The Past Few Weeks...

I'm finally back to post a few pictures. I have been busy scrapping away and I just finished my eleventh album! Scrap, scrap, scrap it up! And I'm still a year behind. Maybe it's a good thing there are no good shows to watch during the summertime. I'm getting so much done!

Awhile ago, I put Alyssa's hair in a side ponytail for the first time. I thought she looked pretty cute bringing back a little 80's style.



Our Vacation at the Cabin
We went up to the Nelson's cabin in Utah in Sundance and had an absolute blast. I actually had to hold back tears when we left. It was way too much fun and I can't wait to go again!

One the first day, Kathleen sent the kids on a nature scavenger hunt and Steve was their guide. Lys became fascinated and obsessed with worms. She was dedicated to find one everyday for the rest of the week. She was even brave enough to touch them!



She is pulling the sticky worm off and I couldn't believe it. Gross!


We also went to the Alpine Slides. The coaster was my favorite. It was so fast! Alyssa rode with Steve and she loved it! She even had her hands up for a bit.




For the last 3 or 4 nights, Cindy, Kent and I played dominoes (the mexican train version) for at least 3 hours! The games often lasted until 2 am. I could barely get up with the kids the next morning, but it was so worth it. I looked forward to it every night!



On one of the nights, I walked into the bathroom and was frightened by hundreds of moths that came flying at me as I opened the door! I closed the door so fast before I was attacked. The window had been left open and the light was on. Kent solved the problem with the most practical way...use the Shop Vac!


We went to Gondolfo's for lunch one of the days and I couldn't believe that my picky eater was actually eating a regular sandwich with meat in it! Who could pass up Gondolfo's? They need one in Mesa!



Cindy and I went to see Kung Fu Panda with Rex and Lys, while the rest of the family went to see the Hulk. Well, except Steve. He tried to take Addi, but ended up walking Provo Mall. He was so disappointed.



On the last day, we went to BYU to eat, walk around, and to see Kristina and Sara! We were sad that Jeff couldn't make it. Hopefully next time! We had a good time walking the campus and catching up on the last few years. We hadn't seen each other since I was 3 months pregnant with Alyssa! It was sad to say goodbye again!



While I was hanging with Kristina, everyone else went bowling. Alyssa enjoyed her first time.




We had so much fun at the cabin and we look forward to next year!

Fourth of July

We had a pancake breakfast and bike parade that morning at 7 with our ward. We were a little late and ended up missing the bike parade. (They did it first to avoid the heat). I was sooooo sad because we spent the previous evening decorating her bike!! Since many people missed it, we had our own little bike parade afterwards. Alyssa had so much fun decorating her bike the night before and couldn't wait to ride it.





Here she is showing off her bike to Jeramy and Sawyer.




And Lastly, here is Addi with her new found toy. I didn't catch the best part, but she was cracking up so hard every time it would pop. The longer she played with it, she sounded more like a squealing little piggy.

The Big Three-Oh!

I'm a little late on this post, but I couldn't go without sharing pics from Steve's Big Day. Steve was definitely not excited about turning 30, but we still had a good time. He had to work, so while he was gone, Alyssa and I made him a birthday banner. Alyssa loved it because she got to decorate each letter with anything she wanted. She had paints, glitter pom-poms, glitter glue, stickers, jewels, colored pencils, and markers. She was so busy for over an hour and couldn't wait to show him. Steve loved it and Alyssa was so proud.



At Steve's request, we had a strawberry-banana trifle instead of cake. Found the recipe on allrecipes.com of course.

A candle for each decade!





He claims that once you turn 30, you gain superhero status. But he won't let me in on his secret identity. Maybe someday.

Bully at the Gym Nursery

During lunch yesterday Alyssa was in deep thought while she was chewing her sandwich and then out of the blue she says, “I saw a naughty boy in a green shirt hitting a girl. Then, he turned around and looked at me. So, I ran as fast as I could and hid.”
I was so confused and said, “Where?”
“At the gym nursery.”
“Did he get you?”
“No”
“Is he a big kid or a little kid”
A little pause “Well, he’s kind of short”
“Then what did you do?”
“I went to the big kid class and he didn’t ever chase me again”
“Do you want to go back to the gym nursery?”
“Yeah”
“What if that naughty boy is there?”
“I’ll just hide”

She may not be that brave, but at least she's fast!

Addi Turns One!

Yesterday was Addi's big day! We celebrated at the Nelson's with Kathleen. She always throws a great party!

Our little Birthday Girl


New toys are so much fun! Even for me! She loves anything that has buttons and makes noise and lights up. Our house is always loud because there's at least two or three toys going off as Addi crawls back and forth between each one. She keeps so busy and I love it. The noise doesn't bother me cuz I can get so much done!


Showing off her spitting skills. I love this stage when babies spit as long as it's not food being spit back in your face.





Alyssa loved the new toys just as much (or more) than Addi. She showed Addi how to dance with the maracas.


My mom told me about this cute giant cupcake cake mold, so I had to get it for Addi's birthday. It turned out pretty cute. The frosting was too warm and it was dripping all over the plate, but Addi didn't care!



She had no hesitation. First she put her handprint in the cupcake and then I cut her a slice and she dug right in.




Alyssa only eats the frosting. Unfortunately she didn't enjoy it much because most of the frosting dripped off the cake.




After partying too hard, Steve was so tired. Alyssa helped by burying him under tons of pillows.


Thanks Kathleen for letting us celebrate with you at your house! Happy Birthday Addi!

Watching Baby Einstein

To Addi, there is nothing more exciting than the baby einstein movies. Life just could not get any better. She can't contain the excitement in her little body so she just goes crazy. I die laughing every time!

First, the legs start kicking...





Then, the "oh my gosh, I cannot believe it!" face...





And finally, as she calms down a bit, (but not for long cuz all these motions keep repeating as her favorite parts come on) the clapping...




And then I get caught taking the pictures...

Summer Crafts

Since summer is coming and it will be way too hot to play outside, we have to come up with tons of indoor activities. Alyssa loves to do art and asks to do it every day. Michael's is having 1/2 off all foam kits right now so we went and stocked up, plus a few extras! The sales ends on Saturday, so hurry if you're interested! The foam visors and other accessories are on sale too, so we got one for Lissa and Addi. Then I got jewels for Lissa to stick on them.

We did our first foam kit yesterday. It was little animal magnets on clothespins. Alyssa loved it! It took her an hour to complete four animal magnets. The pack makes 24! So, I'll wait a couple of weeks and whip them out again. I love that the packs are a combination of stickers and pieces that need gluing. It gives a little variety for her.

She was so busy and loving every moment

Her favorite part was definitely gluing

So proud of her creations!

Alyssa helped me put all the accessories in piles first and then it was easier to find all the pieces we needed.

All rest of the stuff we bought. (And, I'm tempted to go back and buy more kits! The summer lasts a long time! The kits are just so darn cute.)


The best thing about the kits is that they make so many, so you can do it for little parties or just when friends come over or put them away for awhile and pull them out later and they are just as excited to do them again!

My New Favorite Snack

I was trying to think of something to blog about when suddenly I was craving my new favorite snack. So I thought, I'll let everyone know about this little bag of wonderfulness. Here it is



It's relatively low calorie and low fat, but not healthy in any way. I just love it. I have a thing for treats that are sweet and salty, like those 100 calorie kettle corn microwave bags too. Good snacks are hard to find (that aren't high in all that bad stuff).