Live the life you Imagined...

The gangs all here

2011-11-03T10:02:00.001-07:00

This is the Lloyd fam, mom and dad, 9 kids, 4 spouses, and all 15 grandkids

This is the first time in about 11 years that the whole entire family has been together!

Isnt she the sweetest thing!

If you know clo, then you know that she is NOT photogenic at all, so this is an extremely rare photo where she is almost as beautiful in it as she is in real life!

60's for the 60th

2011-11-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

For Mike's 60th birthday party in October we had a 60's themed party. All 9 ( yes I said ALL 9) of his children were there to celebrate and most of us dressed in our grooviest 60's gear! There was good food, a live band, and lots and lots of friends and family!

Alec and friends

Big Jim, Little Jim, Rachel, JoAnna, & Aaron

Nice wig Chris, and who the heck is that mystery hippie dude?

groovy baby!

2011-11-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

Brenda had the best boots ever!

Brady and Cody

Gwen and Jim

Rachel and Jim

SPIRIT WEEK

2011-11-03T09:50:00.001-07:00

For spirit week in September the first day was cowboy day. Bella wanted to also be a pirate!

Then came decade day. Chloe was a hippie and bella was a rockstar!

Idaho for the 4th

2011-08-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

Ok everybody look away when I take pictures, seriously, nobody looked!

So these are the only 5 pictures that I took of our trip to Idaho to visit my BFF Ginger and her beautiful fam! My memory card was full! AHHHHh! we had many fun adventures ( parade, fireworks, flipping while whitewater rafting, Andrew's cabin, long drives etc.) and cant wait to go back! thanks for letting us come guys!

soccer and swim (i have no idea how to spell soccer)

2011-08-31T13:19:00.000-07:00

This summer the girls had fun doing their soccer camp and swim team. Bella went to a soccor camp that my sweet friend Taisey put on with her kids and a few others. Chloe just played on the playground because soccor "wasn't her thing". But she did find what her thing was, it was swim team. She started out getting 8th place at her first meet because she was too busy smiling and waving at me while she was swimming. But she was one of the top 8 swimmers at the semi finals and got invited to the championship meet where she got 4th place in the butterfly and 7th in the breast stroke! Not too shabby! Also in the semi finals she got 1st place in the freestyle for her heat and was soooo excited about that!

are we crazy?!

2011-08-31T13:03:00.001-07:00

Yes we are! We did havasupai again the same non-stop, 40+ miles in 2 day, playing around in 7 different waterfalls kind of way. It was a blast and I think what really made it so much fun was the group we were with! Gregg and Ginger, Alicia and Aaron, Jeremy and Ashley, and Boyd! Thanks for the fun times and memories! Let's do it again, anybody who is a crazy as us is welcome!

Block 2, Check!

2011-05-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

Done, Done, Done with block 2! Oh my how I am looking forward to the long summer break, even though I love school and everything! Just ready to read books for pure entertainment and not for school! I did really well this semester, even thought people told me that block 2 is the hardest! So yippee! bring on the summer fun!

This is how she rolls

2011-05-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

So this is what I saw after I was finished doing the dishes and hadnt seen Bella or her little friend for awhile. I couldnt see them either, until I looked in the closet and found them on top of the dresser. She said, Oh Hi mom, as my jaw was hitting the floor! Then she said um we cant seem to get down! I think the mess was of no concern at all!

And by the way, they were both able to get down all be themselves but were " too tired" to clean up!

Easter, this is all I got!

2011-05-18T14:21:00.001-07:00

Actually this picture above isn't even from Easter but the girls were in their Easter dresses!

I said happy Easter Bella, she gave me her happy face!

Clo looks a little scary in this one too! My girls are just so photogenic, I know you're jealous!

I am the worst when it comes to taking pictures! Easter was great as always, the good habit rabbit most definitely didn't come ( if you've seen my kids room, you would understand), but the Easter bunny paid a little visit!

Kindergarten field day

2011-05-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

Clo had a field day in April and it was really fun to watch her compete, because she has no competitive bones in her body! She is very fast but will stay at the same pace as the person next to her! But she did about 17 events and got first place in all but 3 events! way to go CLO!

Happiest place

2011-05-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

Yummy dinner, enjoyed while bella slept in the stroller

The picture below is right before the park opened and I said," ok, show me how excited you are to be here!" typical!

We went to Disneyland for a quick weekend trip during conference weekend in April. We actually didnt tell them until about 10 minutes before we left and I got their reaction on film! priceless! Chloe's favorite ride was Teacups, Bella's was small world ( 5 times, try getting that out of your head!).

We started out the day with the very first ride being space mountain, Bella's head was barely at the line, I'm pretty sure that she was the smallest person to ride that ride that day! After getting off, we expected to find her in tears, but she had a huge smile and said I laughed and I cried! Fun times, cant wait to return!

survived

2011-03-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

Last week was without a doubt the craziest week I have had in a long time. I knew going into it that it was going to be and even texted a good friend of mine and told her that if I didn't make it thru the week ( alive), that she could have all of my clothes! It was sad dropping Chloe off at school every morning and having her say," I love you mommy, see you tomorrow!) But I made it alive and well, even got 100% on my lab practicum! Here is what my week looked like:

Tuesday:
Get kids ready for the day, drop off Chloe at school, drop off Bella with a friend, school for me.
After school got out at 12:30, head to the hospital to pick out my patient, head to friends house to pick up Bella, pick up Chloe from school, head home and start dinner.
4:00 start my care plan for my patient, Chris gets home, helps with dinner, eat dinner, keep working on care plan.
Chris gets kids ready for bed, I go in for prayers and kisses goodnight, keep working on my care plan. 6 hours and 22 care plan pages later, go to bed.

Wednesday: same routine in the morning with Clo, work on care plan some more, take Bella to friends house, work at hospital until 8:30, come home and have a bowl of cereal, work on care plan, go to bed.

Thursday: same thing as Wednesday!

Friday: Get myself ready, kids ready, drop them off at school and friends house, head to school, take my practicum ( which I aced, did I mention that?), give a group presentation. Get home at 4:00, don't feel like making dinner so we call Olive Garden for take out. Head to pick it up and wait, wait and wait some more. Finally they get the order and its wrong, so I wait some more, but get 4 free meals out of it! I only ordered 2!

Anyways, like I said, it was busy, but we all managed to survive! School, by the way, is going really well, I keep very busy with it, but I am LOVING it!

On a side note, I have the greatest friends and family members who have been helping with my kids, praying for me, and keeping me sane! I love you guys!

Halloween

2010-11-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from Minnie and Alice, Sally ( from Nightmare before Christmas) and stick man!

imposter

2010-09-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

I got this picture from my baby sisters blog. At first glance I thought, I dont have a shirt like that, then I realized it was her! She just started her masters program at BYU and I am so proud of her, she is so smart and beautiful, pretty much perfect! GO KATH!

