A quick catch up...

Since my blog is the closest thing to journaling or scrapbooking that I do these days, I need to take a break from everything important I'm supposed to be doing (cleaning, laundry, studying, and vinyl orders) to hurry and catch up on our very busy but fun few weeks...

A last minute visit from the Whitfords...
Warren and Melissa called us on a Thursday night to let us know they were in the car and had decided to drive down for a visit. It was a very quick weekend and we didn't get to see too much of them, but we'll take what we can get!




Tim and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been 6 years! We dropped the kids off at Tim's parent's house early Saturday morning to go play 9 holes. We used to play just about every Friday afternoon with Warren and Melissa, but have hardly been out at all this year together. It was so much fun and I really miss playing so often.



We spent the rest of the day with the kids before leaving them again to go to dinner. Funny story though...we have been wanting to try this restaurant in Provo pretty much forever. It's called Four Seasons and it's Chinese food, so the kids wouldn't ever eat there and we knew we would have to go alone. We were so excited that this was the day. After we dropped the kids off, we went over there and were totally disappointed because there was a sign on the door that said they were on vacation for 2 weeks and the restaurant was closed. Honestly, who does that? Who closes their restaurant for 2 weeks so they can go on vacation. We were totally bummed and ended up at another Chinese place that was totally gross. I didn't even eat anything. But, we did go to Maestro's for some gelato afterward and that made up for it!

The day after our anniversary, Brooklyn turned 4! I can't believe I have a 4 year old!




The Arbons came over for dinner and then Tim's parents and some cousins came for cake and ice cream. Brooklyn got her first bike...of course she picked out a Disney Princess bike...so much for handing it down to Tallan when she grows out of it. I started making her that blanket about 2 years ago now for Christmas. Finally Tim's aunt took it to finish it for me and that's the only reason it got done, but she ended up getting that for her bday too.

We also did a Dora party with lots of friends over for pizza, cake, and ice cream, but my battery was dead on the camera. Of course I would do something like that. It was really cute and fun though and she was so spoiled with gifts! Probably one of the best things she got though, was a scrapbook Melissa made of Brooklyn and Parker growing up together. (from about 18 months old till now) Words can not even say how cool it is. She spent so much time on it and it's so fun to look at and watch them grow together.

Brooklyn is such a special girl and we are so lucky to have her in our lives and as part of our family.


We spent last weekend down in Hurricane for my niece, Alison's, baptism. Jenn and Eric came from AZ too so we have a jam packed fun filled weekend...of course I couldn't find my camera half of the time, so I'm going to have to do a whole post on the weekend when I get pictures from my sisters. (hurry guys!) We did have a really yummy ice cream cake for Brooklyn's bday when we arrived though, and it was early enough in the trip that I knew right where my camera was.



This is funny...during the baptism, I had to play the piano and Tim was out in the hall with Tallan who threw up all over both of them (because he still hasn't outgrown that) so Brooklyn and Ethan took quite a few pictures unsupervised...these are the best ones.



We have such wonderful family and friends and are lucky to be able to do so many fun things together! Stay tuned for a post on the baptism weekend and a really funny post about my brother, Joel, in the Philippines.

A Hiking We Will Go

We decided to take advantage of how beautiful Utah is right now with the leaves changing color, so we planned a fun day in the mountains. We packed lunches and drove up through American Fork Canyon and drove the Alpine Loop to right above Sundance. We hiked up to Stewart Falls and had a little picnic before coming back down. It was so beautiful up there! The kids did great...Brooklyn was the trailblazer. On the way back she was slowing down and saying her legs were tired so I carried her for a little ways, but we couldn't do it anymore so we told her it was a race. After that, we could hardly keep up with her! It was very crowded, but probably the best time of year to go. I have to admit I am a little sore today, but I guess the truth hurts...I'm way out of shape!

