Paul's cousin Libby got married last Thursday the 5th in Chico Hot Springs in Pray, Montana . We drove out and took the opportunity to visit friends and have some fun along the way. Grandma Darla and Grandpa Earl went with us, which helped to share the driving and Sophia-entertaining responsibilities. Sophia did as well as could be expected. She got tired of the car, but the entertainment, which included a new toy, books and a DVD player, made it possible.
Before we went to Grandma & Grandpa's house we went to the Oregon 
Zoo for a few hours. It was a big hit and Sophia loved wandering around. She got a little nervous at one exhibit where there was a bear pressed up against the glass, but other than that, loved it. We spent the first night of our trip at Earl & Darla's house and they had a tricycle for Sophia to ride. She thought she'd go all the way to Montana on it, but we had other plans.On the drive out we visited our friend Laura in Jerome, Idaho, and our friends Dan (who is the
pastor who performed our wedding), Laura, Matt and Phillip in Idaho Falls. Since these are not folks we get to see very often, it was wonderful to spend some time with them. We also spent 
part of a day in Yellowstone. I think Sophia was too 
young to appreciate it, other than liking seeing the water (currently one of her favorite words) and hearing the birds. But the rest of us had a 
good time.Then we spent two full days and three nights at Chico. It was quite a treat because all of Paul's
siblings were there, Barry, Pat & Amy, along with Jess and Meghan. Our entire family hasn't been together since Memorial Day of 2006 and we had a lot of fun hanging out together. All the aunts and uncles did their job of paying attention to Sophia quite well, and she adores them all. 
It did, however, take her a little while to warm up to Pat. We think that's because the first day he was unshaven, and she didn't know what to think about that. After he shaved, Pat was a big hit.The only major problem we had on the trip was the heat. It was in the mid-90's in Chico and none of the rooms were air conditioned. This meant that Sophia did not sleep well, and when she doesn't sleep well, nobody else does either. The last night we were in Chico she was up,
crying, screaming and whining, for about 4 hours in the middle of the night. This was the reason that we decided to drive all the way back to Grandma & Grandpa's house on Saturday, spending about 16 hours in the car. It was exhausting, but great to not be in a hotel. During the time at 
Chico it would have helped if we could have cooled down in the pool, but since it's fed by mineral hot springs, it was over 100 degrees in the pool. Sophia enjoyed the pool, but we could only stay in it for limited times. She did play in a sprinkler some one evening, soaking herself completely, but looking quite happy.It was wonderful seeing so many of Grandma Darla's
siblings, their spouses and kids. All of the kids of Sophia's generation were there, and Sophia was most fascinated by cousin Lucia, who is 4 months younger than her, and cousin Ellie who is less than 3 months old. "Baby" is one of Sophia's favorite words and she used it a lot. Sophia also got to meet Great-Grandma Beste (Darla's 
mother) for the first time, and see Great-Grandma Lael (Earl's mother) again. She was not quick to warm up to anyone, but eventually she got comfortable.
The wedding itself was lovely, and blessedly short. It was on top of a hill, in about 95 degree heat, but happily there was a strong breeze to keep us all feeling somewhat cool. One of the great things about the wedding was that the reception was in an air conditioned building! I was very sad when I had to leave the reception early to take Sophia to bed. But she's in charge of the schedule.In the last week Sophia has really improved her vocabulary. She has started to be willing to repeat words when we say "can you say ..." to her. That's new. She is putting two word phrases together, although most of them involve "hi." "Hi baby" is one of her favorite things to say, even when there is no baby in sight. She and grandpa developed a fun game where she would say "hi baby" and he'd respond "no baby" and they'd go back and forth dozens of times. It got a bit old for the rest of us, but she seemed to like it. Sophia has also started counting, although it appears she can only count to two. She would put things on a table, or move them from place-to-place saying "one, two" as she'd set each one down.
Sophia really did very well in the car and around all the new people. It was also great fun for all
of us, not just her, to spend so much time with Earl and Darla. We were pretty tired when the trip was over, but it was wonderful.