2010-06-28T09:15:00.001-07:00

This is the hike down from Wyana picchu, and yes it was that steep. It was a really hard hike because it was steep and the elevation was high!

This is the side of Macchu picchu where the incas would farm. The irrigation system is still working, it was amazing!

This is the river that is at the bottom of the mountain.

This is the spot where the inca king would come for inspiration. It was amazing because when you would stand in that spot, everything went quiet and you could feel a breeze from the valley below.

This is the temple of the 3 windows. Its just mind boggeling how much work these people did with carving and hauling these stones. Our tour guide said that the average life expectancy of the incas was 40 years, and its no wonder because they worked themselves to death!

Macchu Picchu

2010-06-28T08:15:00.001-07:00

last but not least

2010-06-28T08:08:00.001-07:00

Macchu Picchu! I really think these pictures need no explanation. And again on this trip I was absolutely amazed at this city! Words cannot describe it!

Maxi and Nelly

2010-06-24T06:48:00.001-07:00

This is Maxi and Chris. Maxi was Chris's ward mission leader while Chris served in Chile. He is only 4 years older than Chris and so they really got along good. We went to their house and Nelly (Maxi's wife) made an authentic Chilean dinner which was sooooo good!
This is inside their house and it was a very nice house, especially for Santiago!

Another picture at their house. They live in a suburb of Santiago called maipu (pronounced my-poo) and we just thought that was the funniest thing! Maxi was asking what we were laughing about so much so Chris had to translate to him what Maipu meant to us. Maxi thought that was hilarious and as we were leaving Santiago he said. " Remember maipu is your poo" He is a riot!

We went to an Argentine grill for dinner ( yes I know we were in Chile) and it was yummy! Maxi served in Argentina on his mission.

On top of the Virgin Mary hill in Santiago.

You can see Mary in the background here. It was pretty cold at night here and Nelly was so sweet to give Brenda and I coats. We had so much fun visiting them and hopefully someday they can come her to the US!

Santiago

2010-06-24T06:41:00.001-07:00

This is a castle in the middle of the city in Santiago, Chile. I have no idea of the historical significance of it but it was really cool!

My first trip on a subway ever! I was fun but a bit scary during rush hour. Alec caught a guy trying to pick pocket him and actually slapped the guys hand out of his front pocket!

This was the bottom part of the castle, it looked a bit newer than the top part

It was really fun to be in Santiago and hear Chris speak ALOT of Spanish. This was actually 10 years to the date of his return from his mission so that was really cool. We even went to one of his wards he served in while he was there for church.

B is for Bugs and Boat

2010-06-20T11:07:00.001-07:00

This butterfly actually landed on Brenda's finger

This is a boat from the Argentina side of the falls, it was similar to ours only ours was smaller and when we went thru the rapids I did fear for our lives!

Iguazu falls is the longest waterfall in the world. We saw turtles in the river, a flock of parrots ( yes parrots not seagulls), and Tucans in a nest. It was AMAZING!

BTW Iguazu falls in right on the border of Brazil and Argentina.

Cataratas

2010-06-20T10:57:00.001-07:00

This was before we got drenched going on the boat ride into the falls. We thought we were safe because we wore raincoats, boy were we mistaken!

This is the hike down to the boatride, there were tiny falls and lush jungle all along the way!

This is just one of the bugs that we saw on the hike to the boat ride. There were tons and tons of butterflies too!

The ride thru the jungle!

I just had to put this pict in because of Alec in the background, Im sure Chris hates this picture! Sorry babe!

So after our walk along the waterfall we took a ride thru the jungle and then hiked down to the dock where you take a boat that rides along the Iguazu river and up to and thru the falls. Our tour guide said that you get wet but we didn't know that you would actually get soaked. Before the boat left the lady said, "Ok have a nice shower." and we all laughed!

BTW Cataratas means waterfall in Portuguese

Iguazzu, Icuagu, Iguazu???

2010-06-20T10:49:00.001-07:00

This is Iguazu falls and its only the beginning of it. These falls are HUGE and go on forever and ever. I seriously lost my breath a few times just in awe of how huge and powerful they were. We went on a mile or so walk along the whole falls and it was just amazing!

another section of the falls

and another

and another, I'm serious they went on for at least a mile!

We started here and went on the walk along the falls.

I Heart Rio!!!

2010-06-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

More of the Jungle, it was so pretty and green everywhere in Brazil!

Inside the cathedral they have the carriage that the pope rode in when he visited and it was decorated with fresh flowers.

This was our hotel room in Rio and we thought it was hilarious that we had twin beds! We totally pulled an Ozzie and Harriett!

This was the view from our 11th story hotel room in Rio. The streets are tiny and the buildings are really tall. The other way down the street was the ocean!!!

Me on the beach. The sand on the beach was a weird texture, it felt like a combo of brown sugar and white sugar and it didn't stick to your skin when you were wet!

I decided while we were in Brazil that I must be part Brazilian. The Brazilian women are light skinned and have light colored eyes, tiny waists and bigger bums with muscular legs, and smaller upper bodies. Plus I felt right at home there on the beach! The weather was PERFECT! I think it was like 65 for the low and 75 for the high!

Rio De Janerio

2010-06-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

This is the top of sugarloaf mountain in Rio. You take a cable car to the top and the view was spectacular!

This is the cathedral in Rio, its really strange and modern looking but inside there are 4 huge stain glass windows that are gorgeous, I need to get the picts from Alec!

This is a freshwater lagoon in the middle of the city ( at least I think this is that pict!) From a certain angle it is shaped like a heart.

Another view from on top of sugarloaf

This is the HUGE, HUGE statue on the highest mountain in Rio of Christ the Redeemer. It was under construction from April until June and the were taking down the scaffolding. A bit of a bummer that we couldn't see the feet but it was totally breath-taking to see and the view from this mountain was beautiful as well.

Just got home!

2010-06-19T15:59:00.000-07:00

We just got home about 5 hours ago from our 15 day South America Vacation and all I can say is WOW! It was full of adventure, beauty, historical sightseeing, interesting foods and lots of laughing ( of course!) There were also a lot of firsts for me, like my first plane trip longer than 2 hours ( I know I need to get out more), my first meal on an airplane, my first swim in the Atlantic ocean, my first subway ride, my first time using an outlet converter, my first boat ride thru a waterfall, and oh yeah my first stamps in my passport. We started in Rio De Janero, Brazil( after a 10 hour flight), then went to Iguassu Falls, Brazil, then off to Santiago, Chile, followed by Cuzco, Peru, then Machu Picchu Peru, and then back to Cuzco. It was amazing and maybe the best vacation We will ever have. I have the greatest pictures too but for some reason I cant get them to post soooooooo...... I guess I will do it later!

