I'll show you!

Karen decided that our living room was too crowded with baby gear (like the infant chair pictured above) for the dog beds, so the poor dogs have been booted... Only our dog Trash has decided to stage a silent protest.

Return to the Pool

On Sunday we had the Lynch family over for dinner. We were celebrating because Bill landed a civil engineering job with Idaho Power. It was wicked hot, so we decided to raid the neighbors' (Karen's parents) pool. Here Bill is hanging out with Rylen.Meanwhile, Jessica played with their water baby, Kenna.Kenna was very unhappy when the rest of us decided it was time to get out and go home.

Karen Can't Drive Our Riding Lawn Mower

Square feet of yard Karen has mowed this year: zero. (She says she can't drive our riding lawnmower because it's too complicated.) Number of acres of hay she has cut: about 150. I guess I need to buy a lawnmower with AC and a stereo...Elena and I went down to visit our favorite hard-working farmer/mother while she was cutting hay. I took this picture of Elena while we waited for Karen, and then nearly got us both killed by an oncoming mint truck.

Five Months

Seriously, I'm five months old already? Where has the time gone?
Here is a comparison from her first picture with Puppy. In five months she has doubled her birth weight, learned to watch tv, and has started "real" food.

She has determined that anything within reach is a potential chew toy. Last week, Karen's boss met Elena. He stuck out his finger so that she could squeeze it, and she immediately tried to shove it in her mouth. Here, Puppy falls victim.She couldn't quite lift Puppy back up on her own, and she is obviously not happy.

Fresh Baby Pics

This week's accomplishments for Elena include learning to scream/screech (for hours on end), audibly giggling, and her first cereal. She weighed in at 14. 5 lbs. The jury is still out on what color her hair is going to be. I call this one "Nooo! I'm too young for cellulite!"Here is a picture of her "eating" her first cereal. I think more stuff came out of her mouth than we shoveled in. I made the mistake of making her laugh with a full mouth, and she shot cereal across the room. Lesson learned. Here she is with her ridiculously big hat. Is it a bad thing when the strangle hazard warning label from the stroller is next to her neck?

Alex and April Come to Boise

Our long-time friend Alex and his fiance April are visiting the Boise area this weekend from Maryland. This was our first time meeting meeting April, and we have enjoyed hanging out with her from the start. As part of my master plan to convince them to move to Boise, we took the horses for a ride just outside of Boise today. April grew up in Pennsylvania, and I think she was impressed with all of the federal land that we have in Idaho. Here are Alex and April near the top of the ridge, getting ready to head back down. ...And working their way down the ridge.
Here they are heading back down to Boise. My office is visible above and just to the left of Rat's ears. Tomorrow we go rafting!

The Pool Is Open

Like it or not, hot weather has finally arrived. This evening we decided that it was time for Elena to make her first trip to John and Mary's swimming pool. As you can see, Karen has decked her out in all of the latest in baby swimwear.While Sprout isn't talking yet, I'm pretty sure this is her way of telling us that if we ever show these pictures in public once she's a teenager, she will make us pay.Here are a couple of pictures of the girls hanging out in the pool.
Overall, Elena seemed to like the pool, but here appreciation was short-lived. We scarcely had time to suck down a single frosty mug.

Side-By-Side Comparison

Karen has been doing a great job keeping the blog going while I have been busy with field work, but this is something that I wanted to share myself. My grandmother took a picture of me at 4.5 months (upper pic) and my mom took a picture of Elena recently at the same age.
The likeness is overwhelming. Here is a list I have compiled (feel free to add your own as well):
Eyes crossed...Check.
Scarcely any hair...Check.
Drool dripping from the chin...Check.

Poor, poor child. I was really hoping for her sake that Karen had more dominant genes than me. She does show some promise, however, as she isn't sticking her tongue out and doesn't feel the need to cover up her bare cranium with goofy headgear!

Happy Fourth of July

Hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday weekend. We tried to relax and have a low key weekend. We helped Lisa and Luis move into their new house, had some BBQ, and even found time for a nap in between all the festivities. It's amazing how priorities shift when facing chronic sleep deprivation. We even managed to watch a few fireworks.

Elena decided that this is the most amazing outfit- clothes and chew toy all rolled into one dress.
Happy 4th!

Fashion Show

Elena spent Monday with her Aunt Lisa while I was at work. Lisa has decided a good way to pass the time is for the two of them to play dress up, as in Elena acts like a doll while Lisa changes her outfits.

Elena is ready for summer in her pink top and super cute shorts.
Swimsuit- check. Sunscreen- check. Favorite ducky toy- check. Warm weather and pool ready- not so much.
Elena decided this modeling gig is hard work and every diva deserves a break.

The "Alpine" Lake

We spent last Saturday camping with some friends and riding into the unmentionable Alpine Lake. If you're really curious which lake it is just ask me because I'll tell you. Barry is convinced that the readership on our blog is so large that everyone will be flocking to this lake. Of course by the time I get done documenting the trip you may decide that it's not worth it and your time is better spent elsewhere.

Here is Barry riding Rat with Clyde in the background. You may notice that my horse doesn't have a bridle on, and that's because I'm climbing astronomical amounts of altitude with Sprout. Notice there's no pictures of us because I looked like I needed an AED.
I was pleased when we reached the other horses, after hours of hiking and I do mean hours. Of course there's no picture of my pleasure because it was short lived. It only took a moment for me to realize that the lake was still frozen. So just to recap for you, I spent hours hiking to a frozen lake. There were a few choice words said that I won't print because they aren't appropriate for our readership.
Despite the frozen lake Darwin, Mike and Louise all caught some great trout.
Here Darwin is busy cleaning fish and preparing for the fish fry. I'm not a fan of trout, but this is a great way to eat them. Darwin cleans all the fish, cooks the fish, and provides all the fixings for fish sandwiches, even the salt. Not only that, but Darwin is a constant source on entertainment and we got to relive this hunting trip among other adventures.
Sprout seemed to enjoy her time spent at the lake.
And I did too. It was a great way to spend the day, even if the lake was frozen. We had an awesome time and we're glad that Darwin & Sharon invited us along.

Working Hard

Last week Barry and I went on a combined work/camping trip. Barry needed to do some work at Alturas Lake, which coincided perfectly with our planned fishing trip to the unmentionable alpine lake in the Sawtooth region. Here is a picture of me and Sprout enjoying the campfire the first evening. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a great dinner and just hanging out.
Barry enjoying his morning coffee with Sprout.This was the view from our campsite.
While Barry was working in the morning, Sprout and I decided to take a walk around Alturas Lake and take in the wildlife and visit with the other campers. We are loving the stroller. Here is my favorite biologist working hard, or so he says.