Fun with Vinyl

I have been having a lot of fun playing with vinyl this past week as I have been doing a TON of orders! This time of year is always busy, but that just makes for good Christmas money. Here are a couple of things I have done in our house...

This is about 2 ft x 2 ft in a little niche between the guest bedroom and bathroom

I actually can't take too much credit for this one. I got the idea from something Melissa did in her house, but I am very happy with how it turned out. It's 4 2ftx2ft canvas squares that I put vinyl on, painted black over it, and then removed the vinyl. They are hung in the front entryway to the left when you walk in the house.

I have another one in the works and I will post it when I'm done...hopefully in the next couple of days. I'm very excited about it! If anyone sees anything else I should try, please let me know...I still have a lot of empty walls to fill!

Week of Firsts

What an exciting week we had in our home!

Brooklyn had her First day of Super Stars Preschool with Mrs. Lindley and 7 other kids, mostly from our ward. She had a great time and was so excited to go back. She had her first homework assignment which was to fill a brown paper back with stuff "about her". Her first attempt was a little funny because she stuffed any and every toy she could fit in it. I gave her a little coaching the 2nd time around, but really she did most of it herself and this is what she came up with.


Her snake, bananahead, that she got in San Diego, a picture of her and Parker and one of her at the beach, she drew a picture of her family (from left to right: grandma, grandpa, Tallan, Brooklyn, Dad, and Mom), and her favorite I Spy book.

First day of Preschool!

We also celebrated Tallan's First birthday! I can't believe he is one already! We celebrated with presents, cupcakes, and ice cream with just our family. The big family party will happen on Sunday. We love our Tallan though and are so blessed he's part of our family!

Sunday Breakfast

Sunday morning we went to Aunt Gail's for breakfast with the whole crew. There were 24 of us and I had 4 waffle irons going at once. I'm very proud of the fact that I didn't burn a single one! It was great to spend time with family. We had a perfect weekend and I hope that it becomes a tradition. Eric found the beach house through www.vrbo.com (vacation rentals by owner) and I highly suggest checking it out. Some of the highlights I haven't mentioned yet include: some great shopping at Horton Plaza and the outlets in Carlsbad, watching people fall and even better, come close to falling on the bike/run/skate path right outside our balcony, and calling the cops on some unruly and loud teenagers in the parking lot by our house and watching them get busted. I am already looking forward to next year's trip! Here are some pictures from breakfast though...

The reason we are all here today and why we are who we have become!

S'mores

We couldn't leave the beach without a bonfire and some s'mores! The last night at the house we decided to do s'mores the Flinders way with fudge striped cookies and mallows of course. The kids really enjoyed their s'mores!

Sun, Sand, and good book

What a relaxing day we had on Saturday. We didn't leave the beach house once! We just walked out the back door onto the beach and spent the whole day there. Well, at least the dads did with the kids. Jenn and I made it out occasionally, but spent a lot of the day inside with the babies. The best part about it, was that I got to sit down and read a really good book! (My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult) It's been so long since I have been able to do that! The kids had so much fun though, and honestly, except for a few hours of naps in the afternoon, they were out there basically from sun up to sun down!

Look at Ethan go on the boogie board! He was awesome and had the time of his life!

Next year maybe my kids will be ready?

Poor Drewby! I guess he didn't mind though! The dad's had more fun digging than the kids!

End of the sunset from our balcony

Time to call it a day!

San Diego Zoo

We had an amazing weekend in San Diego with my sister, Jenn, and her family. We rented a house on Mission Beach for 3 nights and even though it was in the 90s with 70% humidity and we were sweating almost the whole weekend, we had so much fun! We flew in Thursday night and got to the house just in time for BBQ and the sunset. Friday we woke up and headed over to the zoo. What a fun zoo it is too! The animals were out and lively and the kids loved it! I think the polar bears were the favorite because we were lucky enough to see one up close and personal. He was right up next to the glass and although they look cute and cuddly in cartoons and even from afar, I am very sure I never want to come face to face with one in the wild.