Miss sassy pants

2010-05-28T11:14:00.001-07:00

All I said to her before I took this picture was " pose"! I dont know where she gets it from! hee hee!

life passing us by

2010-05-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

Chloe getting her diploma from Miss Linda and Miss Amber. I am really going to miss them, they are the best teachers, if you need a preschool for your 3 or 4 year old, I highly recommend them!

She was the only one doing the actions to the songs they sang at graduation.

She loved her field trip to the fire station and said that she wants to be a firefighter when she grows up ( I have no idea how to rotate the pictures)

She is just getting way too big! And had her first birthday party and loved every minute of it ( except when she pulled an " its my party and I'll cry if I want to" moment.

Where did April and May go? It was filled with Easter, conference, birthdays, graduations, girls camp, and getting ready for summer!

the haircut

2010-05-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

This is what the haircut looks like after we got it fixed.

The evidence, that isnt even all of it!

Chloe's haircutting skills

On May 11th I went into Chloe's room and found a chunk of hair on her floor. I asked her if she had cut her hair and she said yes. I then proceeded to get after her because just 2 weeks earlier she had cut a little girls hair at preschool and really got in trouble for it. I thought she had learned her lesson. Anyways about 2 seconds later Chris told me to come and look at Bella's hair. Oh no, my heart started to pound as I ran out there. I started crying and couldn't even yell. Her hair had been mutilated, but where was all the evidence. I went in the girls room again and found a huge pile of hair behind the book shelves. So here are the pictures, I am just now getting used to the short hair.

playtime

2010-03-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

suspicious

2010-03-26T15:09:00.001-07:00

why are the kids being so quite?
Who took this picture on my camera?

Whats going on here?

Why is sami on my camera?

How can you get upset at this face?

I think Chloe has been using my camera, but Im not sure. Hmmm!

I decided

2010-03-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite month of the year
It used to be December because of Christmas, birthday, surrounded by family, everybody seems cheerful!
Now I think I love March even more with the PERFECT weather, running outside and not freezing at the beginning and then having to take layers off, rain, the smell of the blossoms, picnics, basketball, spring break, the weather ( good enough to mention twice!)
I love March!!

Books

2010-03-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

A few good books that I have read lately, and yes I found them all in the TEEN section of the library. I just find them more clean than adult books!

1st- Vampire Academy ( I know. I know. not another vampire book!) This was TOTALLY and COMPLETELY different than the twilight series, no mushy gazing into eachothers eyes and I liked it better than twilight. Yes, it is a series with 4 books Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise and a fifth is coming out in May and a 6th in late 2010. It has a lot of action and what I like most is that it is not long winded as opposed to twilight, the author (Richelle Mead) gets right to the point! I've read all 4 and am excited to get to the next one in May.

2nd- Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. Really a good. clean. book. A really good story line, very different than I have ever read. There are 3 books in this series, Poison Study, Magic study, and Fire study. Of course there is magic, why else would I read it! I have not finished the 3rd book yet, I am still in school afterall, but Im sure it will be good.

If anybody else has read these books I would like to know what you thought of them. Also, I am always looking for good reads, so if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

P.S. Happy Birthday to my very first Nephew Baylor! I cant believe that I have been an aunt for 13 years! Ahhhh Jeni has a teenager!!! Love you Bay!

doorbell ditchers!

2010-02-22T06:34:00.000-08:00

Last night after returning home from our young womens new beginnings night, I recceived a ring at my door bell. I went and looked thru my peep hole and there was nobody there, hmmmmm. So after I looked out all of my windows to make sure that no bad guys were hiding to jump out and attack me, I opened the door to find a sweet note along with some sweet treats. So to whoever loves me ( or sombody in my household) I love you too! That made my day ( or night I suppose). And the cookies were delicious, maybe you could doorbell ditch me again with the recipe! hee hee

disney on ice

2010-02-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

I just love Sami's face in all of these pictures, she really looks like a princess!

Thanks to our friends who gave us a major hook up, we were able to go see disney on ice in a box suite last month. The girls just loved it, we actually went the day before Bellas birthday. They had so much fun and Chloe was just yelling at the top of her lungs at all the characters thinking they could hear her.

#2

2010-02-22T06:25:00.000-08:00

Bella turned 2 in January and we had some friends and cousins over for a mini celebration including twister, pizza, cake, and her favorite movie "moto moto in the house" (madagascar 2).

Ski Bunny!

2010-01-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

This was her about 30 seconds after getting into the car to go home from her day of skiing.

We taught Chloe how to ski while on vacation in Utah over Christmas break. She did really good, my only regret is that Chris and I were both Snowboarding on the day we taught her. We should have skiied that day! Oh well, we had a lot of fun and the snow was pretty good.

Im getting older and wiser?

2010-01-11T11:49:00.000-08:00

I never post about my birthday, I dont know why, maybe because it gets mixed with Christmas and New Years and its not that exciting. However This year as we were up in Utah on a ski trip, Chris just happened to take a picture of me right as I woke up on the morning of my b-day!(and what a lovely picture it isnt!) Now, because Im a lady I wont tell my age but how old do you think I am? Ok maybe I dont want your answers but Chloe thinks I look like I'm old, about 17! Ha!

Christmas day in the morning!

2010-01-11T11:46:00.001-08:00

P.S. the weight set/ home gym in the background is for sale if anybody wants it!

Chris's Tri

2010-01-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

On Thanksgiving day Chris, his sister Rachel, little bro Alec and friend Matt were all crazy and competed in a triathalon. Chris did really good especially with only 2 weeks of training! He finished 10th in his division, pretty sweet pher! way to go! They all had a great time and actually kinda convinced me that I may possibly sort of want to do it next year!

Thanks Ginger!

2010-01-05T08:01:00.001-08:00

Ginger took our family picts again and although the kids were not as cooperative as I would have hoped for, they turned out cute!

number 9

2010-01-05T07:43:00.000-08:00

Thanks for nine great years! I am still having a blast! I love you much babe! xoxoxoxo!

Im Thankful for...

2009-11-26T05:27:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

viruses

2009-10-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

We have had a crazy virus come and sweep our home. First it was our computer, who by the way has not recovered from it. Then I got it and was down for a few days, then it spread to Chloe, and then to Bella. Chris luckily never got it. I dont know if it was swine flu because we never went to the Dr. ( I tried calling a few times and it was busy). But if it was H1N1, we lived to survive.

Anyways, we have been really busy with school, vacations, Halloween, and gymnastics. I hope that I can get my computer working so I can post pictures.

