10 Year Anniversary

Chris & I celebrated our TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY on June 24th! Trust me when I say that I can't believe it either! It floors me to think about it!

We had such a wonderful day. Probably my favorite annniversary yet! After playing with our kids at the splash park during the day, we got a babysitter ( a rarety) and went to dinner at the ROOF at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in downtown Salt Lake with a view overlooking our wedding place, the Salt Lake Temple (note the picture above). We had our wedding luncheon and reception in this building (JS Building) so it is definitely sentimental to us. We also went to The Roof for our one year anniversary, so it was fun to visit again 9 years later!

....We went and peeked in the same room that our reception was held in during the exact same hour - just ten years earlier. It was occupied by a wedding dinner...darn! We were tempted to crash it but restrained ourselves...It was truly surreal to think that we were there celebrating our own wedding 10 years earlier to the hour in that same exact place! It was really neat to be there. These pictures were taken on the Mezzanine floor which is where we had a large portion of our wedding pics taken.

Off to the beautiful temple grounds....

The cute sister missionaries that took this picture above for us guessed that we were celebrating our FIRST anniversary. Haha! You can imagine how their jaws dropped when we told them it was #10! No, I didn't get married when I was 13 (almost 21), I am just cursed to look like a perpetual teenager. With wrinkles. :) Although I think we are getting a little less dorky looking as we age (maybe?), so that is a good thing... :)

What a wonderful journey it has been! Click here for a stroll down memory lane, a wedding pic, and the mushy stuff....

and for the record,

these two are definitely our greatest thrills in life:

My patriarchal blessing talks about how 'great joy will come into our lives as we bring into this world some of our Heavenly Father's chosen spirits'....That is truer than I ever could have dreamed! We are so grateful for our two little ones and the way they have enriched our lives!

What a blessing to have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and to be an eternal family!

Happy Anniversary to us! :)

Check marks

We've had some exciting, long-awaited changes take place around here in the last couple of weeks....

Emmie, who is quickly approaching 2 years old coming up in August, has been riding around town in her baby car seat.... up until about 2 weeks ago that is. That's right... Same rear facing baby seat that she came home from the hospital in. (Hey - the weight limit is 35 lbs and E is barely over 20...) It was high time for her to graduate and move onto a big girl seat, so - well overdue, I marched our little fam to Babies R Us and told the stressed husband that we weren't leaving without a new seat for Emmie. It's never easy for him to spend money - even on necessities such as this. (Understandably - is it ever fun to drop $300+ on a car seat?)If I had left it to him, I'm pretty sure she would have been stuffed in that baby seat until Kindergarten. Love ya honey. But you know it's very well true. :)

THE PROUD PASSENGER:

Needless to say, Little E has been thrilled ever since & loves her new ride.

New carseat for Emmie: CHECK!

NEXT UP:

THE P-MAN

This little guy, who is rapidly approaching the big 4 next month, had still been sleeping in his toddler bed - up until 2 weeks ago that is. Same drill as above....forced a family shopping outing on the hubby and told him that our little guy was growing and that he no longer qualifies as a toddler, therefore his "toddler bed" was no longer acceptable.

Above is the before...

Beige blah walls and itty bitty bed (that was made that day by P himself btw), transforms into:

{DRUMROLL PLEASE}

{...& Hallelujah chorus sets in}

A big boy bed!

HOORAY!!!

and how about that? even got rid of the icky wall color in trade of a serene blue.

THIS much needed transition makes me so so so happy! WHY?! I don't cringe with guilt at having my growing little guy stuffed into a tiny bed every time I walk through his door anymore. & absent are the feelings of being a bad mom due to never having painted his room a fun color due to the chaos that collapsed on us soon after we moved here (my brother's unexpected death followed by a stressful & difficult pregnancy (heart issues at 20 weeks followed by preterm labor and bedrest)).... Sounds silly, but I am breathing easier these days as a result of these simple but overdue changes. Pictures still need to be hung but I am truly content with it for now! YAY! :)

BIG BOY BED FOR P: CHECK!

NEXT UP:

Alright so this one did not fall into the "necessity" category but it sure has boosted my sanity levels!

