Callister and Co.

No one can say I don't at least try....

2012-01-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

Playing at McDonald's. Sophie went up the slide with clothes on....she came down the slide with out. Nice!

Once there was a Snowman

2012-01-26T18:36:00.000-08:00

Aubree and I made a snowman today. The snow was perfect packing snow. I started to make it pretty big, but she wanted a little "snow girl", so we pulled back a little.

She made sure to give her a carrot nose,

pencil arms,

a warm hat,

peppermint buttons,

sixlet eyes, and a crasin mouth.

New sleeping arrangements

2012-01-23T22:29:00.001-08:00

Last night Aubree had a request. She wanted to sleep in the tub. I used to as a kid, so I thought why not? We got it all set up with blankies, her pillows, some books and a few toys.

She was so excited. Too bad it didn't last. She had to go back in her room after playing too much, I think she was TOO excited to be calm and sleep. If she wants to when she's older, we'll try again.

The Reception

2012-01-23T22:29:00.000-08:00

Kelsey's reception was absolutely beautiful! I LOVED all the things she chose.

First the things I made, well WE made 'cause a lot of it I just showed Kels how, and she did it....

The wedding cake topper.

Turned out SO cute. I was pretty proud of this.

Table runners made out of vintage sheet music. Poppies and paper vases. I actually had very little to do with the vases in execution. But I did glue a few :)

The little cute flowers again, and random quotes and pictures.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how this table turned out. I had NOTHING to do with putting it together. But a lot of the elements were mine :) first, the tiny pennant garland in front!

Again, the crane tree

Pen poppies for signing.

Cute instruction printable.

pictures in frames, loose flowers,

"cards", and a peek of the "love is all you need" art I made her for her birthday earlier this year.

I covered an old frame I found at the D.I. with more vintage sheet music, and then put chalkboard in it. I don't know who wrote on it, but it is too cute to be my handwriting!

Hot Cocoa Bar, which happened to be the cutest table there and I had NOTHING to do with it, sad! But it was sure delicious.

Before the actual reception began we tried to get some pictures. It was a little chaotic, I was trying to make sure everyone had their accessories. My Mom was decorating and asking my help where needed. Carlee, the photographer and sister was taking pictures...the kids were running wild...but we managed to get some good ones. Eric is probably one of my favorite people, EVER. He took all the pictures that Carlee had to be in, and we were all cracking up at him. This is the picture that Ben calls "everyone but me" But really it was just the sister shot ;)

Then all the sibs' shot.

My sister Brittany, and her cute family.

Dave was pretty much in charge of the kids while I was tending to bride's maid duties, and I think it all was okay...Sophie sure enjoyed the hot chocolate.

We snuck away to get some bride's maid pictures. Guy has 4 sisters' and 1 "in-law" and there are three of us, and her best friend Wrenn. Pretty cute bunch, right?

Dave's parents (as well as a thousand other people) showed up in time for the program.

My Dad sang his classic "The Way You Look Tonight" and a very beautiful song he wrote for Kels. (I think there was one more...this is what I get for waiting so long to post..arggghh)

Guy sang a song, accompanied by his Dad and brother.

Ann Alyse (Guy's little sister) sang "Beauty and the Beast" since Kelsey is basically Belle.
It was all very beautiful. We both have very talented families!

And they shared their first dance.

They cut the cake, and were very nice to each other.

My cousin's daughter Jeydon caught the bouquet.

And they were off. (Not before I said goodbye to Kels, however. I was going to miss her very much, since her getting married meant that she was now moving out.) We waved our cute wands to send them off.

Guy's cute sister made these pom pom's to stream from the front of the car to the back. It was very beautiful. And I made the vinyl cut out to finish the look :)

Congrats Kels and Guy, I couldn't be happier for the two of you!

A replacement

2012-01-22T17:29:00.000-08:00

Aubree didn't attach to a blanket until she hit toddler age. Sophie was a different story. It seemed almost immediately that she formed a bond with a very special blankie. A blankie that my friend and college roommate made. It was our sick blankie that we passed around to whoever needed it. It ended up with me, and somehow onto Sophie.

Let me introduce you to Blankie Star. Blankie star went with us EVERYWHERE. She could not nap or sleep with out it. And it followed her in all her adventures.

We went to a Carnival last year, Blankie Star and all. Sadly it did not come home with us. We didn't find out until late that night. It was no where to be found. Soph did not want to go to bed with out it....but what could we do? I even tried calling the city representative for Parks and Rec. (too bad it wasn't "Leslie Knope", that would be amazing!) trying to see if there was any sort of Lost and Found from the Carnival. But to no avail! It was gone.

She cried, she asked for her Blankie Star, but I couldn't make her happy. I called my friend to see, if by chance, she had more fabric (from 10 years ago...) that I could recreate one. Nope. We went to Joann's (where she bought it originally) to see if there was even something similar or something she was drawn too...Nope. I scoured online...nope.

E.V.E.R.Y. D.A.Y. since that night she has asked for it. At first it was a sad tearful ask, that turned into an acceptance, but "just checking" ask. Which then turned into a declarative statement that Blankie star was gone. EVERY DAY. At least once. I'm talking months and months, with out missing a day.

I tried re-introducing all her current blankets. Blankets that family members made for her. Or good friends bought for her. But apparently none of them had that "special" factor. Then I was online. I was checking my Disney rewards account. I saw a cute Lion King blanket, and had enough points to get said blanket. I got it on the chance that one of them would like it. Thankfully Aubree didn't want it, and Sophie did. Ever since she has not mentioned Blankie Star. It had been replaced. THANKFULLY. We are all happy again. Lion King Blankie now goes with us everywhere. Only it never leaves the car. And she can't get enough of it!

The Wedding, and Luncheon

2012-01-22T14:30:00.000-08:00

The Wedding:
Guy and Kels got married at the Bountiful Temple. It was a BEAUTIFUL day for November. The sun was shining, and it wasn't too cold for our cute outfits! The ceremony was pretty amazing. Guy and Kels have been through some very specific challenges, individually and as a couple. Their sealer was truly inspired. It was as if he had a checklist of what they needed addressed. And he had the perfect combination of being serious, and full of the spirit; and having fun, making it light and almost comical. I don't think there was a dry eye in the place. Kelsey looked so beautiful and it was amazing to be there sharing this experience with her.

My Mom, Carlee and I sneaked into the bride room. I wanted to see Kels and help out for a minuet before the onslaught of pictures. She changed into her dress, and I left, to go help with the children. My Dad and Ben beat me to the holding room and Sophie was so excited to see them. She sure loves the men in her life.

Too bad I'm acting so cheesy, Mom looks just gorgeous, as usual.

When they came out we did the traditional pictures, hugging, congratulating, and then we took off to the luncheon.

Me and all my sibs'

At the lunchoen we got to sit by Wrenn and her husband. They are SO fun, and we were glad to have them as company.

Kelsey preformed a beautiful song for Guy.

After the luncheon was over, we jetted out of there to put our kids down for a much needed nap.

For her wedding We made A LOT of stuff. Kelsey had her vision, designed how things would look, and I helped her execute it. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but all in all WE made:

Wedding bouquet

toss bouquet

her viel

bobby pin for her hair

garter belt

headbands and hair accessories for all the wedding party. Which included 9 adults 8 kids (i think)
Mom and Grandma corsages
Boutonnières for the wedding party. Which included 13 adults and a few children ( I can't remember, dang it!)
and a million poppies to adorn different things...

Kelsey's bridal shower

2012-01-22T13:58:00.000-08:00

Kelsey has been married now for about two months! But I wanted to wait until I could get some pictures to post about her celebrations. I unusually, didn't take ANY pictures and kept forgetting to get copies from Carlee and Jenni.

So, for the wedding shower:

I really wanted to give Kels a nice shower. It's her only one, so we invited everyone she wanted from both families, to friends, to old wards, etc...I decorated in white's, cream's and black's. And I added touches of her colors, in green and yellow. On my island I did the desserts.

I added some cute pom pom's to the ceiling.

Along the bar we had an assembly line to build your own Cafe Rio style salad. But SO much better, thanks to my Mom and her amazing recipes.

I made this centerpiece as a wishing tree.

Only, Dave folded all the cranes :)

On one wall I had a vinyl cut out of Guy. We were going to play pin the boutonnière on Guy, but ran out of time. He was still cute just chillin' on the wall.

I used this cute ladder to display some fun pictures of them and cute quotes.

The present table. I sewed these old vintage sheet music together, to make a runner. And made cute little tissue, and sheet music flowers in a tiny vase.

The favors.

Vinyl on the front door.

I did more decorations, but since I didn't take any pictures, these are the ones I have :) I also made a cute white pumpkin centerpiece for the dining room table, I had more pom pom's hanging from the archway, and made cute tiny pennant garlands that I hung in a few random places.

