked to a small lake called Cecret Lake. It was a beautiful day and the hike was so much fun. Eli kept trying to wander off the trail and when we would call him back he would put on a pout and say, "Let's not go that way."

Williams Family Reunion and Arches National Park

We had so much fun at the reunion, we missed most of you, but I met a whole bunch of great people who are cousins or spouses to who knows? That is a huge family! After the reunion we headed to Moab and Arches National Park and had a great time hiking around and enjoying beautiful red rock.

We stopped at a park outside of Green River. Jared didn't believe that it was there because it's a bit out of the way. We finally found it though and had fun playing in the river.

There is a little horny toad on my hand and Eli loved it! The cutest part about it was how he said horny toad and he talked about it for days after.

Grandma and Eli!

Williams and their spouses.

Jared at the Needles Overlook. We stopped on our way to Moab to enjoy the beautiful expanse.

Arches, here comes Eli! He would talk about the Arches and at the little ones he would say "Don't hurt me, I'm just a little guy."

Standing under North Window arch.

Here is my cute little guy posing in front North Window Arch.

Peek-a-boo! Eli's little hide-a-way.

My favorite picture of the trip! Eli and Jared with Delicate Arch in the background!

One more arch on our grand tour.

• Landscape Arch. Eli didn't make it much farther, he fell asleep in Jared's arms on the way back. Poor worn out little boy!

Zoo and Bryce Canyon Trip

3 more weeks give or take a couple days till baby comes, so here's to trying to catch up on the blog because we all know that I'll get behind once baby arrives! Here is a trip that we took to the zoo with daddy, and our camping trip to Bryce Canyon with my family!

Starting with one of Eli's favorite things at the zoo, the train ride!

Popping out of the gofer holes, Hi Dad!

Checking out the Elephants, we love baby Zuri she's so cute.

The gorilla was just chillin' and eating a banana and Eli's second favorite thing at the zoo, the carousel ride!

Check out Mommy and Eli on the tigers!

Finally make it to Bryce and Eli's favorite part is the headlamp that changes colors :)

Jared captures beautiful Bryce Canyon with his picture taking skills.

Good Morning Camp, it's a bit chilly but we bundled up and of course I have an internal heater currently.

Jared and Spencer ride an epic trail that's smooth as butter with great features and beautiful vistas.

See the beautiful scenery on Thunder Mountain.

Relaxing in the truck before the hike.

Walking on the fence, what poise and balance.

Family picture on the Rim

Sisters and Eli

Already tired, almost done with our Rim hike.

Eli was the most tired, he didn't quite make it to the lodge. When we got there we let him crash on the couch for about an hour.

Eli's first bus ride! He loves buses.

Our last hike before we headed home, this was a first for our family. We have done most of the hikes in Bryce so to find a new one was a treat.

Playing in the river on a hot day to cool off.