Summer Harvest

Yellow peaches!

Hanging out at the pig pen with Keya

Sweet goat!

Eating peaches with Cimeren

Harvesting box is on its way...

Riding out to the orchards

From our very own garden at home

We went to celebrate the Maryland Farms this past weekend with family. Eila loved the animals and loved being with her big cousin Keya and baby cousin Cimeren. We picked peaches off of the trees and probably ate as many as we put in our box. Its steamy hot here, but the summer produce makes it worth it. We also have a nice pick of some of first picks off of our very own garden vegetable plants at home. Eila never lets me forget to check for tomatoes and zucchini every day. She's a good little farmer.

Youthful Exuberance

Here is a video from yesterday, just as a reminder of how exciting every little thing is for a toddler. She loves life! And veggie booty!

Montana Family Vacation

Kiddie pool by the river

The new jungle gym!!!

...and Sandbox!

Fourth of July painting...the penguin-snowman

Kayaking with Chuni and Bella

Eila's bungalow getaway in the front yard

Eila's favorite vacation activity...stretching with grandad

Here are a few more pictures of Eila enjoying her time with her grandparents in the mountains of Montana. She loved swimming in her little pool and splashing everyone. She spent a lot of time also with the sweet neighbor girls, Chuni and Bella, who live a few cabins down the road. Eila loves them!

Out West

Lake at the top of our Glacier Park Avalanche Creek hike

Eila and Papa proclaim victory with Eila's first real hike

Lake MacDonald in Glacier Park
with Anita and Stefan

Backpacking with Papa

Rocking with Gigi

Eila and Grandad building a fire

Eila and her new Monkey travel bag

We have made our anual trip out to Montana to visit the grandparents at the family cabin. Eila always loves it and its a fantastic place to relax and kick your feet up...or run around naked according to Eila. We spent the first week in Seattle since Gigi had a medical concern which has fortunately turned out to have a happy ending, although she is still has some recovering to do after an unfriendly diagnostic procedure. We are now back at the cabin and got in one great hike in Glacier before Kushang had to head back home and now to Paris. We had Anita and Stefan with us for a visit and had a great time with them and some really good meals! Eila's Grandad has given the kids a bit of paradise since he now has added a fancy kid-size bungalow full of donated neighborhood toys and a full jungle gym set in the front yard with a sandbox included.

As for an update on Eila herself- she is now, in every possible way, a 2 year old. That is both good and bad, I'm sure most people imagine the terrible part of 2 but there are some charming things as well. She is opinionated and fearless, but also full of unbelievable creative energy. She loves ice cream, but only on a cone, climbing up everything, but now she doesn't want anyone to hold her while she does dangerous feats, and she loves animals, particularly dogs but really any living creature including caterpillars, worms, beetles, fish, cats, etc.

I am having trouble with picture uploads, so I have only included a few for now for Papa - since he is away to Paris for the week (poor thing!) and missing his baby girl.