Ace's day

So my friend Ace got married and it was really fun to go up for a short trip. This was the weekend of the 19th. We went late Thursday night and got to Daniel's sister's house Friday at 2 am. We got up and got ready and were about to leave to the temple (Daniel's sister and her kids were watching our kids) when we heard a big crash from upstairs and Liam screaming. Liam was under the fold up treadmill when our nephew Jacob pulled it down and it hit Liam on the head/back. He had a big goose egg and cut on his head. And he bit his tongue and was bleeding. I felt so bad for him, and leaving him so soon after it happened but he went down to sleep. The temple was awesome and it was nice to have some time with Daniel. We went to the luncheon at Biaggi's this nice Italian restaurant. We went back and got the kids, went to Park City for the reception and had a ton of fun dancing, watching Addy get her flower girl pics (she was hilarious, I will put some on when I get them). One of the funniest things is that Comet had a few of her friends there. Her friend Chris danced with Addy once and she kept going to find him for every song so he'd dance with her, he'd pick her up and she'd just smile at him the whole time, it was pretty cute. Addy is talking a lot more, she says things really clear and is really smart. On our way home from the reception she said "I had fun dancing with you daddy" It was really cute and both Daniel and I were impressed by her putting that sentence together.

Us with the maid of honor (Comet!!)
The bride (Comets friends from St. George... the one with the red tie was Addy's dance partner)
Daddy, daughter dance
Our Liam is trying to walk so hard... I tried to upload video but it's not working. Also in other news I ran 3 miles last week so am really excited about that. My diet is going well but I had a slow week. I need to focus on getting more sleep and drinking more water!!

TuaCahn/Food/Diet

Soooooo.... Since Jordan and Miranda were back in the states from Brazil and soon to be on their way to China... Roma Ann decided a trip to Tuacahn would be fun. Tuacahn got the rites for the first off Broadway production of Tarzan. We had fun thanks to cousin Christina who had 2 free tickets she gave to Daniel and I.

Daniel as Tarzan, Me= Jane and Skyler's Turk.
The real Tarzan and Jane. He was very ripped.
One of the Monkey's
Kala... Tarzan's mommy. She had a great voice.

So I started a program. I've completed one week and am really excited about the results thus far. I was working on loosing this weight before and was succeeding but was really slow going and not being as dedicated as I want. I like a structured program and youfit does it. It's medifast meals and I have been really happy with it. It can be a little costly but the results are real and fast and the book really helps so you won't gain it back. The crazy thing is I have been cooking like crazy, and being just satisfied watching other people eat it. This is "Mama's Chicken" it is a breaded chicken breast with red sauce and mozzarella/parmesan encrusted. I was pretty proud of this dish.

And lastly this is a side by side of last nights me on the right and San Fran me 2nd week of July. Can you tell the program is working? Plus my running is going great!! So hopefully I can keep it up!!! Thanks Karli!!! (if anyone is interested let me know and I'll get you her info)

Summa FUN

So obviously this is catch up week but I mean I had lost my camera cord so I had lots of pics to share but no way to share it. Guess where I found it? In a tub of outgrown clothes in Liam's closet. I wonder who put it in there? Maybe one of these cute mischief makers? So this post is just pics of these sweeties.

Cute boy with one curl!!
Still to scared to walk though he has taken a few steps
When Dad comes home it's play time!!
Addy's favorite first thing in the morning thing to do. Grab my heels and walk around. Beware if we ever come over, she is known to raid closets and find her favorites even if she doesn't know the owners :)
I babysat for Steph for a few days while she was gone and Caleb was at work. I promised some cool pancakes for the kids. I've been dying to use the tip I saw on Food Network to take a plastic bottle for catsup or mustard that you can buy at Walmart for under a buck then fill it with the batter and go to it because it's like a giant pen.
What you get when you have spaghetti for dinner and sugar cookies with green frosting for dessert. This kid is a messy eater.
Addy thinks my necklaces are crowns, but she sure is cute smooching her brother.
Ummmmm.... Addy likes to pick out her accessories.
the sweetest kiddos.
This boy loves cars, trucks, etc. Know what his Christmas gifts will be.
Addy likes makeup a little too much. She got into my mascara.

Aviary good day

So one of my bestie's has a super cute, sweet sister named McKenzie. I just love her and she loves my kids. Anyways I went to a bridal shower for her and she was adorable.

I have also been helping her sister Comet with the decor. She was having a country type theme and I helped with the idea of an old fashioned typewriter and people typing the notes to the bride and groom. We came up with Mason Jars lining the walkway with cute foliage and butterflies and tea lights inside. We also hung Chinese lanterns and since we wanted a more vintage/country look we tea stained them it worked great and was fun to be with Comet doing these things.