We went to Cali for our annual trip with my family in October this year. It was so much fun. For Jeni's birthday we all went to Disneyland, which was fun and I actually learned a few things I never knew about Disneyland.
1- Every, or at least most, of the rides on the Disneyland side are scary. And the scariest ones are the little dinky kids ones. Seriously I dont know why they call it the happiest place on earth when they try to scare you the whole time. They have now even tried to make space mountain more scary, I wont give it away, but its not just a roller coaster in the dark anymore. Chloe went on every ride that we did except space mountain because she wasnt tall enough. She loved splash mountain and big thunder mountain.
2-Because they are trying to scare you all of the time, the Halloween fireworks show is the greatest that I have ever seen by 20 fold! It was great, they had all of the villains and scary songs. Definitely a must see for all!
3- there are a lot of rides that are under ground ( for sure pirates and haunted mansion). I would love to see a map and see what other tunnels they have underground too. They do have guided tours that tell you a ton of information and take you different places, one day I would love to do that too.

We also went to the San Diego zoo while we were there and it was pretty awesome. We didnt have time to see all the animals either and we were there until close.

Hopefully soon I can get some pictures up for peoples viewing pleasure but until then
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Havasupai

2009-09-28T09:40:00.001-07:00

Ok this post is mostly for journaling purposes so I don't forget the crazy adventure, if you want the shortened version, scroll down to the captions under the pictures. Here is our adventure to Havasupai. For years Chris has been begging me to go with him to Havasupai. Me being the camping unenthusiest have really never had the desire but this year I decided to be brave and grin and bear it. So our adventure started on Thursday around 6 or 7 PM ( I'm not quite sure what time we left Fajitas). We got to the parking lot at the top of the Canyon at around midnight and the plan was to just sleep up there then hike the whole 10 miles down to the campground around 4 or 5 in the morning. Well we had the crazy idea to just start hiking right then. So we geared up and started the descent down the switchbacks. About halfway down the switchbacks we ran into some wild horses. Now I am terribly afraid of any kind of animal so this absolutely freaked me out, which got my adrenaline pumping, which is a good thing if its 1 in the morning and you are hiking in the dark ( we did have headlamps of course.) We made it past the wild horses, were bombarded by bats and moths and about 2 hours later, we found a little cave and set up tents. Of course no sleep was had because we swear we heard a gunshot right as we were about to close our eyes, and I just know that the wild animals were surrounding us. So 3 hours later, the sun was up and off we were to hike the rest of the way to the campground. When we got to the villiage, the office to pay at was closed so we just hiked the 2 miles down to the campground and set up. Then we went to Havasu falls ( I think that was the name) and played around for a while. Then back to camp, and a much needed 20 minute nap. Next we hiked a few miles up to the new falls, enjoyed a few jumps off of the waterfalls and headed to the village to pay. Then back down to camp and it got dark. We went to bed at about 7 PM and slept so good, it was soothing being right next to the river. I think we woke up about 6 and just laid around for a while. Then after breakfast we hiked a mile or so to Mooney falls. It was beautiful and we hiked down a sketchy cliff and the started our trek to beaver falls. Along the way we say these huge big horned sheep and I was freaked out because they were only a few feet away from the trail. I thought for sure they would ram us with their horns but we made it past them, surprised that they didn't even budge. We got to beaver falls and played in the water, ate lunch and then headed back to camp. That hike was the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. And our hike ended up longer than we thought, we ran out of water, had a major injury to Gregg's foot. He could not even walk on it. So after getting back to camp at 5:30 we ate dinner and contemplated out game plan. Miraculously, and with the help of modern medicine and a little bit of a tape job, Gregg was feeling ok to start hiking out. So we packed up camp and at about 8:15 PM we headed up the trail ( and when I say up I mean a pretty steep trail with redsand. I think that first 2 miles out is way harder than the 1.5 miles of switchbacks). We got almost 2 miles and almost got attacked by a dog, if Chris had not turned around, it would have bit either me or him. Oh wait let me back up, while we were leaving the campground, this dog started walking with us ( not the one that was attacking us.) He just kept going up and up with us. He would disappear for a while and then there he would be. We nicknamed him Chancho. Anyways we got to the village, took a quick 10 minute snack break and then started up again. Then we came to a fork in the path. In the dark we had no clue which one to take, so we guessed and started one way and then we happened to notice Chancho waiting at the beginning of the other path. So we turned back and sure enough he was pointing us in the right direction ( we later saw the sign pointing the way to the hilltop but really without Chancho, we would have been so lost.) actually there were a few times that Chancho helped us pick the right way, he was such a good, loyal dog, he stayed with us the entire time and met up with some of his friends in the parking lot. Anyways, so we hiked for a couple miles and then dead in our tracks were 2 bulls. I'm serious, bulls with big horns and all. They were HUGE. Of course I was a mess but got the much needed adrenaline rush again.and ran up the side of the trail and hid behind a rock. One of the bulls darted up the trail and the other just stayed there on the trail, snorting and staring. I don't know how, but we got past him and hiked pretty quickly up a ways then heard him running up behind us. I was running too, I had no idea what else to do and then he stopped, snorted some more and there in front of us was his friend. So we went around that bull and hurried up the trail. Thank goodness, that was the last we saw of them! We saw a few more wild horses and then made it to the bottom of the switchbacks. I was really dreading this part because everybody that I talked to about it said it was soooooo hard. Plus my blistered heel was killing me. So up we went and in about an hour, we were at the top. We only stopped once on the switchbacks, Chris and Gregg stopped once because they were a little bit ahead of me but when I saw them stopped I said, " Sorry I'm not stopping because If I do it will hurt my feet too much". So they kept going to because I didn't want to be the first one to run into a wild beast ( which we did run into one more horse right at the top). But we got to the truck at about 1:15AM and drove into the little town, rented a hotel room, showered and slept for about 4 hours. Then traveled home. AHHHH that felt good!

But I really had a great time, I didn't even think about how dirty I was the whole time. And they built these really nice bathrooms in the campground so that wasn't an issue. I will definitely go again and I don't think that I will ever helicopter out ( I guess if I get hurt I will). It was fun to be with Chris in his element, he loves to camp and be outdoors and adventurous. And he was very sweet to me the whole time, He even packed most of the stuff out so it would be easier on me. I feel good about making it the whole way without complaining, I think we hiked a total of 33 miles in 2 days. I didn't even feel weird about being the only girl. I wish we would have taken more pictures, GREGG, I WANT YOU TO SEND ME YOURS!!!! Next time I will definitly have better shoes, bring flip flops, and take more pictures, its beautiful there!
This was on the way to beaver falls, it was just a tiny tiny waterfall but it was cool to go in the little cave behind it, so green and pretty.

This is mooney falls ( spelling?) It was reall big, the picture doesnt do it justice. After this we hiked down a really steep, narrow cliff to the bottom and then 3 more miles down the river to beaver falls. I think this day total we hiked about 18 miles.

This is the cave that we slept in the first night along the trail. Actually I cant really say slept in, we were too scared of wild animals getting us to sleep that night, so this is the cave that we set up our tent in and layed down for 3 hours in.

Its that time again!