It was fun, and good to see everyone that came. The food was amazing, and we had uber leftovers. We played one game, which was "The Ultimate Draw" basically pictionary, but with words meaningful to Kelsey, Guy, or their relationship. Some of the words were: Foxes, The Bell Choir, Tennessee, France, Music, Cheerleading, The Smoking Apple, Thanksgiving, Temple, BYU, Raccoons, etc..

After the correct word was guessed Kelsey explained why that word was significant.

Toward the end of the shower I was able to present Kelsey with a surprise from Guy. He had made her the cutest little book. He cut it to be the shape of a grand piano, and had it decorated all cute. Inside he had listed on each page a reason why he loved her. I read a few to her, and as if we had planned it, Guy walked in right as I was finishing the last page and swooped her up for a kiss. It was beautiful. I think she had a great time with all her friends and family, and she got wonderful gifts from everyone. Let the celebration begin!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012-01-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve, we had a little bash. My Aunt and Uncle came up, and we made a weekend out of it.

We had a big dinner, but I still wanted to set up a "bar" with munchies and have a little party. I used printables I found on Tom Kat Studios.

Corey was being a goof, but I'm glad he was, cause I didn't take any other pictures of us!

The cute banner

confetti, I had to put some purple in Jenni's

cute quote picture

silver ornaments in clear vases

yummy treats with cute toppers

goodies from Jenni and Corey

Chips and salsa

and of course Sparkling Cider

with cute stem tags :)

All of us stayed up, and counted down to the New Year. We toasted, kissed, and didn't go to bed until 3:00 am. It was a very fun night.

Playin'

2011-12-30T19:04:00.000-08:00

It's been fun to watch them play with all their new toys. A big hit was the HUGE palydough kit. Hours and hours of fun!

I loved this, waffles with syrup and blueberries!

Another big hit is their HUGE doll house. With a working lamp, a toilet that flushes, a piano that plays, an elevator, windows that open and close, decks, sky lights etc...I'm kind of jealous...it's fun to see how they use it.

This is a "Polar Express" party, with Helen and Annie, and yummy food. So cute :)

It's Christmas!

2011-12-25T21:16:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel like I'm not really in the moment when I'm taking so many pictures. So I didn't take any until after all the presents were open, so I could really enjoy the time with my little family.

We heard a little pitter patter around 7:30. It was so fun to lay in bed with Dave and hear Aubree's discovery of Santa's arrival. The tree with presents, and the stockings are in different rooms, and I kept hearing little feet running between them :) We let her have her moment, and then got Soph and went down to join her. It was such a fun morning.

Sophie loved all her presents.

She was here for at least an hour:

Then found her sticker book,

and coloring book

I was SO PROUD of Aubree. After our incident Christmas Eve with her one present, I was really nervous for this morning. We have always had hard Christmases, and birthdays with her Low Emotional Threshold. We did have a long talk the night before about appropriate reactions, and how we can help her, etc...and she did AWESOME. She figured out that she was okay as long as no one was watching her open the presents. As soon as she discovered what it was, she invited us to look too. :) We didn't have ANY eruptions, and she actually wanted MORE presents, which has never happened. It was amazing. Small victories :)

She was super excited to find flarp at the bottom of her stocking.

And she had so many new toys, she didn't know where to start!

She was very appreciative, happy, and sweet.

After presents, we got ready and went to Sacrement. I was proud again when they didn't put up a fight to go to church on Christmas! They did bring as many toys as they could hold, but they were great the whole time :) Then we went up to Grandma's and did it all again :) We spent the day there. And this is where my favorite memory happened. We got Dave's Dad, 17 Miracles, for part of his present. We had never seen it, and during nap time he put it on. Aubree didn't have to take a nap (Sophie wanted too, or she could have skipped too) and so she ended up watching it with us. My favorite memory being this: comforting Aubree as she was just sobbing after watching the movie. It took about 30 minuets to console her. This is one thing I LOVE about her emotions. She feels the spirit stronger, and the emotion in movies. She was so concerned about us dying, and the characters in the movies. She felt their pain and loss. At first I was a little scared that it ruined her Christmas. She just wanted to be held, and go home. But after letting it ride it's course, and a little encouraging, she was up and playing again. It was a precious moment I got to share with her, and I am very thankful for it.

The rest of the day and evening was fun, normal, and restful. I got to talk to my family, wish them a Merry Christmas, and instead of being sad that they're far away, be grateful that I have them. It was a FABULOUS CHRISTMAS!!!!

Christmas Eve Celebrations

2011-12-24T21:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve turned out to be a really fun night. We have a couple of traditions we do and it set the tone perfectly for Christmas. First was their present after naps. I had Dave give them a bath so they were nice and clean. I purposefully didn't dress them. They each got their box and went to town...

Aubree has a challenge that we have to work with. She has Low Emotional Threshold. Which basically means that she is SUPER sensitive to emotions. She feels it A LOT stronger than kids her age. She doesn't know how to handle it most of the time, and she ends up "exploding" from what she's feeling inside. This happens with good and bad emotions. And one of her challenges is opening presents. (funny to us who don't have it, but it really is a hard thing for her) The surprise is too much for her little body to take sometimes. This was one of those times. She opened the ornament just fine, Belle, but as soon as she opened her other one she couldn't take it.

So while she was on break, Sophie found out what was in her box:
a little pee wee pet hornet, and new pajama's. Do you think she liked it?

And a new ornament, Cinderella.

Once Aubree got control of her emotions, she was all smiles.

After presents (and dinner) we took our reindeer food (that we got from our cute neighbor)
and let the girls sprinkle it over the lawn.

Then it was time to see the lights at Thanksgiving Point. We had never done this and we were all excited. The girls had so much fun! And we had just as much fun watching them.

They especially loved going under all the tunnels.

After you pull out of the lights, the road leading you back, is lined with pictures and quotes telling the story of Christ's birth. The girls thought it was pretty neat, and I loved having another chance to tell them the story.

And at the very end was the nativity. On the way home one of my favorite Christmas memories happened. It was simple and sweet, but impact full (if you were there) The girls wanted to sing carols. We got into it, and at one point we were all singing, all the words, having fun, laughing...it felt like a scene from a movie where everything was going right. Again it was simple, but what I felt made it one of my favorite memories!

Then at home we made Santa some cinnamon rolls, and frosted them with yummy cream cheese frosting. Mmmm, lucky Santa. We put them on our special Santa plate, got milk in his special cup,

and found the perfect place to put them.

After that, we read the Christmas story in Luke, and bore our testimonies to the kids.

They were really excited but went to bed on time, and were placated a little with their new pajamas and pillow pets. It was a fun filled, emotional, great night.

Fun Times

2011-12-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

I forgot to blog about a neighborhood party we went to earlier this month. It was really fun, and a fun story came from it. We had a white elephant gift exchange at the end of the party. The one Dave got was this picture that our friend Jordan took of himself, framed, and signed. We were all laughing SO hard. Then I realized that Aubree loves him, and it would be fun to see her reaction to it, so I made sure we went home with it! Sure enough Aubree just LOVED it. At first it went everywhere with her, on the couch to watch a movie, at the dinner table, the counter for snacks and activities, etc... then the other day she got excited and told us she found a home for "bullseye" (as she calls him). She took me up to her room, and this is what I saw.

Funny, funny girl.

And I had to take pictures of them opening their present from my Mom and Dad (early)

Meeting Santa

2011-12-23T22:39:00.000-08:00

Tonight, was a trip to the Mall to meet Santa. Aubree was very impressed that the "for reals" Santa would be at our mall. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea, and we waited in line for an hour and a half!!!!! But they actually did AWESOME.

Sophie LOVED the train, and got excited each time it drove by.

When we got close enough, there was a little play station to entertain the kids.

Santa was amazing. Sophie sat down right by him. Aubree stood up in the farthest corner away from him, but still eying him very carefully. The first thing he said to Aubree was about the EXACT specific toy that she wanted THE MOST for Christmas. She was in awe, and so was I. At that point she scooted and sat right by him. He knew exactly the right things to say, and the girls were just tickled. Aubree promised to make him some treats and leave some milk for him. We had them take pictures just to see how they turned out. Well we had to buy this shot because it was just so cute. Another successful family outing.

Gardner Villiage

2011-12-23T22:03:00.001-08:00

Today we went to see the Elve's at Gardner Village. We originally planned to go with the Lasko's and Millers. But the day of our original plans, Aubree and I were up all night throwing up! So it worked out that we went alone. Our girls didn't even know the difference, and we had a blast. I downloaded the form on-line, and we were ready.

The girls loved looking for the elves, and finding all the funny things they were doing.

We went in the afternoon, and it was nice and sunny. It only got real cold toward the end. It was a beautiful day.

