Naptime

Oh, one of my favorite times of the day! I found Addi sleeping in her swing like this. I thought it was too cute!

Addi's Blessing Day

We finally blessed Addi last week and she looked too cute! After church, we went to the Nelson's for a delicious dinner.







I thought it would be fun to show pics of both Lissa and Addi when they were blessed. They are only a few weeks apart in the pictures.

Makeup Mishap

Last Sunday Caitlin called me right before I was about to put on my makeup. I left to answer the phone and when I came back, Alyssa had found my makeup. She was applying lotion on her face and had already attempted to put the mascara on her eyelashes. Although it got on her dress and my bedspread, it was too cute to get upset.

Kelly's Little Essentials

The other day I was thinking about some of the things that I just couldn't live without and the people who introduced me to them. Here's what I came up with:

1. Fels-Naptha heavy duty laundry bar soap-It hasn't met a stain it couldn't defeat! Before this bar, I was throwing away Addi's clothes that experienced major "blow-outs" cuz nothing could get the stains out and then Kathleen introduced me to this little bar soap. Laundry will never be the same! Now it's a game with the stains and me - I always win! Thanks Kathleen!

2.The Swing-I think Addi prefers the swing to being held by me. It's the only thing that has gotten her to sleep these past few days! Alyssa loved it too. Thanks mom and dad!

3.allrecipes.com-When you know it has 5 stars rated by over a thousand people, it has to be good! My favorites are Aussie Chicken, Cheesy Sausage Zucchini casserole, Broiled Parmesan Talapia, and Brown Sugar Meatloaf. Thanks Wayne and D'Lonna!

4.Shade Shirts-Opened up a whole new wardrobe and world of clothing! Thanks Cindy!

5.Tomato stem corer-Not one bit of the tomato is wasted. Thanks mom!

6.Papercutter-Not just for scrapbooking! Thanks to my 11th grade Photojournalism teacher.

7.Squeaker Sneakers-"Let your ears be your eyes." I know where Alyssa is at all times when we are out and about. Plus I become the most popular person in every store. As an added bonus, she loves them too! Thanks Kathleen!

8.Boppy-Without it, I may have dropped Alyssa or Addi during those 2am feedings. Thanks Alacia!

9.Baby Bjorn-Now a girl can do what a girl does best...go shopping! Well, grocery shopping at least. It makes life a little easier to have both hands free at all times. Thanks Papa and Grandma!

10.Tivo-No more rushing home and planning schedules around Lost or Office. And no more relying on unreliable VCR recordings with poor quality anyway. The best thing about it is no commercials! Thanks mom and dad!

11.Blogging-Very addictive, but such a fun way to see what's going on in everyone's lives. I'm glad I am now an official blogger! Thanks Tracy!

Our Mini Retreat

Yeah! A reason to go outside in the heat and not be cooped up in our house anymore! I recently bought this pool on Amazon. Why didn't I think of this earlier? Before we bought it, I had to measure our backyard to make sure an 8 ft pool would fit. Just barely, phew! Alyssa loves it, especially when Dad gets in and plays with her. I think it already has a small leak in it, but it drains too slow to notice, so no biggie.

The hardest part is trying to drain it and refill it without Steve. That is definitely a task for two, but Alyssa helps stand on the sides to let the water out and she holds the sides up when we refill it. She's mom's little helper. What a good girl! Although, she often get distracted by the rocks in the backyard and wants to throw them in the new puddles of water we made by emptying the pool. Why do all kids love to do this?

Family Picture Day!

We had Emily take these pictures of our family before she left for BYU. She is so talented!

Beach Vacation

While Steve stayed behind diligently working for the family (poor Steve!), the rest of us enjoyed a good old California vacation. I was a little worried about driving 6 hours with a 2 month old, but she did really well! We stayed with the Nelsons in a condo in Oceanside for the first 2-1/2 days. We had a blast! The condo was perfect and so nice. We watched movies, played games, and of course made our way down to the beach a couple times. Lissa woke up the first day around 4:30 am and said, "Ok mom, I'm ready to go to the beach now!" She was so excited, obviously. The first day, she was afraid of the water, but bravery became her overnight as she ventured into the water the next day. I had to chase her twice with Addi in my arms before going too deep in the water. Her favorite part was definitely catching sand crabs with Robert and Thomas. She loved holding them in her hands. Her other favorite part was going deep in the water while being held by tight by Grandpa or Emily. She spent most of her time, though, scooping up sand with the shovel and throwing it. That never got tiring to her. Lissa got her first sunburn, but never complained! What a sweet girl. I felt horrible. As for Addi, she slept most of the time. I didn't bring anything to put her in, so I dug a hole in the sand, covered it with a towel and Wa-la, a perfect cradle! She was quite comfy. Grandma took good care of her too while I played with Lissa. I enjoyed watching Lissa while relaxing and talking with Melanie and Kathleen. It was a good time!



Caitlin came to pick us up Tuesday night to bring us to Temecula with my family. We endured a 45 min crying session on the car ride home and were relieved when we approached home sweet home. Lissa was very excited to see everyone, especially Brooke and Jon. They kept her entertained the entire time. Time was spent eating at Rubio's, shopping Kohl's great sale, sewing cute new burp cloths, savoring every bite of fried rice at my favorite restaurant, Fugiyama's with Papa and Grandma, hunting for the "impossible-to-find" animal print bead, reliving my childhood dreams at the Disney Store and shopping for the perfect tandem stroller (any suggestions?). It was quite a fun-filled vacation. Lissa marveled at the chef's tricks at Fugiyama's, especially the onion ring fire while Addi slept in my arms. The pretend mustard was supposed to be squirted at Lissa, but we got the "new guy" who couldn't quite get it right. Mustard, dummy, not catsup! As for the bead store, I loved it! Especially getting all sorts of cool jewelry ideas and tips. Too bad the "we're-only-closed-on-Wednesday" bead store didn't get any of our business. Who closes their store in the middle of the week anyway?

Lissa may have found a replacement for her favorite Peter Pan shirt. (Thanks grandma!) Choosing among many toys at the Disney Store, she decided on a green Tinkerbell-like dress/nightgown. She wore it for the rest of the trip not letting anyone forget how pretty she was in her new dress. "I'm so pretty grandma" or "I'm so beautiful, just like Belle" was the most frequent phrase we heard this past week. She would say it in her sweetest voice. We were dying laughing!

Brooke and Jon were constantly competing for Alyssa's attention. They would also frequently ask her who she liked better and her answer, to Jon's dismay, was Brooke. Poor Jon's little heart was broken and in his defense he said, "I don't like you Alyssa!" Alyssa then replied, "I like me!" And pranced away on her little toes. How cool would she be if she maintained this attitude through school if any kids had the gall to tease her? She cracks me up!

We returned to Oceanside Friday night and hit the road again early the next morning. Steve was anxiously awaiting our return and we too were excited to see him! Although it was a fun trip, it would have been an hundred times better had Steve been with us!