2009-09-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

I always looked forward to planting and eating the garden foods as a kid and it still is a lot of fun now. This weekend we planted our fall garden with green onions, romaine lettuce, baby spinich, swiss chard, and my most favorite of all, sweet peas! I cant wait for the harvest!

easy yum!

2009-09-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

I dont enjoy baking but I love to eat baked goods. I was craving cinnamon rolls this weekend so I busted out my bread machine and whipped out some really yummy cinnamon rolls, actually the first I've ever made. They were so easy and just as yummy as if I made the dough by hand!

2009-09-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

I love that the girlies are starting to play really well together. It gives me a chance to catch up on some much needed housework! Bella woke up this morning saying Chloe, Chloe. She just cant wait to see her when she wakes up.

Back 2 Skool

2009-08-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

I started school again, last night was my first class and lab and I LOVED IT! We get to do work on actual cadavers. Next lab we are doing real human hearts! I never realized just how much I love science (not chemistry!) I am really excited for this semester! Its been a long time since I've been in school so wish me luck!

A good clean ugly book

2009-08-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

For a couple months now I have had 2 young women recommend a book to me called Uglies by author Scott Westerfeld. So finally after having it placed on hold at the library, I got it and read it in 3 days. It was a really good book and I would recommend it to any preteen, teen, and beyond reader, both boys and girls. It was clean and actually a quite interesting story. There are 3 other sequels to the series, the next one is called pretties, then specials, and lastly extras ( you'll understand the meanings after reading the first one) and I already have placed a hold on them at my library. So if you want something easy and good to read, you have my recommendation!

Curly Sue!

2009-07-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

Is this Chloe or Shirley Temple! We tried rag curls for the first time and Chloe just loved the results! We also had fun playing with Kolby and Lexie that day too!

Sweet Addie

2009-07-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

Dear Addie,

I am writing this now to tell you the things that I wish I could have told you while you were still here. You were an amazing young woman, I never saw you without a smile on your face. Your smile would light up every room you walked into. You had so much integrity, Once while babysitting my kids I came home to find you sitting on the couch without the TV on. When I said, " You could have been watching a show instead of sitting there bored," You responded, " actually I am grounded from watching TV and wouldn't feel good about watching it." I will miss your hugs, every time I saw you, no matter where, you would give me a hug. You were so warm and welcoming to me when I was first put into young women's, I felt right at home when you were around. My children absolutely love you too. Chloe would always ask for you to come babysit for them because she said you were so fun and she loved you. Last Saturday when you babysat for them was the first time that Bella said your name when she saw you. I learned so much from you in the short year that I knew you. You loved your family and treated them with respect. You loved the gospel and life and lived it with a happy attitude. I am so thankful that I was able to have you in my life, even if that time was cut too short. Thank you for being an excellent example to me of a believer! You are already greatly missed!

All my love,
Buffy

DIRTY!!!

2009-07-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

Just look at our dirty little faces!

WOW!!!

We went riding last weekend with Mike, Brenda, and Alec and boy did we get DIRTY!!! We had a great time though and saw some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in this state! The weather was gorgeous, and the smell of the pines was too. I don't think that I have ever been that covered in dirt though!

2009-07-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

Going to the Lake is always fun for the whole family! Some of my favorite summer memories involve ski trips at the lake or the bay! And my dad is still the best waterskiier I have ever seen! Mom you're pretty awesome too! We were able to go 2 times last week which was so fun! Thanks Ben and Sarah and Aaron! We had a blast!

So far this summer...

2009-06-19T14:25:00.001-07:00

We have enjoyed our libraries summer reading program.

Built a roaring fire on our camping trip

Enjoyed some fine dining.

Managed to get as dirty as humanly possible in the first 10 minutes of our camping trip.

Scare our friends with our most perfect demon faces.

I love summer!

Just stuff

2009-05-29T08:15:00.001-07:00

We have been enjoying swimming a lot already this summer! Chloe is swimming all by herself all over the pool!

This brought back memories of me and Matt when we were little. I loved putting olives on my fingers, but didnt like to eat them so Matt would eat them for me.

The kids made me breakfast for mothers day, actually I think it was the day before!

Part-A!

2009-05-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

We had our first ever backyard BBQ and swim party over memorial day weekend. And we not only had fun, but our house and yard survived all of those crazy kids!

Watch out Hallmark!

2009-05-09T13:26:00.001-07:00

Chloe gave me the best mothers day present the other day. She made me a card with her hand as the flower and inside she wrote a special note of how she see me. It says:

My mom is 28 years old ( THANKS CHLOE!)

Her hair is rainbow colored

Her shoe size is 29

Her favorite color is green

Her favorite food is pickle stew

Her favorite TV show is basketball

Her favorite thing to do is work

My favorite thing to do with my mom is play with Rylee

My mom is special because she loves me

Something that makes her happy is when I clean my room!

I know my mom loves me because she loves me all the time.

I love it! She made my day when she gave this card to me.

Happy Mothers Day to all of you moms out there!

I'm still here

2009-04-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

I have a working computer today Hurray!

So Happy Birthday to my Little Clo Clo! We had a really low key birthday with her this year compared to last years disney adventure! But she had a fun time going to Peter Piper with our little fam! and then she loved the Icecream cake too!

We finally finished the backyard and the Kitchen so I will post picts on those later if my computer is still working!

Total burnout

2009-03-26T08:02:00.001-07:00

Sorry I have been suffering from blog burnout, busyness, and my main computer being out of comission. I will post picts of what we have been up to, so so much going on, when my main computer gets a new monitor ( i hope that is the problem anyways). We have just been working on the kitchen, backyard, we had a ski trip, a wedding ( my baby sis), stake conference with Elder Nelson, family in town, girls getting sick and much much more. But I will post again with fun stuff, but when, I dont know!

Just for being good girls!

2009-02-05T14:04:00.000-08:00

Thanks Chris, I love getting flowers! And now Chloe does too!

Happy Birthday

2009-02-05T13:28:00.000-08:00

Thanks for ALWAYS being the sunshine thru the rain ( especially during those few short years from ages 2 to 18!). I love you mom!

GNO!

2009-02-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

That stands for girls night out ( normally) but for this past weekend it stood for Ginger night out! My bestest friend Ginger came down for the weekend without kids and husband and oddly Chirs happened to be out of town for that weekend too. So I was able to find a sitter and her and I enjoyed an evening out on the town! Actually we saw Twilight for the second time and decided we liked it even better. Then we came back to my place and stayed up past 2 in the morning just talking and laughing, reminiscing, being big huge dorks, and just plain having a great time. We laughed so hard that we cried ( many times!). I am so thankful for the many friends that I have but especially thankful that I have a friend like Ginger who I know I can always be myself with and always, no matter how long its been since we have seen eachother, pick up right where we left off. Thanks Ginger, I had so much fun! I did miss Chris, dont get me wrong, but she was a plesant distraction! Love you Ging!

PS, sorry Ging I stole the picture from you, if you want me to delete it, let me know. You look beautiful as always!