We found them all, and got their complimentary candy stick. I had to get a family shot on our way out...

And since we were sitting under the mistletoe elf....

It was a success!

A Christmas Party

2011-12-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to host a little party this year. I have two sisters in Utah, and an Aunt who is like a sister, both in age and relationship. So we had a little get together. I asked everyone to bring their favorite treats. I made a little banner to add to the festivities.

The treats were sooo yummy. Cha made a red velvet cake from scratch! Kels and Guy brought Hello Dollies, Jenni and Corey brought the BEST cake bites,

and I made smores' cups.

I also set up a tiny hot chocolate bar, with yummy fixings.

And of course some cider, made with my favorite Williams Sonoma muling spices :)

My kids were spoiled with everyone that came, THANK YOU ALL.

We didn't have any grand plans while the kids were still awake. Just eat, talk, and enjoy.

Kelsey and Guy were the only one's that kissed under the mistletoe.....

Almost.

When the kids went to bed, we played a really fun game that Kelsey and Guy brought, called Scribblish.
Then Cha and Eric re-in-acted their egg and sperm interpretive "dance" since Dave missed the last show.

Apparently he was enjoying, since he joined in!

Then we watched Elf, a family favorite, and called it a night. It was really fun, and great to spend time with my family for Christmas.

A day with no kids

2011-12-19T23:50:00.000-08:00

At 12:00 noon, I met my MIL at Costco to drop off the kids. She's keeping them all day, night, and all day tomorrow. This is the first time EVER Dave and I have been together, away from the kids, overnight. I'm excited/anxious/apprehensive/giddy etc...I feel like Rapunzle with my bi-polar mixed emotions.

It's turned out to be a really fun day, and I only called them twice :) We kind of just hung out for a while, enjoying the quiet, while being home. But then we decided we better take advantage. So we went to a movie, right smack in the middle of the day. And just because we felt like it, and we could. What a liberating feeling. We saw Mission Impossible. Which was a-mazing... Then we decided we wanted to go out to dinner, we invited my sis's along. Only one could make it, but us four had a great time. After dinner we went to see the lights at Temple square. We didn't make it last year, so it was fun to be able to go this year, even if it was with out the girls. We also went inside the visitor's center for the first time in a long time, and it is very different. It's really neat, and I want to take the girls at some point.

We got a quick shot of the four of us.

I have decided a few things...life with out kids would be SO MUCH easier, quieter, less stressful in many ways. It was actually kind of boring at times. I haven't been truly bored in a long time...like 5 years....but it wouldn't be nearly as wonderful. I have some grand plans for tomorrow with out a husband and kids (mostly neglected projects) but I sure can't wait to see their cute faces! Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder, and sadly sometimes it's what helps us appreciate what we have.

Party

2011-12-17T22:49:00.000-08:00

We had our ward Christmas Party this morning. 9:00 a.m. On a Saturday. I'm impressed we were all dressed. Needless to say it was a breakfast, and it was really yummy.

There was a program which included a primary gathering on the stage. I asked Aubree if she wanted to go up and sing with everyone. She took one look at the stage and said nope. :)

Then there was a violin trio. It was very beautiful.

Followed by a quintet. Also beautiful.

Aubree had fun coloring,

Proof that I was there too :)

The best part of the breakfast was watching Aubree reunite with her boyfriend, Will. He is in town for Christmas, and she is just enamored with him.

Then, later, we went to Sherlock Holmes with my Aunt and Uncle. (while my two sisters watched the girls in shifts) It was pretty good. Not my favorite, but worth seeing...

It was a good day.

Christmas program

2011-12-16T21:19:00.000-08:00

Firstly, Aubree got this cute ornament from her teacher. I love the picture! It was from her school picture day. I still need to scan that into the computer because it is so cute.

Anyway, today was Aubree's school Christmas Program. She was SO excited. She practiced her songs and was ready to go. I didn't get a great picture, but she looked adorable.

She was all smiles.

Then we got there. O boy. She wanted N.O.T.H.I.N.G. to do it. I walked her up to her seat and left her there, facing the wall. She was not a happy camper. Forget singing and using actions. I was just glad she stayed up there. She faced the wall for a few songs, and then she turned around. You can see her here on the very right edge about halfway up. She looked like she was ready to run down at any second. But, she was brave and stayed the whole time.

About every other song, her teacher would lean over and encourage her to sit down, or sing, or use actions, or props....but to no avail.

As soon as it was over she was all smiles again. She ran to Dad, and was super happy it was over. I was super sad...but maybe another year...

Christmas tree and Little Santa

2011-12-06T09:41:00.000-08:00

We always had the tradition of getting a real tree every year when I was a kid. It is one of my favorite traditions we did. So I am a stickler about doing it with our kids. Last year we decided to get a fake tree, so we could put it up right away and have it last all month long. Although I wasn't about to give up my tradition. So this year (and every following year) we will pick out a little (real) tree for the kids to decorate. About a week into December, so it will last until Christmas. We made a whole night out of it. We had a FHE lesson focused on Christ and the real meaning. We listed to music and I could really feel the spirit. I know the girls did too cause (toward the end) they were quiet as can be and really listening. I love those moments as a Mom to teach my kids.

For some reason I decided to introduce "Elf on the Shelf" tonight too...and right after our nice spiritual lesson. I may be weird, but it just felt so wrong telling them blatant lies that I want them to believe right after telling them about Christ, that I want them to believe....Next year I think I'll do it different nights so it doesn't seem so evil. :) Nobody is scarred from the lies of their parents regarding Christmas, right? So they named our Elf "Little Baby Santa Clause" I call him Little Santa. Aubree is WAY to smart though. She was asking me ALL Sorts of questions about him. Does he REALLY fly to the Santa every night, FOR REAL MOM? Will I see him flying out my window? He can really hear us? Are his little ears real? They really work like our ears? He will never say "Hi" to us, but he can talk? Man I was feeling guiltier by second every time I answered. I kept using the words "Christmas magic" as if that made it not a lie to believe in the "magic". We'll see how it goes...

So we picked our little tree. Once I told Aubree we could go back in the warm store as soon as we picked out which on we wanted, she pointed to the first one she saw...and since Sophie agreed...it was that easy. Dave had the job of setting it up.

Aubree quickly snagged the star and patiently waited until it was time to decorate.

Soph was just chill. And already stripped down and waiting.

As soon as the ornaments came out they were ready. It was so cute to watch them. This is the first year they have really been into it. I strung the lights on, and put up maybe three ornaments. They did the rest.

They found their princess ornaments from last year,

And both girls just stared at them for a minute.

Family photo shoot

2011-12-06T09:03:00.000-08:00

I LOVE having talented sisters. Carlee (just younger than me) is an EXCELLENT photographer. I asked her if she would take our family pictures. We usually get them around summer time. But I was too lazy, so I thought we'd just do it in the Fall and use them for our Christmas card also. I LOVE how they turned out. She did a beautiful job. Here are a few of my favorites.

This is classic Callister family. Dave chillin', Soph chillin', Aubs being crazy, and Me watching. I love that not only did she capture a beautiful shot to use, but also our personalities.

If you want to see more of her work ('cause she's amazing) her blog is HERE.

The Festival of Trees

2011-12-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

We went to the Festival of Trees tonight with Dave's sister and her little girl. We end up missing it about every other year, 'cause I forget that it ends so soon. I'm happy that we had the chance to go, spend time with family, and give back a little to support Primary Children's.

Addie was shy all night.

We went pretty late at night, and on a school night, so they were tired from the moment we arrived.

But still had so much fun. First stop was the balloon clowns. Sophie wanted a hornet..

She got one, on a "stick"

Aubree, a candy cane

And Addie, a pink lizard!

They were content to sit back and look at all the beautiful trees.

Golf tree

"Up" tree. This was my favorite of the night. Aubree told me later that it was hers, and Sophie also. They paid attention to every detail.. It was fun to look at all the little accessories.

A Christmas Story

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Tinker Bell

Another AMAZING tree was the Tangled tree. I loved the whole set up, from the floating lanterns, to her paints, book, chess set and signs. Sophie was SO excited she bolted right under the rope and started to touch everything :) Dave got her before she did any damage

The girls were just kind of in awe,

And Soph had to be content looking from behind the rope :)

We all had a great night, and I can't wait for the rest of our Christmas traditions.

Recent findings

2011-11-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

Every now and then I like to look through my pictures and post funny/cute happenings.

Sophie playing with her tri-lingual phone (my favorite is hearing her "speak" french :)

using her witch fingers!

You have to look close at this one. Aubree put shoes on her animals, and covered them with a "blanket" for bed. The chick's tiny little legs are in Aubree's pink boots, and the little giraffe has her Lelli Kelly shoes on :)

Here she dressed them up...with headbands, tank tops, swimming suits, shoes and "jewelry" (silly bands)

I came to get Sophie from her nap. This is what I found.