The reception was held at the Tracey Aviary in Liberty Park in SLC. It was in the Old Brigham Young Mill and was a great location. They had the reception the day before the wedding and since Addy was the flower girl so just her and I went up north. We rode with Comet and it was so fun. Thanks to Comet for the ride and babysitting at the temple, Kara and Skyler for the place to stay, and to Steph for the babysitting of Liam back here at home. It was a quick but nice trip with just Addy and me time galore.
Addy liked seeing Auntie Ace at the reception, and who's the handsome guy next to her? It's her fiance and soon to be this weekend hubby Patrick. We'll head up for those festivities later this week.
The Aviary had lots of birds to look at but Addy loved the Swans (she loves the movie Swan princess so was really excited to see these beauties)
She was a pill for pics at the reception but made up for it by hamming it up at the temple the next day. She did love "Kenzi" though and her pretty dress.

There was also this Peacock just wandering around the grounds.
A kiss for one of her favorite Aunties!!!

Peach Days

Well Peach Days was here again and it was wonderful. We love having family down and it was doubly nice for me because my Mom, Tarek, and exchange students came down. It was too short of a trip but at least we got to see them. We went to peach days a few times and we also did some clay pigeon shooting with family. Daniel's cousin Alana colored my hair that weekend also so that was nice. We had a HUGE family dinner at Grandma's house and it was so nice to get to see everyone. Unfortunately I only took pics of the Peach Days parade, but believe me when I say it was a SUPER weekend.

Momma holding Liam.

Addy couldn't wait she had to have one sucker. And Alana's handiwork on display.
Liam just liked hanging with Daddy.
Ummm.... did I mention Addy is obsessed with Tyson, because she really is. I only get asked "Mom, where's Tyson?" about 5 times a day, but it's cute!

What we've been up too

First off a few pics I forgot to post from Daniel's birthday BBQ. We had lots of family and a few friends. Comet came with her very own Dan man you was great with our kiddos. Ace's mom Sue Proctor who I affectionately refer to as Mama Ace or Mama Proctor came with her youngest Andrew. She was dropping him off in St. George for school. He's going to play football at Dixie.
McKenzie (comet's sister) came with her fiance Lane (he's the headless figure) She got a shot with Addy (her flower girl). We're excited about going up north for the wedding in Sept and it's just going to be Addy and Mommy.

Now for the trip we took last week.

My friend's Lindsay (ACE) ,from Park City, family had their annual backyard concert and since Daniel's cousin was getting married that same day we decided to go for it this year. We drove a couple of Daniel's nieces and nephews home so our ride up was cramped. At Monica's house we relaxed before the reception. The kids loved playing there. Addy was so excited when she saw that her cousins had BARBIE's she took one to show to Daniel and I. She had never seen a Barbie though she loves watching the movies. With an incredibly loud excited voice she said "Look it's Barbie" she bawled when we left it there, so we told her if she did good at sleeping on the floor the next two nights we might go get her one. We had fun at the reception, but had to hurry up to get to the concert.

One of Daniel's cousins the amazing Amanda came with us and I rode up with her to show her the way. I really kinda love Amanda and enjoy spending time with her, but usually have to share her with a bizillion people so the ride up was nice to just talk. Lindsay's parents have always been so awesome with me and love my kids since they have no grandkids of their own so they had us stay the night with them. Addy and Liam loved the concert and Park City is so pretty this time of year. (AJ Proctor and Papa Proctor) Addy was dancing around like crazy and in front of over 250 people. She also set her sights on this little boy and went to give him a kiss. She had her arms out to hug him and her lips pursed. He turned and ran she watched him for a second and then took of after him. Everyone was busting up laughing. her dance skills are a little to be desired she throws in a summersault every couple minutes and Liam just crawled around after her and bobbed his head to the music. We had a great time there. And that night got to talk with Lindsay's (ACE) fiance Patrick. I had never met him so it was good to get to know him, we'll be going back up for her wedding in September Anyways we spent the night there, and even though Addy came to the door several times while we were out chatting she never came out of the room and didn't make a sound because she wanted that barbie sooo bad. We went to church up there Sunday. I just love Park City it is pretty whatever time of year you go. Another reason I love it is one time I was at their house by myself waiting for Ace to come home and heard some yelling outside I went to grab the dog and heard the neighbor saying there was a moose in the yard. I ran to the deck (as seen above) and looked down. Sure enough a huge bull moose was there. I never did get a picture but I guess he his a frequent guest because Ace had this pic on facebook (you can see the shadow of the staircase) She named him Herbert by the way :) I wish I had a view from their house it overlooks a golf course and gorgeous green covered mountains. Of course I love it the most because I get to see this gal!!