Secrets

2009-01-28T13:36:00.000-08:00

My beautiful sister Jeni tagged me to tell my top 10 beauty secrets, why do I find that hillarious! Anyway for those of you who care, here goes!

1- I dont use a hair dryer unless I have too, this may be why 1- my hair doesnt get split ends easily, and 2- It looks a mess during the week ( I usually blow dry it on Sundays!)

2- I have a great dermatologist! I have been using her perscription mosituriser and Retin-A micro and its been working wonders!

3- I drink a ton of water and nothing else!

4-I just recently learned how to curl my hair the correct way! Start in the middle not at the end! Thanks Ginger!

5- I also just recently started using lotion, I hate it but it has really made my skin so soft!

6- I smile a lot- true beauty comes from within (right?)

7- Dove soap!

8- I have Ken and Barbie for parents so that helped!

9- I pray often!

10- I take my vitamins daily ( Vitamin C, Calcium, and a multi vitamin)

So now that I spilled all of my secrets, I want to know about yours. Im tagging JoAnna, Elisha (Mrs.P, which by the way I dont even know if I spelled your name right!) Melissa, Ginger, Sarah and Shannon. If anybody else wants to do it too, I need all of the help I can get!

Happy Birthday Bootsy!

2009-01-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

From the moment she was born I had a special connection with her, and not just because I'm her mother. She was the sweetest baby, really never cried. She slept for 3 months straight ( at least it seemed that way!) And boy has she changed from when she was little, you would never guess by looking at her baby pictures that she is the same baby! Happy birthday Bella Rose, we love you to pieces!

Half way on the wagon

2009-01-13T12:26:00.001-08:00

So I decided while we were on vacation, and I had 2 sick children who slept a lot, that I would break down and FINALLY read the twilight books. And I have mixed feelings about each book. I loved the first one. But I didnt really like the second one, I skipped a lot of it and had to go back and read it. I really liked the third one a lot. And then the last one I thought was strange and skipped a bit of it too. But my favorite one was Midnight Sun, the one you can read on her website. I really hope that she finishes it because I love it from Edwards perspective. Does anybody know the story there? Is she really not going to finish it? I hope she does. Anyways that is my take on the books, overall they were good but Im not psycholly obsessed with them!

8 is GREAT!

2009-01-12T13:13:00.001-08:00

Wow, its sure been a while! So much to say but first things first, Happy Anniversary to my husband of 8 years! Im not going to get mushy because I know Chris really doesnt even read this blog and we have already celebrated it together! But these last 8 years have really been the greatest of my life, so many, many fun times and experiences! Te Quiero mas que puedo explicar! ( I hope I spelled that right!)

And I must give a special shout out to my fabulous sister-in- law/ one of my bestest friends JoAnna for taking the girls over night so Chris and I could enjoy time alone with eachother. I know I've said it before and Im sure I will say it again, she is so sweet and thoughtful and I love her so much! Everybody should have a sister like her! Thanks Jo! Love you!

Wow I really need to catch up on blogging but have no time at the moment. Maybe later this week!

My family

2008-12-11T09:39:00.000-08:00

Just a sneek peek of the pictures that my dearest friend Ginger took! She is so great! Thanks Ging for everything, I owe you!

Twilight

2008-11-27T09:31:00.001-08:00

I have to confess that I have never read the twilight books. Everybody asks me if that is where I got Bella's name from, sorry people, I had no idea. However I did really want to see the movie. I did the same thing with the Harry Potter books. I never read one until I saw the movie. I do it like that because I dont want to get pictures of the characters in my head and then be dissapointed when I see the movies because they look different than I pictured them. So last night Chris said, Hey why dont we go see the twilight movie. I was shocked becuase that is so unlike him to suggest we go to a chick flick but I jumped at the chance. And I have to say that I am so glad that I didnt read the books because I really really liked the movie. I think most people who read the books were dissapointed. But I think that the vampires were very well casted, they all looked just like vampires. And I know people were complaining about Edward being ugly in the movie, but I thought he was perfect, he totally was a believeable vampire. So now that I have seen the movie, I am totally wanting to read the books! Sorry to all of you who already read the books and were dissapointed!

My 3 Candy Corns

2008-11-25T13:33:00.000-08:00

Every year for Thanksgiving my Nonny (dads mom) would set the tables with little cups that had candy corn in it at each seat. We were supposed to say something that we were thankful for for each candy corn we had in the cup. For some reason I remember there were always 3, which may be because we ate most of them. So I was thinking, what would me 3 candy corns be this year. I could take the easy way out and say Chris, Chloe and Bella, but thats a given, right? So I am thinking outside the box of the usual ones ( church, family, ect) and thought it would be fun to see what other things I am thankful for.

Candy Corn #1: My Pressure Cooker. If you dont have one, you are totally missing out. If you have one and use it 3 times a week like I do, then you understand!

Candy Corn #2: Cereal. I could eat it every meal if I had to. Its healthy, ( at least the kind I eat) its a good snack to pack in your diaper bag, and its oh soooo delicious!

Candy Corn #3: The internet. I love that with a few clicks of a mouse I can connect with friends, check my bank account, make a photobook, find a recipe for dinner, get a personal progress idea for church, shop, and so much more!

Ok, now I really cant get away without a few Candy corns that have some depth to them.

Candy Corn #4: Family. A bit cliche but soooo true. I love them, all of them from Chris, to my kids, to my parents, to my siblings and their spouses ( and almost fiance), and my nieces and nephews, and my in-laws, and my grandparents, cousins, ect. Those of you who know us know that we are related to almost everybody and I am thankful for them all!

Candy Corn #5: Laughter. I love to laugh, ha ha ha ha, loud and long and clear ( did I just bust into a mary poppins song?) But seriously, I love it! Especially laughing with somebody, its the best. Most of my memories involve laughing in someway. I think it has healing power and keeps the soul young!

Alright I think this is getting a bit too long so I will end. Happy Thanksgiving everybody, and while you are eating your turkey and cranberry sauce ( which is my most favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal) maybe you could think about what your 3 candy corns are! OK I'll stop, thats way too cheesy!

Notice anything different?

2008-11-20T08:30:00.000-08:00

Nope its not Katherine, its me! I got sick of being a "fake Blonde!" which I usually do around the time when my roots are 3 inches long. I am still shocked when I first glance in the mirror but I think it matches my eyebrows better. What do you think? Dont mind the scary looking picture, I had to take it myself, ( I know Im such a dork!)

Happy Anniversary

2008-11-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Today my parents celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary! I could get really mushy and teary about all that they have done and the example that they are to me and how amazing and wonderful they are and how lucky I am to have the most perfect parents with the most perfect marriage and how they are so strong ect... But I won't, I dont want to embarrass them! hee hee! I love my parents, they are so special to me and make me feel so important. I wish and hope that I can be like them in every way and that I can be to my children how they are to me. Ok I'll stop now! Happy Anniversary!