Last Fall we brought inside our little outdoor picnic table to use for Joyschool. It was never intended to stay in our kitchen... but it became such a practical convenience that it ended up staying put. Practicality seems to be something that we succumb to when our lives revolve around little ones.... even when it's a huge eyesore. Which is fine, & I'm all for it...it's how we have to roll sometimes, but inside I longed for something a little bit cuter. & a little bit smaller. Something that actually didn't overtake our kitchen as a bulky bright red and blue blob that matched nothing but the crayons used on it....Having said that I do love the picnic table - such a great purchase - just not as the focal point of my main living area...

Then I saw it. At Downeast Home. A highly discounted Thomas Table originally from Pottery Barn. And red chairs. That matched my great room. PeRfEcT. I really wanted it. Oh how I wanted it. I'm not an impulse buyer. I am a frugal, careful shopper. I don't covet many things. I went home and pondered it. Told the husband about it. Told him why I really must have it. It would make me so happy. So so happy. Couldn't stop thinking about it. Blessed Husb gave the green light to get it.

WHAT?!

{Hallelujah chorus repeat}

Bless him. I love it. Absolutely love it. It makes me happy. Ridiculously happy. & the picnic table is happier to be outside. Where it belongs. With popsicles and melted mac and cheese on hot summer days.

And these two? They love it too. Maybe not as much as me, but they like it alright.

& as you can see, they love P's new bed, too. At night time, they climb in together squealing and laughing, Emmie telling me "Night night", followed by her yelling for me to, "Go!".

It almost hurts my feelings. :)

No, they don't sleep in the same room. They just find it highly hysterical to pretend that they do....

....& that's the excitement of our crazy month. Three big things (wait - FOUR - definitely 4 with that check mark next to girls camp) checked off my list, making JUNE a highly productive month in my book! :) YAY!

Father's Day 2010

My kids are lucky to have such a great dad! Emmie adores her "Da" as she calls him, & Parker is always asking when Dad is going to be home.

Chris unfortunately had to work on Father's Day, but got home just in time for a Father's Day Partay at our house with my Dad & that side of the fam. It was a bit of a crazy day trying to pull off late church & getting food ready for the festivities without Chris around to help keep a tiny bit of order to everything with the little munchkins (or should I say "Terrors") running around, but in the end we pulled it off. It was fun to have everyone over!

We missed Steven and Kylie but don't feel bad for them living the high life in New York...my little bro got picked up in a limo this week for an event he is helping with in Times Square...I don't think humdrum Utah is going to satisfy them when it's time to return post his internship in a few months....

I made it :)

I'm alive!

I survived Girls Camp last week.

Yep.

In the Uintas.

In a tent.

With the bears.

All the while battling a nasty cold that pretty much made me miserable - especially that first night.

HOWEVER.

Despite all that, I admit, I still managed to have a good time!

I love being in the mountains (just not sleeping there) & it was definitely a beautiful place (Camp Camelot - Fruitland, UT).

See for yourselves:

A few of the highlights:

• A 3 mile hike to the top of that big ridge
• Tubing down the river was so much fun despite the icy water
• The food! That is a lot for me to say because I am picky but one of the girl's dads was our cook and he was amazing! Best scones ever, homemade hot krispy kreme doughnuts, hawaiian haystacks....the food was super delish!
• Night time devotionals. There is something about being in the mountains, sitting under the stars & listening to a wonderful speaker bear witness of the truthfulness of the gospel that makes the entire week worth the trip. Such an amazing feeling.
• Spending quality time with the girls! I love getting to know each of them better, as well as the other leaders.

All in all - success!

Especially maybe because I had to leave a day early to get back to my orphaned children....(Thanks Hansens for watching them!)

{Can you find me? }

What's cool: Hanging out with 12-18 year old girls. Not Cool?: Having everyone think you are one of the 12-18 year old girls...

3 words: STORY OF MY LIFE! :) LOL I'm THIRTY, people!!!

Off to camp I go...

Well, it's here.

I'm off to Girl's Camp this week.

I'm stoked.

Er that's what I'm telling myself anyways.

The lovely head cold, constant run of the nose and bad sore throat I picked up from Em the other day that are hitting extra hard this a.m. aren't helping my enthusiasm for this excursion.

Nevertheless I am off.

The crazy things we do for the church I tell ya. :) {slight sarcasm here}

Like sleep in a tent. With no showers. {shudder}

Have a good week everyone!