Totally, and completely knocked out

And a little scary.

Funny little girls :)

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T21:51:00.000-08:00

This month to celebrate Thanksgiving, we did things a little different. Instead of doing lots of projects, games, crafts, etc...I decided to do 1 thing throughout the month. We took these printables with a "Thanks" and a "Giving" tree, leaves, and every Sunday filled out leaves to dress our trees.

We had the girls do two things for each tree, each week. (us also) 1 of our "Thanks" had to be something spiritual, and the other could be anything you wanted. Here's what some of ours were:

Dave:

Family

heat

Me:

sleep

temple

Aubs:

squishies

primary teachers

Soph:

Jesus

Guy

And our Giving tree.

It was a great way to think throughout the month of all we have, and how blessed we are. I read a quote on pintrest that said something to the effect of, What if all we had in the morning was all we gave thanks for the night before? And since reading it I have really tried to express sincere gratitude for as many things as I could recognize. Obviously it would be impossible to make a laundry list of everything physical, spiritual, temporal, worldly, etc..that we are individually blessed with. But it put my heart in the right place.

On Thanksgiving day we celebrated in the normal way. We went up to his parents for dinner. It was delicious, fun, and good to see his sister and family who drove in from California. It's a Callister family tradition to play bingo, with prizes. This year was no exception. It was fun, the kids got some cute things, and we got a nice gift card to Pei Wei (can't wait to use that) After spending the better part of the day with them, we took the kids and headed up to my Granni's, where my family was. We had dessert with everyone, and basically just hung out. My older sister had just flown in from Tennessee, and it was the first time I got to see her little boy, Bradley. He's pretty much the cutest guy ever. And he's HUGE. But not grossly huge. He just looks like a 3yr old with a cute little baby face. Everyone took off kind of early to go set up the church for the luncheon tomorrow. So, we went home early to put the kids to bed in anticipation for the Wedding. It was a fun, good, family time, Thanksgiving.

The Temple

2011-11-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

Kelsey was endowed tonight. It was special, amazing and sometimes words just can't describe..
We left the kids with their uncle Ben, and all went with Kels. She has been looking forward to this day for a long time, and I was so excited to see her experience it. A lot of family was there, along with a close friend. I had a couple of first experiences, which is kind of fun since I've been going to the temple for 8.5 years. I obviously can't go into detail, but I don't want to forget, so I'll briefly mention and it may only make sense to me. It was the first time I had ever changed rooms. The first time I had ever been given the wrong name, and when I used it, had to be pulled aside and corrected. (same with Carlee and Guy's older sister :) Apparently a cute temple worker had been misinformed. And it was the first time some of the symbolism really hit me. Like a ton of bricks, hit me. It was amazing.
The celestial room was awesome, as always. And it's fun to be in their with my family, watching it grow. It was real emotional being there with my two little sisters. I was not always the best example to them...only later in life, and I'm glad we all have found our way. It's not always easy, but as I am in the temple I ALWAYS, ALWAYS know it is worth it.

I am grateful for these experiences, for the recharge they give me, and affirmation of the choices I am making. (And try to make)

Of course as soon as we're out of the Temple and back in the world, chaos comes crashing down....but that's the way it goes. My poor brother didn't get the kids down until later in the evening, and he pretty much was cracked. He had my two and their cousin Kilee. Not the easiest bunch. I felt bad, but what do you do? And when we went to get food at Wing Nutz, one of Guy's favorite; we basically had a server from Hades. Who flat out refused to help me with my order until SHE was good and ready. Even after being reminded by my Mom and Dad, and another worker...(and she wasn't doing anything but not helping me...) it was weird, rude, annoying and a little detracting of what I had just experienced. (obviously there's more, but I don't want to go into detail for the sake of gossiping, and it's just not that important :)

All in all it was an amazing night and one I'm glad I could share with my family and Kelsey's new family.

The first snow of the year

2011-11-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

I guess technically it's the second! But this is the first time it stuck. The girls woke up and were SO excited to see snow. My exact OPPOSITE reaction. They wanted to get dressed up in their snow clothes and play.

And luckily they had some friends out to play with so I could sit back :)

It wasn't very deep, but they still had fun making snow balls, running around, and laying down on the soft layer.

I'm not quite ready for snow. But I sure am glad it waited until after Halloween.

CELEBRATE!!!!!

2011-11-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

As of 2:00 today, Aubree is CAST FREE! She has been SO excited all morning and kept asking me if it was time to get her cast off yet. The time FINALLY came...she had the best nurse. She was the same one who helped her into her cast, and Aubree loves her.

This is what I was afraid of...you can kind of see red skin and the wrap is sticking to her skin. She had to rip it off..

I didn't want to bring attention to it, so for now we ignored it, and let her be happy as a clam.

When we got home, her pant leg was all bloody....and this was underneath. Her poor exema did not react well to being in a cast.

We bathed her in medicine...and loosely wrapped her leg in gauze...just when you thought it was over...

We decided to celebrate and go anywhere she wanted. She picked to go to dinner at Carl's Jr. and see a movie at the "big therator". We saw Puss in Boots. It was cute, and a fun night out with the Fam.

When it's quiet...

2011-11-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

I'm usually a little scared, that means they're up to no good. Aubree was at school, and I hadn't heard from Sophie. I thought I'd better go investigate. This is what I found.

She had gone downstairs, got the princess potty insert, and went potty all by herself. Now why does she have to REVOLT when I suggest it to her??? This would be SO nice if it was a usual sight in our house.

Here's hoping.

October Books

2011-11-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

This month was a little crazy. With Aubree breaking her leg on the fourth, Halloween, Kelsey getting engaged....I have been busy and SO tired. Sadly reading wan't at the top of my list. But I did get through a couple so....

FORD COUNTY by John Grisham
I started it last month and finished it this month. I really liked it. John Grisham is an amazing storyteller. The only down side to this book, is that it was sad. Good, but sad. If your looking for a fun, or happy, or uplifting book...not the one. But great stories none the less.

THE TESTAMENT by John Grisham
This wasn't my favorite. It was a good story, written well...but it didn't captivate me. Nothing I can really pin-point. But not a waste of time. It actually had a really good message...hmm..maybe I did like it better than I thought.

THE WRITING ON THE WALL by Dean Hughes
The first book in the series Hearts of the Children. Liked it a lot. I'm sad that the second book is checked out. Especially if they're like me and renew the heck out of them...anyway, a lot of the stories parallel the first series. Which was annoying at first, but if you think about it...that's how life is. I can't wait to read the rest of them.

November to-do's
Hearts of the Children books 2-5 (however far I get)
The Children of Hamelin by Danny Lasko (my friend in the ward...he's not published...but hopefully soon)

HALLOWEEN

2011-10-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween 2011. Let me introduce you to our little Fairy Princess.

(notice her cast leg is HUGE compared to her cute tiny leg :)

And our little hornet. (Pronounced "hornut")

Don't be fooled by her sweet face, she will try to sting if you get too close.

Unless of course your sisters....

or giving her candy :)

They had a blast. They were even more into it this year. And the best part is dumping out your stash and seeing what you got.

They spilled some nerds ALL over the floor. I jokingly told them to go lick them all off the floor...well they didn't think it was a joke.

They both got a pair of vampire teeth, and were really into them.

In fact, Aubree figured out how to chew gum :)

And make silly faces.

Soph didn't quite get them in, but she still thought they were pretty neat.

How we celebrated

2011-10-31T14:05:00.000-07:00

We had a fun time celebrating this month. I wanted to be more active with the girls, and do fun things together. This is what we did:

Went to the Pumpkin Patch, and colored pumpkins

Went to see the Witches at Gardner Village, with friends, for Family night. And made spooky treats.

Colored cards for cousins, and grandparents.

Played Halloween bingo.

Opened presents from Grandparents. (My kids have the BEST on both sides...how did they get so lucky??)

Soph was so excited to get a "dancing bones" shirt.

We made ghost suckers for Aubree's class.

We made sugar cookies for Visiting teaching.

Went to a parade at Aubree's school

Fairy Godmother

Went to a party at Grandma's house

Went to a party at our church.

And of course Trick or treating.

Sunday Best

2011-10-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

These are the shoes that Sophie decided to wear to church. Dress up glittery gold slippers...
Some battles you choose, others you pass....

A video

2011-10-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

This is Aubree walking. So cute, and sad at the same time.

More fun things. My cute parents sent Aub's this card with stickers. My favorite part were the letter stickers so they could have their names on her cast. I thought it was the cutest idea...too bad they didn't stay :( But Aubs had fun with them, spelling her name on paper.

Little Brother

2011-10-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

My little brother was in town and we got to see him for an hour. It was short and sad, but awesome. We thought we weren't going to be able to see him, so it was a fun surprise. Both my girls love their Uncle Ben.

