San Diego Temple

We went to the San Diego temple after church on Sunday and it was so beautiful. We came home to a clean house and wonderful husband and dad that we missed very much. However, Aubrey is ready to go back and misses all her cousins.

Fun at the Carousel

We went to the carousel at Balboa Park and my sister-in-law, Nicolina, took Aubrey on a ride. My Dad also had a great time on the carousel. We went to the pool and Aubrey loved floating around! The next day we went to the beach and it was so much fun! Aubrey hated the sand and spent most of the time sitting on a towel or a chair. But I sure had fun in the waves!

San Diego

Aubrey and I went to San Diego for a family reunion. We missed Paul so much but we had a great time with family! My sister bought matching outfits for Aubrey and her cousin who are only 10 days apart. Then we went to Balboa Park and enjoyed dipping our feet in the fountain.

The Miracle of One Nap

I was talking to my mom the other day about Aubrey's nap schedule and she said it was probably time to get Aubrey on to one nap a day (mainly because she wasn't even sleeping during her morning nap, just sitting in her crib and talking.) I have been dreading switching to one nap because I love the time I have to clean the house and get things done during both of her naps. I decided it wasn't fair for her to go into her crib and just sit for an hour, so I have started putting her on one nap. What a difference a nap can make!!! She is exhausted by 12pm and takes a wonderful afternoon nap and then goes right to sleep at 7pm when we put her to bed. She seems happier and is doing great on the new schedule! The miracle of one nap a day!

Yummy Cake

Aubrey LOVED her birthday cake. It took a little encouragement to get her to eat, but once her hands were it the cake, the rest was history.

Happy Birthday Aubrey

This weekend we celebrated Aubrey's first birthday. She got a doll, some cool sunglasses, and a new birthday outfit and doll from Papa J. Happy birthday Aubrey!!! She has been such a joy in our life. The older she gets, the more lovable she becomes. I love her hugs and kisses and I absolutely love to hear her laugh. She loves to play with her dad and gets so excited when he comes home from school each day. She is very good natured and we are so blessed to have her in our family.

Paul's Birthday Extravaganza

Saturday was my birthday, and Ashley and Aubrey whipped up an amazing birthday extravaganza. Ashley made the coolest caterpiller cake I think I have ever seen. She is amazing at making cakes and it was a lot of fun to see. We wanted to see how Aubrey would respond to the cake and so we put a half of a caterpiller segment on her tray. At first, she was reluctant to touch it because the frosting was spikey. After we removed the frosting, however, she just chowed down. In fact, we had to take it away because she was biting off large chunks. Anyway, we learned that this little girl loves chocolate cake.

Coralville Strip video

Coralville Strip--Under Water!!!

These are some images of the Coralville strip on Saturday morning at 7:30a.m. Many of the buildings along the strip have water halfway up the first story. There is one family in the ward that lived near and had to evacuate before they could get their belongings out of their apartment, and their apartment is now flooded. Other families' apartments are damaged, but as far as I know, none of them will lose belongings in the flood. Today (Sunday) we went sandbagging again as a ward in Iowa City, and I just got back after the city called off the sandbagging efforts. I guess they think that what has been done is sufficient, and that now we will just wait to see what happens and prepare for the monumental cleanup effort.

Same Road

These are pictures of the exact same road that is near our home. The first picture was taken Monday evening as we were driving by. The second picture was taken Friday night. Notice how you can still read the "Road Closed" sign. The third picture was taken Saturday morning, just 12 hours later, and you can only read "Road" on the sign. Things sure are crazy here! But we are high and dry and our only fear is loss of power and water. There is not much possibility that we will be flooded.

Flooding and Us

Aubrey wanted to swing on the swings and let her feet swish in the water. Ashley is standing in front of a baseball field that has been flooded. Finally there is a picture of volunteers putting together sandbags in the road that leads from the park to the surrounding neighborhood.

Flooding

Here are some pictures of the flood in our beautiful city. These are pictures of a park that Paul took his mom to about three weeks ago. Now most of it is under water. The bridge is closed to cars and pedestrians. There is a picture of Dubuque Street which is a major street that leads from the freeway into downtown. It is also closed. If you look closely at the third picture down you can see the top of a pavilion. The last picture down shows the fence of a baseball field.