Be thinking of me in the wilderness with all the bugs and wild animals. :)

Oh and if you see Chris lugging around the kiddos, please stop and help him do Little Emmie's hair... that's his biggest fear this week....

Summer Fun....

SWINGS!

Our dinky little swingset we bought last year has proven to be such a great purchase!

It is just the right size for these two monkeys and they have spent endless hours in the last few weeks swinging away....we've also spent lots of time recently at parks. It has been great to finally be able to spend time outside!

BUBBLES! Who knew a little soap and water could keep these little ones so entertained. Emmie especially loves them.

ITTY BITTY SOCCOR & GYMNASTICS

June is such a crazy month for us. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I signed Parker up for soccor this month and both kiddos up for gymnastics on top of all the other crazy activities/events that June is filled with, but I did. It's totally fun but we are constantly go-go-go around here!

Creative entertainment.... they had to find something exciting to do while I cleaned all afternoon....highlighters to the face (Emmie) and decorating their bodies with stickers did the trick...

THE LIBRARY

My kids love to read and I love to read to them, so we finally hit up the library for the first time last week.

It was a quick trip -

Emmie was deshelving the books faster than I could pick them back up so we had to grab a few and dash, but we were lucky to have randomly chosen a really really cute one out of the four and another pretty good one.

As for me, besides taking care of these cutie patooties, my life has pretty much been hijacked by my calling in Young Womens for the last several months....love it but it sure keeps me busy & away from my kids more than I've ever been (& I'm only an advisor!).

On a cute and somewhat humorous note, Parker started hysterically crying when I told him I was going to Girls Camp in the mountains saying how he didn't want me to leave him and that he was afraid I'd be eaten by a mountain lion. His words. It didn't help that he had caught part of Homeward Bound earlier that day where a ferocious mountain lion was chasing after Chance and his crew....okay and so it probably also doesn't help that I'm a little (who am I kidding - a LOT) fearful of being ravaged by a wild animal myself....deep breaths.... :)

MOVING ON....

Chris bless his heart, :) has been doing a little painting for me (more on that later), has been playing soccor dad (his schedule has allowed him to go to P's classes), and work work WORKING away! It is great that he has the opportunity to pick up overtime hours here and there. Sometimes that great extra pay is hard to pass up!

This picture pretty much sums up this month at our house.... a bit CrAzY but we're holding on tight with our eyes half open & are trying to make the most of it. We're definitely enjoying the ride though! :)

Let freedom ring

Who is: Little short guy, on his post, barking orders....

Napoleon?

Nope...

That would be our Parker ....

Little P is strong enough this year to open our ultra heavy back sliding door all by himself. Quite exciting for a 3-year-old as all our other doors have handle locks on them prohibiting his break away. With this has come great freedom for him... and some added stress for myself....

Everytime I turn around the little guy has escaped into the backyard & his mini accomplice - aka Emmie, is right behind him, regardless of what I have just told him about staying inside. Obedience is not his strong suit these days - it's tough when such autonomy is within his own capablities...

So what is he so eager to get outside and do?

Up the slide, to his favorite post this social little butterfly goes....

where from he screams high-pitched summons over the fences to all the neighbor kids to come over and play with him.

And come they do!

This is great- we love to play. But if my plans don't quite align with his & it's NOT a great time to play with friends, huge fits ensue. Not so great.

You can bet that this little girl loves every minute of her big brother's new found independence. She loves the outdoors every bit - if not more than him - & walks around saying "side, side! ". Naturally, as P's sidekick, the more liberty he steals when mom has her back turned, the more she gets as well. What a perfect position to be in as the little sister.

Those little stinks.

(To explain - the only reason I object to them being out in our fenced yard without me closeby is because our cute neighbor girl taught Parker how to open the gate (which would have happened soon anyways) to get to the front yard which could result in catastrophic devastation if E were to follow P out ...you know - streets, cars, kidnappers... you get the picture...)

Having said all that, we mostly do just get laughs out of Parker & the way he thinks he can run the neighborhood from his post on the slide. & I think it's time to figure out a lock for the back gate.

I'm just so glad that it's finally getting nice enough to spend the majority of our days outdoors...

it's about time, Utah weather!

BRING ON THE FRIENDS, we're excited to play! ;) Maybe just not 24/7...