We had a little too much fun with photo booth....

{LOVE this}

I feel like I look like a monkey....
Thanks for hanging out with us Ben! We had fun.

Rainbow crayons

2011-10-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

I've realized lately how little I craft with my kids. And I imagine they would love to. So today we made rainbow crayons. We took all of our little crayons,

Got my silicone mold,

cut up the crayons, and the girls had so much fun putting them where they wanted.

Bake at 250 for 15 minutes and you'll get these...

I let mine cool for a while, like an hour...but I'm not sure how long you would have too...
I popped them out, and this is what we created. The girls had so much fun, and we were resourceful! The best of both worlds.

Crayon+Nap=

2011-10-18T16:06:00.000-07:00

NOTHING GOOD. It's pretty cute how she wrote her name...just not on her QUILT with a crayon! She sneaked it in, and now I have been scrubbing A LOT...thankfully I had baking soda on hand and it's amazing how much it erases it. I hope to get it all out.

Family Night Fun

2011-10-17T22:05:00.001-07:00

We were invited to go see the witches at Gardener Village for Family Night. I was super excited, cause we've never been. It was fun to take the girls somewhere new, and spend time with friends. The witches were all over, and the girls had fun spotting them.

They loved the lights.

Aubree did NOT want to pose for pictures, so I had to sneak some throughout the night.

Sophie loved posing, and giving me her cheesy mouse grin.

With Sam and James

This was my favorite witch, especially with Sophie's outfit. She insisted on wearing her "hornet pants" and fit in well with all the witches.

This was Aubree's favorite, the witches brew.

Dave was a bit confused about the whole thing...but we all had fun together. Thanks Millers!

When we got home we made spooky treats.

Oreo spiders,

and marshmallow ghosts.

It was a fun night, and a great way to celebrate Fall.

More visitors

2011-10-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

Did I already mention that we have THE B.E.S.T friends and family? Aubree has had so many vistors and "prizes". She is one spoiled girl. It's funny {slash} sad to see Sophie's reaction to all of it. Any time we mention someone is here to see Aubs, or bring her something, she gets so MAD. Her face goes blank, and she glares at anyone who will look, and then looks away rolling her eyes. It is HILARIOUS.

My Mom had the foresight to get Sophie a "prize" too. She was pretty happy that night, even though Aubree had two presents. She was in her own world with her princess stickers!

Barbie

2011-10-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

I just came across these pictures. I had forgotten about them. Aubree loves to dress up her barbies (like most 4 year old girls.) I saw this and thought it was so cute that she used a balloon as a boot for her barbie. I told her it was so cute and creative, and her answer proved just how cute she is. Apparently it is not a boot, but a pink cast; just like hers. Barbie fell, broke her leg, and needed a cast. Dr. Aubree took care of her. :)

It's even on the same leg.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-14T20:45:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin Patch fun! Aubree still hasn't mastered walking on her cast, so she got the stroller..

Cutest sisters I've ever seen.

Aubree and her wild faces....

After we got home we had a halloween craft. Coloring pumpkins, the pumpkins they had picked out. The girls loved it.

One smart cookie...

2011-10-14T15:48:00.001-07:00

Sophie's learning too...

SHE WALKS!!

2011-10-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

She started walking today! YES! I didn't get a shot, but I will soon. It's sad, and awkward..but she is SO happy and SO proud of herself. She gets tired REALLY quick walking, and resorts to crawling most of the time. But she's mobile. And we couldn't be happier. Hopefully she will go back to school Monday.

Her Cast

2011-10-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

We went to Orthopedics on Monday. Aubree did really well, she kind of freaked when we had to do more x-rays because the last experience was very traumatic. But she was all smiles and giggles for the doctor and nurse. The doctor came in for about 5 minuets! And the first thing she said "Was she on a tramp?" Apparently Aubree caught a big bounce from an older girl (only 5) and she was too small to handle it. Her knee hyperextended (which Dave was saying from the beginning that he thought it was what happened..) and since her body wasn't strong enough to handle it, her bone fractured. It was nice knowing what happened. I am going to be very strict on tramps now, but won't exclude them from their childhood. Maybe just 2 kids at a time, of the same size...anyway..looking a her x-ray's the doctor said it would heal up nice and quick and there were no concerns. It actually didn't fracture through the growth plate, but, really close. Which is a good thing. It helps it heal faster :) Yay! So total she will be in a cast for 5 weeks. 1 in her splint, and 4 more in her new cast. It is set to come off November 7. Here it is:

PINK!! They didn't have to cast her foot, so she can walk (YAY, YAY, YAY) but it does go up her thigh. They put a slight bend in the cast to help her out. She can sit with out having her leg shoot straight forward. But it's not a full bend so she can walk as un-awkwardly as possible.

I tried to get a cute picture of her, but I got A LOT of these:

Then I captured this, thank goodness...

She's been having fun being able to sit up to the counter, and get off the dreaded couch.

When the cast comes off there is a SLIGHT chance she could develop a "knob knee". It's a risk with breaking so close to the growth plate and will show around 6 months later, if it happens. There is nothing we can do to prevent it from happening, but she said not to worry because it is so SLIGHT. We just have to be on the look out in case it happens, because we would have to bring her back in...here's hoping we're in the majority...

Sophie had fun, also, dressing up in a plastic bag.

The spoiled life

2011-10-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

We have updates. Our appointment for Ortho isn't until Monday. Apparently that's standard. She should be in her temporary cast 5-7 days to allow the swelling to disappear. I wish they would have told us that before, I was expecting to get in ASAP. At that appointment we will find out what I wish I knew. How long she has to be in a cast, if she can be in a weight bearing cast, if she can get a waterproof cast to help the bathing situation a little, if there will be any long term effects with her growth plate etc...for now she is a spoiled little girl :)

We have the BEST friends and family. Aside from all the calls, messages, texts, (which have all been wonderful and we really appreciate) Aubree has had a few visitors. Whether she's in a good mood or not, she loves all her "prizes" and knows how much she is loved. She has been pampered.

Thank you everyone for your love, prayers, and support. We LOVE you.

When life gives you lemons...

2011-10-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

I never thought I'd be spending my night at the hospital. But who ever really does? Aubree was jumping on a neighbor's tramp...(that's all I really need to say, right?) I was inside cooking dinner, and Dave was outside, he heard Aubs scream bloody murder and ran right over. No one really saw what happened, but she was in a lot of pain. We took her home and had her rest on the couch. Dave was by her side while I was getting Soph dinner, and myself. After a little while, seeing that it was not getting better we decided to take her in. Her leg looked really weird to me, like it was sunken in. Thankfully Kelsey was home today, and she offered to stay with Soph so we didn't even have to worry about her. They did x-rays and confirmed that she has a broken leg. Her tibia to be exact. Luckily it wasn't crushed or displaced, it was a clean break. Unluckily her break goes through her growth plate, the doctor isn't sure what long trem effects that may have, or what it entails. She referred us to Orthopedics and they will review her xray and let us know when we go in to that appointment. They put her in a temporary splint. The swelling in her leg needs to be able to run it's course. It will probably get a little worse, and then let down. At that point she'll get her cast (that she has already informed us will be pink AND purple...) and we'll find out more about it. I want to know how long she'll be in this thing...I may have to do a Halloween costume around it...we'll see. Anyway, she was very brave, for the most part. She freaked every time the doctor/nurse had to do something (with good reason) but she wasn't even crying when they were out of the room. Dave was shocked when the doctor said it was broken because of how awesome she was doing. She can't put any pressure on it at LEAST until the appointment with Ortho. But she is living it up. She just told us that she's lucky! We made up a little station on the couch for her, and I'll sleep by her side in case she forgets and tries to get up, or needs to go potty...here's the leg and splint (it was really neat seeing them do this, and now that it has set it's rock hard..)

She has her soft blankies, pillow pet, her favorite movie on (Scooby Doo and the Ghost Pirates)

I had to cut her cute shorts off. Of course I forgot to take them off BEFORE they splinted her leg, and she wasn't wearing a kind that would stretch over. She thought it was just so funny that I was cutting her shorts. She'll be living in skirts for a while. Which makes me wonder, what do boys do?

She's happy as a clam now that her leg is set, and she's drugged up (just with advil :)

And of course we had to take her to Target to get a special treat for being so brave.

The winner....squinkies.

I'll be posting more as we get more info.

Dress up

2011-09-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

I had to capture some of Sophie's awesome looks...

{not a cold day btw...}

"I am Prince"

Sure do love this crazy little thing.