The Princess and the Peacock

2008-10-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

Chloe and Chris carved the pumkin ( actually Chris did all of the work). Chloe looks just like me in this picture, messy hair and all!

Our beautiful Snow White taking a bow!

The cutest peacock I've ever seen!

Happy Hallowen everybody!

Only 9 months!

2008-10-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

Yes folks thats right, she is only 9 months. Its really funny to see peoples reactions when I tell them how old Bella is. They all look shocked, I think its because of her hair! I've had people try to make me pay for a plane ticket for her because I didnt have her birth certificate with me at the airport to prove that she was less that 2 years old. At church a few weeks ago a man saw Chris with her in the hall and said, " somebody doesnt want to go to nursery today huh?". I guess people dont think to look at her teeth or the fact that she cant talk or walk. They just see the hair of a 2 year old and thats it. She does have great hair though!

On a side note after 9 months of living she is FINALLY crawling! Its so fun! I tell her not to feel bad that it took so long to crawl, after all she did sleep thru the first 3 months of her life!

Girls

2008-10-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Thank heaven for ( our) little girls!

Patriotism

2008-10-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

We were driving by a gas station today and Chloe said, "Look mom, a flag." She then proceeded to say the whole pledge of allegiance word for word. I guess they do learn a lot in preschool because I know I didn't teach that to her!

Lazy and proud of it

2008-10-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

I was reading a blog recently ( I wont name names) and it was very inspirational to me. This woman is such a fun mom and even though I dont know her I could just tell how much she loved her children and her divine calling as a mother. This got me thinking. When Chloe was a baby I remember having a conversation with a young boy who I am related to ( again I wont name names) about my job.

Boy: So who does Chloe stay with when you go to work.

Me: I dont go to work, Chloe hangs out with me all day.

Boy: Oh so you're just lazy!

Kids say the darndest things! But truly, I love being a mother. I am so thankful for my girls and now that I am a mother I love my mother ( and mother in law) even more deeply for what they did for me and Chris! Dads are Aweome too ( dont want to leave them out!)

Bargain Shopper

2008-10-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

4 bottles of shampoo ( 12 ounces), 2 bottles of conditioner, and 2 bottles of visine eye drops. Retail value (according to K-mart) $33.87, what did I pay you ask? $ .87 that is about 10 cents per item! K-mart is doubling coupons this week so Stock up!

Thanks to all

2008-09-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

We were invited to the lake on Saturday and it was so much fun. We wakeboarded, Skied, wake surfed, tubed and just swam. Holy Cow, my body is so sore but it is totally worth it! Thanks so much to Ben and Sarah, Aaron and JoAnna, and Jeremy for letting us use your boats! They are all so nice and so fun! We cant wait to go again ( hint hint ) just kidding! I didnt bust out the camera until we were done and out of the water so here are the few shots I did get! Thanks again for the fun time guys!

House after move in

2008-09-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

Though it isnt totally decorated and finished, here are somewhat final pictures of the house. I love it soooooo much!

This is for you Jeni

2008-09-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

Mom told me that you wanted to see picts of the kids so here you go! Dont say I never do anything for you! J/K! I love you and miss you guys, you need to move here!

Bootsy

2008-09-29T14:19:00.001-07:00

She is not your average 8 month old, at least not to me. Everybody thinks she is older than she is because of her hair, definatly not normal for an 8 month old to have that mop! She still cannot roll from her back to her stomach, I dont know if she cant or just wont because she is just content to lay there. She can however go from her tummy into sitting position and crawl/scoot backwards. She is getting her 2 vampire fangs which we refer to as her snaggle teeth which makes a total of 4 teeth. She has started clapping her hands and waving bye bye. It was really cute last night we put Chloe to bed at 6:45 ( I know, it was LOVELY) and then I told Bella she was going ni night and to give daddy kisses. So she kissed him and then waved good-bye! Oh and her nick name is Bootsy, thus the title of this post. We love her to pieces!

Fluffy

2008-09-25T13:43:00.001-07:00

Im still alive and doing quite well! I will have picts of the new place once I can get it all cleaned up and no boxes- that may be a while. But I have to tell a funny story about Chloe. We were swimming last week and I needed to go inside and clean so I said it was time to get out of the pool. We closed the gate and I gave her a popsicle which she loves and usually will just play on the patio until she is finished. Well I noticed it had been about 15 minutes so I looked outside and she was on the side yard in the dirt but I thought oh I will just not bother her if she is having fun. Then about 2 minutes I heard her knock on the back door so I went to let her in and she said, " Mom, fluffy needs some water." Who needs water, we dont have a cat, so I told her to show me where fluffy was, expecting there to be a stray cat or something. She took me over to the side yard where we have some bird baths ( yes there is more than one) and showed me a bird bath that had a statue of a bird on it. Fluffy was the statue. So we went and got some water and poured it in the bird bath. She loves fluffy and has to feed her water everytime we go swimming now! Kids are so fun!

house progress

2008-08-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

New tile in the kitchen, this is before the grout. Much better than the linolium.
Our new granite countertop in the island. Yes that the oven in the family room, good spot for it!
The new sink and countertop, before the faucet was installed
painting, painting, and more painting ( that door really doesnt go there)
Tile in the master before the grout ( nice shot Brady!)

The house is really coming together. Chris is amazing, he is very handy and can do just about anything. He will be able to build us a house next! And I love our new granite and sink in the kitchen, I dont know if I am at liberty to tell who/ where we got it from but you know who you are, Thank you so much! It looks fabulous! We are moving shortly and I will post pictures of the final product! Thanks to all who have helped us out with everything!

Bunko

2008-08-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

For a year now a bunch of us friends ( 12 usually) have been getting together once a month to play bunko. I had not been for 6 months because of Bella but I went again last Saturday. There are never the exact same people that come but its always a blast! Oh and Brooke should have been in the picture too but she volunteered to take the picture! Thanks girls for all of the fun times! PS- it was pajama night this time thats why we look so comfy!

New Digs

2008-08-05T10:53:00.001-07:00

Love the curtains and dining table light! The house was built well after the 80's but I guess the owner was just stuck with an 80's decorating mentality!
Yes the pool ball walpaper border is already down. Its a family room not a game room!

I love Chloe's face here!
We have already been swimming a few times, Im kinda getting fond of the grecian lady statue!

Yes we finally got a "new" house! Its closer to Chris's office, its "inland" and bigger than what we have now. WE have some fixing up to do as you can see from the picts, but we are excited to pick the decor and get moved in! Here are a few of the before picts!

A few of my favorite things

2008-07-31T14:16:00.000-07:00

I love the expression on her face here.
The WHOLE D.P. Allen family
I feel like this picture pretty much sums up each persons personality to a T! Definatly this years Christmas Card!
Sammy is one of the cutest little girls in the world!

