The Blanch Herd: Photos from Phones

April was fun. The weather finally started warming up so we could be outside more, swinging and hiking and just being. We did some adventuring (more on that here and here). And spring finally arrived with blossoms and blooms galore! (I swear these round-ups get longer and longer each month. I just can't stop taking pictures! So, my apologies if this takes two years to get through.)

4.1.16
(April Fools?)

4.1.16
(strawberry season let's munch-a-munch)

4.1.16
(makes me chuckle)

4.2.16
(conferencing)

bonus video #1!

"swinging Sammy"

4.2.16

4.2.16
(swinging at Grandpa and Grandma Blanchard's)

4.2.16
(I think he's a fan.)

4.4.16
(sleeping Sammy)

4.4.16

4.4.16
(trendy family shadow picture)

4.4.16
(our first Monday Night Hike of the season!)

4.4.16

4.4.16
(I love this view so much - I take one just like it
on every single hike we go on. Which is a lot.)

4.4.16
(lovely clouds in a lovely valley)

4.4.16
(splashing rocks is still her favorite)

4.4.16
(running along the beach)

4.4.16
(my boys . . . aren't they cute?)

4.4.16
(there are pelicans waaaay over there on the other shore.)

4.4.16
(yeah, just doin' what I do best)

4.4.16

4.5.16
(workin' on the railroad all "through a big long
day" at the Ogden Station train museum)

4.5.16
(my Aunt Joan and her girls and their kids invited us to join
them for a picnic and visit to the museum - it was so fun!)

4.5.16

4.5.16
(I think this was her favorite part)

4.5.16
(Joan and Johnathon and Amelia on the hand cart)

4.5.16
(Sam came, too, and mostly just hung out
in the stroller.)

4.5.16
(still playing with the trains)

4.5.16

4.5.16
(taking turns with Amelia "driving" the train)

4.5.16

4.5.16
(a big wheel on the caboose - Amelia, Callie and Drake)

4.5.16
(she loves driving the wheel - at the park, in the
carts at the store, and now at the museum!)

4.5.16

4.5.16
(he figured out how to scoot)

4.5.16
(this has become a pretty common sight)

4.5.16
(my laundry "helper")

4.5.16
(more swinging for the Sammy)

4.6.16
(When Cal gets money of her own, she chooses
to spend it on gardening supplies. First, it was a
shovel and rake (for a dollar!) courtesy of her
great grandparents. Tonight, with a walmart
gift card from her Blanchard grandparents,
she bought this little watering can.)

4.7.16
(how do you like to go up in a swing, up in the air so blue?)

4.7.16
(oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing ever a child can do)

4.7.16
(first deck lunch of the season)

4.7.16
(even Sam got in on the action)

4.7.16
(inaugural ride for this blue-eyed Blanchard
Burley bicycling bundle - well, for both of them
together, that is)

bonus video #2!

"runnin' on the boardwalk"

4.8.16

4.8.16
(hikin' with my hooligans on the Pineview Trail)

4.9.16
(supposed to be a rainy day road trip, but it didn't
rain)

4.9.16
(I thoroughly enjoyed the clouds, though)

4.9.16
(somewhere is Summit County)

4.9.16
(we lunched here on our drive)

4.9.16
(someone is excited to be sitting up, forward
facing, in the stroller!)

4.9.16
(oh, what a heartbreaker!)

4.9.16
(oh, what a cheeser!)

4.9.16
(he loved it!)

4.9.16
(springtime's a comin'!)

4.11.16
(another Monday, another hike. This time with
newspaper boats, thanks to a Curious George
book from the library - Cal's faves every week -
for the instructions on how to make it)

4.11.16
(it was her idea to test them out in the lake on
our hike)

4.11.16
(she also found this stick and is "rowing")

4.11.16

4.11.16
(he's a natural)

4.11.16

4.11.16
(squinty eyes and smirky smile)

4.11.16
(lead the way, little one)

4.11.16
(good clouds once again)

4.11.16
(too wavy for our boats to do much sailing)

4.11.16

4.12.16
(first flowers in our yard!)

4.12.16
(part of his 7 month photo shoot)

bonus video #3!

"pivot and whine"

4.12.16

4.12.16
(#dailystrollin')

4.13.16
(first time with braided piggies. I was pretty proud
of my skills)

4.13.16
(jumpin' bean)

bonus video #4

"a minute in our day"

4.13.16

4.14.16
("it's winter again!")

4.14.16
(our drive home from some errands in Ogden was quite
spectacular, actually)

4.14.16
(coming over the North Ogden Pass into the valley)

4.14.16
(she was so confused by the snow since we had
been soon excited about spring getting here
finally)

4.14.16

4.15.16
(wasn't he a little smaller last time I wanted
to hold him?)

4.15.16
(who's holding who?)

4.16.16
(when we walk to the park, Cal has to hold our
hand or the "leash" ("like Harry" - the white
dog with black spots, from the books))

4.16.16
(he loves the swings and I love that he loves them)

4.16.16

4.16.16
(his adorable scrunch-nose, full gums smile that
appeared as of late)

4.16.16

4.16.16
(pensive)

4.16.16

4.16.16
(I love his jacket hood)

4.16.16
(looks like he's going to crawl away, but really
just barely learning the hands and knees
rock back and forth trick here)

4.17.16
(meeting Grandma Elwood's science class
chicks was quite a thrill for Cal)

bonus video #5!

"they're dancing!"

4.17.16

4.17.16
(birthday stories with Grandpa E)

4.17.16

4.17.16
(I made him brownie mosaic cheesecake for a birthday
present)

4.17.16
(lovely Cache Valley sunset as we drove through Wellsville
heading home)

4.18.16
(another Monday, another hike, and even more
lovely clouds. I'm sensing a trend here)

4.18.16
(Cal's favorite rock splashing bridge on the
Pineview Trail)

4.18.16

4.18.16
(her other fave: marshmallow roasting in the
backyard - even though she actually just likes
the marshmallows "raw" best)

4.18.16
(Sam gets some FHE treats, too. Fireside bottle
from Dad before bed. Can't beat it.)

4.19.16
(#dailystrollin')

4.21.16
(evening stroll through the cemetery. Cal loves
stopping at the cemetery whenever we pass
one)

4.25.16
(mess maker)

4.25.16
(library tulips)

4.25.16
(library daffs)

4.25.16
(the start of our quickest MNH yet)

4.25.16
(rain's a-comin'!)

4.26.16
(he's getting very confident in his sitting these
days)

4.26.16

4.27.16
(blossoms in our backyard at last!)

4.27.16
(what the tree really looks like - a lot of dead
stuff with one chunk of blossomy goodness)

4.27.16
(our house from the very back of our yard)

4.27.16
(we found a whole bunch of fun flowers in our
yard explorations this morning)

4.27.16
(frittilaria - I only know that because I texted
my personal plant id-er, Heather)

4.27.16
(wild grape)

4.27.16
(speedwell)

4.27.16
(tulips! (I knew these ones.))

4.27.16
(even the dandelions are looking cheery)

4.30.16
(we promised her a bike when she was fully potty
trained and it finally came and she finally got
to try it out. I think she wants to be able to
just go right away, but she's still just a titch
too small, and riding a bike actually takes some
effort on the part of the rider, so she's got a ways
to go, but so far, so good.)