Books

2011-09-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

I do have other "loves" than just crafting. I'm an avid reader. Have been since I was a kid. And I absolutely LOVE going into someone else's world, and loosing myself. I wouldn't even know where to begin on narrowing down my favorites list. It's like asking me what my favorite song is....(music being another "love") there are too many generes, to name just one as a favorite. I want to start cataloging the books I read, as motivation to keep reading, and I bet it will be fun to look back on. So for the month of September...

Final Theory by Mark Alpert.
Definitely WOULD NOT recommend this. I lost count of how many F words there were (among others) and it was no longer important enough to finish. I got to a point where I could easily skip over them with certain characters, and the previous content. But it became too much work, and just not worth it for me. Interesting plot...but I had to stop. I got to page 238 of 356.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
LOVED it. Another great one by her...and of course HUGE cliffhanger at the end. I have a love hate relationship with those...but thankfully the next book comes out in November, so I don't have to wait too long. (j/k, May of next year! Not cool.)

The Confession by John Grisham
We've been going to the Library for family night recently and I discovered that there are A LOT of John Grisham books I haven't read (at one point I had read them all...but he kept writing :) So I grabbed a few. This was very thought provoking for me, I cried at one point, and throughly enjoyed it.

A Painted House by John Grisham
VERY different from his usual style. Kind of like when he wrote "Finding Christmas". This was very interesting to me, and really opened my eyes as to what hard labor is...It's a period novel set in the early 1950's in Arkansas. There are things appealing about that life, and at the same time, I'm very grateful to live now.

Ford County by John Grisham
I'm only on page 141 of 308. So far so good. Kind of sad..but enjoyable. It's a collection of short stories based on the lives of (fictional) characters living in Ford County. Ford County is the setting of his first novel "A Time to Kill". It's been a LONG time since I've read that, but I think I recognized a name in the last story....I'm sure I'll end up liking it as well.

On the agenda for October:
finish Ford County
The Testament by John Grisham
And I'm going to start a 5 book series called "Hearts of the Children" which is the sequel to the 5 book series "Children of the Promise" (Which I LOVED!!!)

HAPPY READING!

Barnum and Bailey Present....

2011-09-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

The CIRCUS. Aubree and I went with our friends Nicole and Adelyn. Our seats were nosebleeds...but for the most part, we could see everything, and the kids didn't seem to mind :) The opening act had all the performers, doing various things. It was loud, bright, crazy, chaotic...and Aubree was enthralled. They had her from the beginning. We got up a few times, for the bathroom..and treats. But she did awesome. She loved the Elephants, the "butterfly ladies", and the horses in the first half.

This was the treat she picked. A snow-cone filled tiger.

At intermission they turned the lights on, so we snapped a few pics'. These two are so cute together. They we're having so much fun..and it was fun just to watch them.

I had to snap this....throughout the show Aubree would look behind us, point, and smile. She LOVED the clown faced boy. She thought it was so funny....

These are blurry, but so cute...I couldn't bring myself to delete them.

The second half started....it was fun to see the acts that she liked and didn't like. All of the clown ones bored her...she liked all of the animals, and the really cool acts. She has good taste. Her favorites of this half were the Tigers, the tumblers (SO cool), and probably her favorite of the evening was the bow and arrow. It's basically the 'cannon' stunt. But they have spruced it up a bit. There is a whole production building up to shooting this guy through the air. Songs, fire, fire works, crazy dancing people everywhere...and then the act. They put a guy on a big bow, point it up (it looked like he was going to be shot straight up into the ceiling...) LIGHT HIM ON FIRE, and shoot him to the other side of the room. He of course had to do a little flipity flip as he was flying. Aubree was very concerned that they lit him on fire, until I explained that he was in a special suit, and then they put him out with about 6 extinguishers...it was what she talked about the rest of the evening.

We had to stop at the inside park, to get their wiggles out.

And then we headed home. We walked to Nicole's car, and she drove us to our car.

(The date stamp is my birthday, last year! Had to take a picture!)

It was really fun to take Aubree, and go with the Coles. It was 2.5 hours, and except for about 20 minuets, Aubree was mesmerized. I definitely want to take Sophie. She probably would've been old enough to go this year, but for sure next time. I'm grateful that we can have experiences like this. And provide our kids with a fun, but not spoiled, childhood.

My Best Friend's Wedding

2011-09-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

Didn't I already do a "best friend wedding" post this year? It's funny because we moved around when I was little, so I have a lot of "best friends" that represent a different time/place in my life. This is Sheena. She was my best friend toward the end of Jr. High and High School. We we're inseparable. Joined at the hip...and it's so fun to still be friends. She got married on Saturday, and I was able to go and enjoy it. It was fun to see her family which feel like my second family. It had been a LONG time.

She had the ceremony and reception in her back yard. It was simple, but beautiful.

Her son Brodi, (from her first marriage) the ring bearer.

Eric's daughter, Brody (no, I'm not kidding...and she is also my niece!)

Sheena and her Dad. (I love him! And he looks EXACTLY the same 10 years later!)
Sheena was just BEAUTIFUL....stunning.

The ceremony was sweet.

Immediately after, was the reception. I kept trying to get a cute picture of Brody....but she wouldn't let me. I think she was a little weirded out that I was in this part of her life. I was taking funny pictures and showing her...

So she finally posed, (for about two seconds...) and I got a half-way decent picture.

I'm never good at this...and is there a trick with the I phone? It seems so much harder?!

Her bridals were so pretty.

Eric took this of us....I would've immediately deleted it...but it's the only one I got of us. So ignore my gomer face.

The newly-weds.

So cute!

An old friend from High School, Mark.

Two friends from High School who got married...Dallas and Jessica, and their cute kids.

Again, great shot of me :)

A few of their cute, new, litte family.

Who would've guessed that 10 years later, Sheena would be the step Mom to my niece? It's amazing the way things work out sometimes. We will now be forever linked. I am very okay with that :)

Princess Party

2011-09-15T07:20:00.000-07:00

Aubree got invited to her first princess party. She was SO excited. I decided it would be fun to have the birthday girl (and siblings) over so that her Mom could have some time to prepare. We went on a walk and to the park. We FULLY utilized the double stroller! And Aubs and Braden walked. It was a pretty good set up.

Then we came home and got ready. She has a really nice Rapunzle dress, and wanted to go all out. We did her hair in a couple of braids, and added LOTS of flowers.

She felt so pretty, and was ready to play with all the other Princesses.

A real :) princess was at the party, and she did makes up on each girl. Aubree got purpley eye shadow and pink lip gloss. So was very into it.

Such fun! And so beautiful.

It's Official!

2011-09-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

Aubree's a LEFTY!!! That makes 4 in my family. My Aunt Jenni, myself, my niece Kilee, and now my daughter. She had been switching all year in pre school, and I didn't want to influence her either way. I just wanted her to do what was more natural. (Even though I was secretly hoping she'd be a lefty) I told her new teacher, this year, that she is kind of ambidextrous right now and to let her do what is more natural. It appears to be her left hand....and I, of course, am a nerd and super excited.

Unexpected plans

2011-09-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

I saw my friend Karen, out on her porch and we went over to return a few things. It turns out that both our husbands have late nights on Thursday....so we hung out with the kids for a bit....and decided to make an evening of it. It was so much fun, and the weather is amazing lately so we had a picnic.

Impromptu plans are the best. And it was such a good break in the LONG day that Dave is gone. Thanks Karen!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2011-09-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

The other day I went to get Aubree up from her nap. She was SO excited when I came in, squealing, jumping, laughing...and she told me that she made a birthday for her lizards, Thomas and Alabastor. She got them a stand (her ironing board), presents (squinkies in a cup) and decorated her room for them.

These were the decorations, and she just couldn't contain herself to show them to me!

Later that night we went to the park, and Soph found these sunglasses. We obviously made her leave them, but she had fun wearing them for a little bit.

Joseph

2011-09-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

JOSEPH AND THE TECHNICOLOR DREAM COAT.....it has been a favorite of mine for a LONG time. I had the opportunity to see it preformed at the Hale center in Salt Lake City, with my Aunt Jenni.

A little background on why it is so special to me..When I was 9 or 10 Brittany and I were in our schools' kid choir. Which was a little more than a regular choir. We had to try out...and apparently at one time I wasn't tone deaf and could sing on key. We sang for The President, Ronald Reagan...did a Disney Land appearance, and Knotts Berry Farm. It was really fun, and since we're such a musical family it just seemed normal. As a choir, we took a bus into LA, and tried out for the kid choir in Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat. It was the Broadway production in LA. We got a call back but unfortunately, didn't quite make it. We were however the understudies, and got to sing with the cast. It was my first experience with this play, and I just LOVED it. The music, the feeling, being on a BIG stage with famous actors...it was surreal. We didn't end up singing on stage for the production to the public ( I mean when does a whole kids choir need understudies, really?) But we got to go to opening night. And I think for my love of the play, this was more exciting to watch the production, and really see it, than to be on stage. We even got to meet "Mr. Belvedere" I think my Mom pointed out more people in the audience...but I can't remember now. I do remember that Joseph was played by Damien Rice who was the lead in "The Young and the Restless" at the time ;)

My glasses had broke the prior week, so throughout the play my Mom and I took turns wearing hers. Even when it wasn't my turn I could still hear the beautiful music and feel it. It was a WONDERFUL night. And my love for that play was set. Fast forward 5 years. We are now in Utah and it's my little sisters' turn. Carlee tried out for the play at Rodgers Memorial, and got the part. My other little sister, Kelsey, and I ,went to almost every show. It was so fun and brought me back to my days..(even though I wasn't actually in it :) Iv'e seen it probably at least 5 times...but I can't actually remember how many times we went to see Carlee...