So excited for her wedding and glad I got to meet Patrick, Daniel and I both liked him and so did the kiddos.

Sunday late afternoon we said our goodbyes and went and had dinner with Daniel's cousin Kara and Skyler. We stayed the night there and Monday morning after another flawless night for Addy we went to Toys R Us and Addy got her first (and perhaps last) Barbie. We then went to the Hogle Zoo. We have been wanting to take Addy for awhile since she's shown interest in animals. It was great not to hot. The kids loved it. Addy loved the Giraffes especially and was very attentive during the Elephant show. We were a little disappointed there weren't any Lions, but Addy loved the Tigers and when I mentioned that in the next cage was a leopard she yelled at me saying" NOO mommy it's a Tiger". (the tiger...not a leopard!)

the real tiger
Cute elephant baby

Maybe her favorite part of all was the carousel ride. Anyways we got done there took a drive around temple square with Addy singing the song as loud as she could. We went back to Kara's changed and packed up and we went to dinner with them and with Daniel's cousin Paul since it was his birthday. We left Addy at Daniel's Uncle John's house.
We went to spend the night at Angelyn's house in Highland and had a great night. When we woke up Daniel inspected the bed because his nieces king size bed is his favorite and since we were thinking about getting a new bed he wanted to see what kind it was. We saw that it was a double pillow-top, and I sighed because even used those are around 300. We got home and Daniel went right back to work, but that day I looked on craigslist and there was a under 5 years old Sealy King Size Mattress double pillow-top for $60. Daniel went and got it and I rearranged the whole house so that Addy has our old Queen size bed in her room (now we have a bed for guests) and Liam has Addy's solid crib. The next morning I tried to go in and lay by Addy and she kicked me off saying "no mommy, this is my bed" not sure I love that "Addytude". Anyways we've been swimming, going to grandma's and cousins houses and the library, and trying to not miss Daddy too much as he's been gone a lot. Daniel has a great opportunity for a salary job where he works and it would be a few hours less but still work with his schedule. Please pray that it might work out.
We just went to the fair today and the demolition derby was sold out (we weren't too sad because the kids wouldn't have been fun to go with) we did let Addy go on another carousel ride and she cried at the sight of all the rides. Daniel went on his favorite ride and got stuck with a younger boy and the boy cried the whole time, Daniel was just glad he didn't throw up on him. It is really strange here because you have to pay separately to go see the animals (we didn't since grandpa pretty much has them all) We weren't there too long.

When I came home last night Addy was so funny. She kept linking her arm in mine and saying "We're friends mommy... "you're my friend" "I'm your friend mommy" Over and over she would say these things and just giggle. I was cracking up. She also absent mindedly said "Bless you" when I sneezed the other day, she sure is growing up.

(By the way none of these pictures are mine, my camera has vanished, and I think that is a good enough excuse to finally get a really good one... we'll see!)

For Laughs

So I have been loving the old spice commercials, I just think they are hilarious. So I was pleasantly surprised when someone showed me this BYU library video where he imitates the old spice man. Anyways it is good for a few laughs.

LOV'N SATURDAY's

When I was a kid my mom would take us with her to go to yardsales. It was fun but when I got older I thought it was tacky (but in my defense my mom bought a lot of useless stuff). Now as an adult I love going to yard sales, but it's not like it was back then. My cousin and I go almost every Saturday. We check out the ads on craigslist to map out which ones we want to go to and then we wake up early and go on our way. We drive by and don't waste our time on ones that don't look like there is something we need or want. We are always in the market for clothes for the kids and you can not believe the things we find and the brands for the right price. Steph always barters for me and she's good at it. We also don't buy junk just because it's cheap or free. Some weekends it's not so good and some it is just amazing. Today's started out not so great but man did that turn around everything we were looking for showed up at unbelievable prices. I spent $10 today and here's what I got.

a car seat similar to this one, very clean and looks the same as this one.

This shelving unit.
A globe similar to this (I have a thing for globes, love maps so have been wanting one)

I also got a pair of shoes, a garlic press, cheese grater and other various kitchen utensils. A large bag of Mega blocks for Addy, shorts for Liam, 2 dress shirts for Daniel, a cute large black picture frame, and a brand new pack of pink swim floaties for Addy. I think I did pretty darn good!! Our truck was over flowing because Steph got a dresser for $15, a free double stroller that just needs cleaned, a free umbrella stroller, 2 huge cute black mirrors with beadboarding on them, and other various items. We were laughing because we love when our truck is completely full and yet we spent so little.

We always have a good time and the kids do too...even if it is early in the morning.