Bella and Sarah wearing Sarah's favorite color, which Sarah always looks stunning in!

If you know Chloe, she is in her element here!
They are so sweet together! Chris is her favorite person!
The grandparents have just as much fun as the kids do!

6 month check up

2008-07-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

Bella is such a sweet girl and is growing so quickly. Last week she got her first 2 teeth and started rolling over again. At her doctors appt she was in the 84th percentile for her height, 60th percentile for her weight ( I thought it would be greater than that), and the 15th percentile for her head size. She was so good with her shots and didnt cry until the 3rd one and then stopped as soon as I picked her up. She is so sweet.

More picts from SD

2008-07-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

I Have a billion pictures from our trip thanks to Michael, our official family photographer ( these pictures actually were taken with our camera) So I just might have more to post later. If you will notice in the background of this first picture you can see Shannon, Katherine, and Devin and part of dads arm ( looking buff dad!) I dont know where Bella got her cheeks from but they are yummy! And you can kinda see that her roots are turning blonde, it is the strangest thing!
Chloe loves the Merry go round especially now that she has seen Mary poppins!
This one was just Bella's size
Chloe and Remy at our favorite ( well one of mine for sure) seafood restraunts

A little break from the norm

2008-07-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

Jeni and her family, Chloe wanted to be a part of it!
Matt showing off a little too much leg at our family fun run ( which was way too hard and long for the word fun to be used).
Chloe in front of the "Castle"
Our last day on the beach, and yes this is our best side!

We went to the beach for a week with my WHOLE ENTIRE family last week and it was so fun to get away and just not do anything, But for not doing anything we sure did a lot! I loved the weather and the company. Thanks mom and dad for such a fun time and letting us stay with you guys. I love you! And it was so wonderful to have Chris with me for 9 days straight. I love being with him and so do the girls, we hate that he has to go to work everyday! WE love you! Here are some picts, more to come later, I have to get on the laptop to get the picts from there! And I loved being with Jeni, Michael, Matt, and Katherine and their spouses and kids I love them so much ( Kath I like Devin too).

Fond Farewell

2008-07-09T10:29:00.001-07:00

So for the past 20 months my calling for church has been in the nursery. It has been an interesting experience to say the least especially since I have had strep throat 5 times in the last 20 months ( I dont think that hand sanitizer gel works but that is a whole different story)! But I must say that I love those little kids, they are so pure and loving. I have learned more from them than I thought possible. They love to sing, dance, laugh, and play. They are so forgiving of everybody and compassionate to each other. I am really going to miss seeing their smiling faces every Sunday.
That being said, I received a new calling a few weeks ago and I will now be our wards Young Women President. I know what you are thinking, I felt the same way, I even asked the bishop if he was sure he had the right person. But after praying about it I know its right. I am excited and a little nervous for the challenge but I am ready. I already have so much love for the girls, they really are a sweet, beautiful bunch of young women.
But I will miss those sweet kids in nursery, not to mention the snack time too!

My Sweetie Pie

2008-06-25T11:45:00.001-07:00

I can sit all by myself!

Twin bathing suits

Our little Bella is just the sweetest little baby girl! She is always happy and loves to be with her family. She loves food now but not green vegetables. She love bathtime and now that she is sitting all by herself, she gets to take them in the big girl tub! She laughs at me and Chloe all of the time and flirts with every boy she sees. Especially her daddy and grandpa! WE are so thankful for her precious spirit in our lives and dont know what we did to get such a sweet little girl like her. Even in the car she is just so peaceful. The only time she cries is if she is starving or super tired. We love our Bella girl!

You got me!

2008-06-07T09:05:00.000-07:00

1. 5 places I go over and over -
Store
Parents house
Church
Doctor ( lately it seems anyway!)
Treadmill

2. 5 people who email me regularly -
Andrea Van Horne
Andrea Van Horne ( if you do couponsense you know)
Kate
Jo
Chris

3. 5 Favorite Places to eat -
Texas Roadhouse
Any mexican food
Sushi
Brenda's
Mom's

4. 5 places I would rather be -
Hawaii
Disneyland
on a cruise
Lake Powell
Snow Skiing

5. TV shows I watch
LOST
Biggest Loser
Spice up my kitchen
What not to wear
Micky Mouse Clubhouse!

Now its your turn Jeni, JoAnna, Sarah, Shannon, Gwen, Rachel, Katherine ( if you had a blog!) I always tag all of my sisters!

Just for fun!

2008-06-06T14:48:00.001-07:00

How quickly they grow

2008-06-04T07:03:00.001-07:00

So we had our check ups for the girls last week and they are growing! Bella is now 15 pounds and in the 70th percentile for height and weight. Her head is in the 15th percentile ( my kids have such small heads!). Chloe is 26 pounds and is in the 45th percentile for her height and the 20th percentile for her weight. I think Bella will catch up with her pretty soon! I have pictures that I will post shortly!

Im a princess!

2008-05-23T05:40:00.001-07:00

You Are Snow White!

Pure and trusting. You are a gentle soul who can get along with just about anyone. Everyone you meet instantly falls in love with you. How can they resist? You have a pure, lovable nature that's irresistable. Just don't trust everyone who comes across your path.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Life's greatest blessings

2008-05-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday ( a little late) to my wonderful husband! His birthday was the day before mothers day and I actually think that the day he was born it was mothers day! I love him so much and know that he loves me too! I am grateful to have such a loving husband who would do anything for me and for his children. I also am thankful for my other 2 blessings, my beautiful daughters. Without all 3 of these amazing people in my life I would be so empty. Thanks to all of you for letting me be a mom!Oh and there are no pictures of Chris because he hates to take pictures and these are the pictures the girls and I did for his birthday!

Disneyland

2008-05-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

WE had a lot of fun at Disneyland for Chloe's birthday. We went with Nana and Papa and Alec for 2 days and had a blast. But at the end of each day, it felt like we had spent 2 days skiing, we were so tired! I wish that they had strollers for adults!

What, I have a 3 year old?

2008-04-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

The day she was due
The day she was born
Her 1st birthday
Birthday number 2
Birthday #3 at Disneyland!

Happy birthday CHLOE! ( a few days late!) My how you've grown from the tiny little baby with colic, to the sweet, rascally big girl you are today! I love you little girly!

Milestones!

2008-04-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

So Friday I was giving Bella tummy time like the doctor said to do. Normally she hates it and screams the whole time but Friday when I put her on her tummy she lifted her head up really high and was looking around and then next thing I know she had rolled over onto her back. I thought to myself, you are not even 3 months old yet, that has to be a fluke. So I put her on her tummy again and what do you know she rolled over again. I thought ok, I'll try it one more time, so I did and yet another time she rolled over. I cant believe it, she is growing up! I guess I shouldnt be so surprised because Chloe did the same thing at 2 months.