So when my Aunt called me up and told me she had an extra ticket and wanted to invite me....I was ECSTATIC! And it didn't disappoint. It wasn't quite at the caliber of the LA show. But it did seem a little better than Rodgers. It was arranged a little differently, and I loved it. Come to find out that it is The Gibbons (who is a family friend, and Kelsey's boyfriend!) So that was neat. Joseph, played by Bradley Quinn Lever, was just incredible. His voice was so powerful and we had goosebumps pretty much the whole time. The rest of the cast sang really well...but he was just amazing...I guess that's why he got the lead :) Another fun thing I found out...the other Joseph who plays MWF, Casey Elliot, is a guy I went to school with when I was younger...pretty cool! I had a blast and was so excited to see it again. I was later telling my friend all about it, and she made the comment that when she goes to plays, concerts, etc...she just feels so ALIVE. And that says PERFECTLY how I feel. Alive, and it is such a natural high for me. Thanks Jenni, for giving me that experience.

A BBQ

2011-08-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

We went out his weekend to our old ward in Kaysville. We are still good friends with a couple of families and we go back out every now and then. This time it was the ward BBQ. It was super fun, a big bounce house, good food, lots of adult games, and of course good friends.

I was in charge of getting food while Dave watched the kids. I went up to get in line and I was stopped by a kid. "Hey, what's up?" to which I replied a simple "Hi." I took a few looks at him, being my old ward, I was trying to place him....but just couldn't. So I got some some plates, started loading up, and I was talking to my old friend. She stopped mid sentence and pointed behind her, "I think he is trying to talk to you," I looked back, and there was that kid, this time waving his arms in front of his face to get my attention.

"So, how was your summer?"
"It was fabulous, thanks." I returned to getting food, nervously wondering if this kid was hitting on me....I went back to Dave and pointed him out. Dave was the Young Men's president when we lived there, so I thought for sure he would know him. Nope. Neither did our friends who we were with. At least I didn't feel bad for not remembering him....

Now we're eating. And the kids are playing. There were long church tables set up in rows. I was sitting on one side, Dave was right across from me. Next to him was our friend Paul, and next to him Nicole. So I guess I looked alone....He came up, sat down RIGHT next to me (we were touching...until I scooted a little) "Hi" (said flirtatiously) me, "Hi" I was so embarrassed with Dave sitting right there. I looked up at him and he had a smirk on his face...his smirk said "have fun..." and he got up "to check on the kids" and left me with him!!!!! Nicole looked up at me and quietly asked if I figured out who he is. I quietly said no, but was thinking I knew exactly why he was there! He leans over to me (as I am VERY passive and just not looking/talking to him) And asks "What music do you listen to?"

Paul heard, and FINALLY figured out what was going on....I looked up at him and mouthed "HELP." Because apparently, even though I am 28, married, have two kids....I still get uncomfortable and flustered when a 16 yr. old hit on me! Pathetic, I know. Paul looks up at him and asks "So, how old are you, 15...?"
"NO, I'm 16..."
"You do realize that SHE is almost 30...." (His face falls, seriously shocked..) "...married....and that guy that just left, sitting across from her....that was her husband.... (more shocked) ....and he got up to check on their two kids over there...." Now he has a look of sheer embarrassment. Which is why I was even hesitating to say something before. I HATE being embarrassed, and even more, hate causing embarrassment...and I knew the information I had to share...was definitely embarrassing for him! Any way...his friend was laughing and making fun of him (making me feel worse) saying comments about wished he had a camera to record this and post it on you tube...etc...and then flirty boy said something about Dave getting mad at him for hitting on me and that he would "stab him in the neck"??? To which Paul told him (I still hadn't said a word...) that Dave would be flattered a 16 yr. old was hitting on me, and to not be embarrassed. It was all so awkward and uncomfortable...but everyone around us seemed to be having a good time....after hearing all the information he could handle...he said "I am going to awkwardly stand up and walk away now..." I waved to him with a look of "sorry..." on my face, and he was gone! It was a bizarre night....16...REALLY...I get young 20's a lot....but 16???? CRAZY!

Any way...we didn't take any pictures of the night...but later discovered that Sophie took a video. It's not terribly entertaining...but kinda funny...and the only other thing I have to share! Enjoy.

First day of Pre-school

2011-08-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

Aubree is back in school, and everyone is very excited about it! She picked out her outfit, and new clip to wear. I found this cute printable (not sure where...) and had to get a shot of her holding it.

YAY for pre-school!

I made her new clips the night before, and she picked out the pink one!

Here's to another year of learning before Kindergarten.

Boating, sort of.

2011-08-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

We live in such a fun area. There is so much to do and the kids are constantly entertained. We have a man made Lake with a few beaches, just a few blocks away. And for the first time since we've lived here, we went out on the lake. You have to be 2 to go out on a boat, so this summer was the first chance we've had to go. We rented a 4 person kayak and went around the lake. Aubree was a little scared at first, but we all had so much fun. We paddled to a beach, had lunch, and let the girls play for a bit. Then we paddled back. It was so fun, and a new experience for us.

Meeting the new teacher

2011-08-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

The first day of school is officially Wednesday. But today we got to meet the teacher, see the classroom and pick out a cubby. Aubree (like me) doesn't like change. So this was a perfect chance to meet her teacher, and get a little comfortable with Mom and Dad there. She picked out the "dark pink" (red) cubby and got to meet Mrs. Barker. She was very shy...but excited to get a sucker. This picture pretty much says how she felt the whole time...

I made this cute treat for her teacher. And she loved it :) (more details on my craft blog) Hopefully it will be a good year.

Sun Bathing

2011-08-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

At Grandma's House, Sophie discovered the art of sunbathing. And boy did she enjoy it!

The Farm

2011-08-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

We got invited to go to the farm at Thanksgiving point by our friends Seth and Karen. We went for family night, and it was awesome. It was cooler, and NOBODY was there. We got to leisurely walk around, take our time and enjoy all the sights. Sophie loved the "real pony" ride.

Aubree had to warm up to it, but then she had a blast.

Tractor ride.

Pony ride.

Thanks for the fun Family Night Miller's!

Zermatt

2011-08-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

For our annual family vacation, with the Callister's this year, we went to Zermatt. We had been two years prior, and made a return trip :) To be honest I was a little nervous, last time was a little bit of a disaster....but I went in with a good attitude, made sure not to forget our swimming suits, and already we were off to a better start. On the way up the girls took a little snooze in the car.

This time we stayed in two separate sutis, which helped the chaos a little. Each family still had one room to share, but being with just one other family helped A LOT. The kids were excited to get out of the car and explore...

On the grounds, they have a really neat carousel. We had to make at least one trip a day....this was the scary cougar, Aubree's favorite!

On the way there Aubree discovered that she had a blister. She wasn't sure what it was called (since she's never had one before) and she kept calling it funny names...some of which were: blimpster, blogster, blumpster, blomster, it was pretty fun to hear what she came up with. :)

Grandpa took good care of Casey while Sophie rode the pony.

Kai

Rae, Addie

Grandma

Baby Holden

We had to feed the goats a few times too. They're so cute and ALWAYS so HUNGRY. They even wanted to give Casey a kiss...

This was a cute little sitting room off of the cafe. Aubree is obsessed with clocks, so she was in heaven.

This is just about the cutest thing ever. Rae and Addie saying their night prayers.

The boys went golfing, while we took the kids out.

Another pony ride was in store...

And Joely didn't want to miss out on the fun.

Neither did Brody's doll. Pasqually Dasiy.

We went exploring through Zermatt and The Homestead.

I know this picture is terrible, but I had to try to get a shot of the girls sleeping. In our room we had two queen beds. I decided that it would be a lot less painful if Dave and I slept on separate beds with one of the kids. It was still a little weird putting them to bed in the same room. (They stayed up and talked FOREVER.) But it ended up working A LOT better than I thought. And we all actually got sleep. :)

We had lots of fun, going swimming, on walks, shopping in Park City...spotting deer. And it ended up being a wonderful trip. Here we are on our last night. Rob took us to the restaurant at The Homestead, and for the most part, the kids were good...it was delicious and a fun way to end our trip.