So my favorite things I've gotten to date are clothes for Daniel. There are some really wealthy communities in St. George and when they have a sale it is usually "high end" clothing. I once got him 2 banana republic shirts, 5 pairs of new express jeans, and a pair of diesel shoes for under $20. LOVED THAT, and he is now seeing how much it can save us. So summer's here got out find a nice area of town and try out a yard sale you never know what you might find.

ONE cute boy

My Little Guy turned one on the 20th!!! I sure love this boy and though we were surprised when we found out he was coming, we're sure glad he's here.
THINGS HE'S DONE:

Stand by himself, waves all the time, gives kisses. Has been on an Airplane and to the Ocean. Says mama, dada, has said uh oh, and dog. Claps, plays pickaboo and patti-cakes.

THINGS we just love about this boy:

He is a singer, I mean he loves to sing in the car, at church, randomly. He also can't sit still, but especially when there is music around (that boy can dance). My favorite thing he does is when he's sad or tired and he's crawling he whines and then just stops lays his head on the ground and just rests for about 30 seconds, if he's by the couch or your leg he just lays his head on you, it really is the sweetest thing I need to catch on video.

Some THINGS that drive us crazy:

Loves cords and buttons, yells at us if he's upset or hungry, tries to wrestle his sister, AND if a toilet lid is left up he plays in the water EWWWWWWWWW.... so we have to make sure either doors or shut lid down. He knocks everything off in my shower and he clears shelves in the closet.

Whatever he does he gets me every time when he grabs my face and kisses me, lucky for me this is a daily occurrence and I am so grateful for this sweet boy.

FOR GOOD

So my trip to San Francisco had it's up's and down's. Really mostly up's but Liam hates pack and plays so sleep schedules were not great, and though he did ok on the flight there the flight back was pure misery for me, luckily it was only an hour flight. Now for the good stuff.

We got there Thursday and my brother Will picked us up. We were so tired we just ate at one of Will's favorite place and then went to their house and went to sleep. Then we went swimming, and we had yummy dinner. My friend Stevie got to come over and it was good to see her, I haven't seen her in awhile. We tried to go find a movie but that didn't work out but we all got mini ben and jerry's and vegged out. My friends loved Stevie (I knew they would) and I wish I could have spent more time with her.

Liam got along with Will's daughter Ryann who turns 1 tomorrow! Liam turns one on Monday so they are very close, but Ryann is walking and Liam's not. He also warmed up to the puppy.

Well Ace, Comet, and I went to Santa Cruz, and San Francisco, we hung out at the pool, had yummy food and milkshakes and a great time... of course the best part was WICKED. So good, really it was an emotional experience, and very entertaining. The orpheum theatre was gorgeous and even though we had the high up seats it was very good and worth the whole trip....vocals were FANTASTIC. So here are some pics of the trip

Liam and Ryann ready to take a walk.

The girls on Lombard street!!
I know I'm a wimp but we walked 5 miles around the city and in flip flops that is a lot! Some up those incredibly steep streets, my calves hurt so bad the next day.
Leslee, me, Ace, and Comet @ Wicked!!! Thanks for driving Leslee!
My girls!!!
SANTA CRUZ
LIAM absolutely loved the ocean, and didn't seem to notice how freezing cold it was, he wanted to jump in!!!

Thanks, Will and Leslee you guys are always so hospitable.

So I know my friend Comet put on her blog the sweetest post dedicated to Ace and I, but I share the same sentiments. And the video link was definitely our song at Wicked.

The Lyrics that I think apply the most are these:

I've heard it said
that people come into our lives
for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
and we are lead to those
who help us most to grow
if we let them and we help them in return
Well i dont know if i believe that's true
But i know i'm who i am today
because i knew you.

so much of me is made from what i learned from you
You'll be with me
like a hand print on my heart
Now whatever way our stories end
I know you have rewritten mine
by being my friend

I know that I was led to Camp K for several reasons and two of the biggest reasons were to meet these girls. I tear up just thinking about what they have done and would do for me. My children call them Aunts and they really are, I know that if anything ever happened to me these girls would do all they could to help my children, and I know it sounds morbid but I think about that sometimes. That these girls were part of one of the most influential experience of my life and they would be able to bear witness of that to my children. It isn't easy to keep relationships after you get married and have kids as many of you know, but the fact that these girls and I have not only kept in touch but have developed a very special friendship the last 4 years is a testament to how much we care about each other and how dedicated we are. Things are changing in all of our lives (some great things) and yet I know that we will always be close and know I can call upon them on any time and they would come to my aid. I know that because I've known them I have been changed for the better. I love you girls thank you so much for the wonderful time!!!