On the walk home to Zermatt, our family went to see the crater. Our girls thought it was really neat, and it was my first time seeing it too. It was so warm!

The next morning we packed up to leave. And Grandma took the girls around while we got ready. They had lots of fun riding the baggage cart.

Goodbye Zermatt, until next time.

Baby Joely

2011-07-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

Ever since my cousin Joely's accident, Aubree has been a little traumatized. But she found a way to feel okay about it. Meet her new baby Joely....she takes her EVERYWHERE we go. She is quick to tell you that her baby fell off a deck and "broke her head." She has two bandaids (that Aubree put on by her self) to cover up her owies. She has a "circle owie" above her eye, and a big "line owie" across her head.

She takes really good care of her, and makes sure that if you hold her, you do too! I have to be real careful with her head so that it doesn't hurt her more. Iv'e even had a couple of people (from a distance) believe I was holding a real baby, because of the way I was holding her. Aubree makes her a bed every night, and gets her comfortable in the stroller for walks.

The green blanket is her "(Joely)" special blanket and also follows.

Apparently this is a real method of coping that psychologists' recommend to parents to help thier children.....well Aubree (my super smartie pants) just decided to do it on her own!

Sacrament Meeting

2011-07-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

Dave was sick, so I went solo with the girls....I had to take a short video, and Aubree pulled a classic. Enjoy.

Birthday's

2011-07-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

Three of my good friends, and I all have birthday's in July. Mine is at the beginning of the month and theres are all in a row toward the end. They were super sweet to me on my birthday, so I thought it would be fun to take them out for frozen yogurt, and have a girls night. We went to Menchi's which is becoming my new favorite. More for the atmosphere than the yogurt, but it is good. Karen drew us a tribute on the chalkboard they have there. Zenny couldn't make it :( but we put her name up there anyway.
We had a blast, and July birthday's are the best!

Joely Swann

2011-07-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

My 4 1/2 year old cousin took a bad fall Saturday night. Her brothers and sisters were playing up on their deck, being silly, and she ((accidentally)) launched herself over the edge. 8 feet, head first onto concrete! She was first taken to the hospital in Preston, ID where she lives. She had a CT and it was determined that her brain was bleeding, and she had multiple skull fractures. She needed care that they could not provide, and was immediately life flighted to Primary Children's. Luckily there are lots of family in Utah, and her Aunt was able to meet the helicopter at the hospital until her parents could make the drive from Preston. I unfortunately lost my phone that very night, and wasn't able to hear about or be supportive until Sunday when they finally got a hold of me!

Joely had to have emergency surgery to fix the bleeding, pressure, and fractures. She had three skull fractures, and a huge chunk of her skull had to come out. They stopped the bleeding, put a shunt in her head, with a tube to help drain the excess blood and fluids to relieve pressure. They froze her skull (that they removed) for an hour while they prepped her. They had to put four metal plates in her head and then replace her skull piece. She is so young, and her skull isn't fully developed yet, which will help her make a full recovery . The metal plates are so small that she won't even set off detectors!

The first day I went to see her (Monday) It just broke my heart. I wasn't quite prepared for what I saw, and frankly there are no words....but I'll try. She was in nothing but a diaper. Tubes and wires were E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E. Monitoring her vitals. Two IV's coming out of her feet. Her eye had swollen since the fall and she couldn't even open it. Half of her head was shaved, for the surgery and she had a big old incision along her head. She was so SAD and tired, and all she wanted was her mom to hold her. It was the saddest moment. I couldn't stay for long, and I was trying real hard to hold it together in front of her. I knew she would be okay, but she was still in intensive care. And seeing her that helpless, beat up, and in pain was a little much. I broke down after I left. Thoughts of the miracle of her story, imagining Aubree on that table...and picturing her sad sweet little face did me in.

I went back last night to see her, and it was a WORLD of a difference! She was moved from Intensive Care, to Neuro Trauma.

She had just been bathed, and all the iodine was washed out of her hair. ALL the tubes and wires were gone. (She only had one IV in her hand) She was wearing pajama's and very awake and alert. I couldn't believe what a difference 2 days can make. I didn't take pictures the first time (my phone was still lost) So I can't show you comparisons, but it was HUGE. She looks SOOOOO much better. Even though she still looks sad.
She zonked out after about 45 minuets of me arriving. She had a busy day, being up and around. And hopefully got some needed rest last night.
Here's a close up of her little head. Obviously you can see her incision, which is pretty gnarly. And you can see about the size of skull they removed, and then replaced. Just behind her incision you can see a little "dot" that is where the tube was in her head, to drain the fluids. The patch above her eye is where she directly hit after falling. Besides her swollen eye, all the bruises started showing up that day. Some from the surgery, some from the fall.
Right before she fell asleep, she found her pink bandage, (that probably was wrapped around her IV on her hand....but I'm not sure, it wasn't currently in "use") and she clutched it in her tiny hand. I just thought it was cute.
I am SO grateful that she will have a full recovery. That she sustained NO brain damage. That we have modern day medicine to save lives. Im grateful for the power of prayer. I don't think anyone received more prayers this weekend than her, and it's truly a miracle how she is doing.

Aubree and seeds.

2011-07-17T18:42:00.001-07:00

This is how Aubree eats kiwi. She LOVES it, but doesn't like seeds...

My Birthday

2011-07-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

I have the best family and friends! Boy have I been spoiled. It started Tuesday night, with my friend Somer taking me out for frozen yogurt. And it was delicious! Then I woke up to a wonderful homemade breakfast, today, of my favorite foods...french toast and orange juice. Thanks to my good friend and neighbor Karen.

After breakfast my other good friend and neighbor (on the other side) came to take my girls for a couple of hours so I could leisurely get ready with out children. I'm telling you, I was spoiled and the day was getting started. Dave gave me a card, which he made :) I was very impressed...and inside my card was a gift certificate to Olive Garden for lunch, a certificate for a movie with movie times and names so I could easily pick, and a certificate for a day of shopping! My favorite kind of birthday. My sister Kels came up at 11:45 to watch the kids all day, so we could go play. THANKS KELS...((and throughout the day I got many wonderful texts, phone calls, facebook messages, and cards in the mail!))

So first we went to Hobby Lobby and I picked out some cute crafty things...then we went to a movie...X-Men. Which was fabulous. And next was Olive Garden for lunch. As I got out of the car, Dave notice something. Something not cool at all, and it was my least favorite "birthday present"....someone keyed our car! Along the passenger side of the car, and it's not pretty...that obviously put Dave in a sad mood, but he was trying REALLY hard to let it affect my day.

(Don't mind the dirty car :)

Lunch was amazing, and then we went out for more shopping. We got home just after 5, to relieve Kels. I decided I didn't want to cook dinner, and since it was my birthday, I could get away with it. So eggs and sausage it was. While I was "not cooking" Laci (who had my kids earlier) brought over a HUGE tub of frozen yogurt from her favorite local place. And I have to say it is the closest to Froyo I've had. So it's probably my new favorite since I am deprived of Froyo's goodness. After dinner we just hung out...while I tried to decide if I wanted to do anything else. Dave totally and completely fell asleep, at 8:00...so that made my decision for me :) I put the kids down at 8:30 and enjoyed a quiet, boring evening by myself!

**UPDATE**

Friday morning my MIL came up and took me and my girls shopping. I got even more spoiled, and we went to lunch at CPK. One of my favorites. Then that night my good friend Zenny, and her husband took Dave and I out to dinner for my birthday. We went to their favorite Asian restaurant. And it was delicious. After, we went out to Menchie's for more frozen yogurt. My friends really know me :) It has been a wonderful birthday, that turned into a birthday week!

4th of July!

2011-07-04T23:08:00.000-07:00

Our 4th of July was jam packed with fun activities...

First, our ward breakfast, which I cooked 4lbs of bacon for. That might not sound too impressive...but it was A LOT!!! The girls looked so cute in their patriotic outfits.

We brought Aubree's soft blanket to lay out for our breakfast picnic.

The girls loved it, and it was nice to be out, eating a free delicious meal.

In the evening we went up to Dave's Aunt's for a BBQ. I love his family, and it was fun to get together. The cousins also love seeing each other.

At one point Aubs and Brody were fighting with the noodles. Having a blast. And then I hear Aubree say "go for the kill"

What the? Where in the world did she learn that? The things kids say....

Then at home later that night we did our fireworks. They were fun. Little, but fun. Then our two doors down neighbor started putting on a real show, with the big, legit fireworks, so we joined them and had a fun show. Aubree let me know that their fireworks were way more cool than ours. Agreed. I'm glad they put on a show for us!

Celebrations and disasters

2011-07-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

We did some fireworks on tonigh, to get them excited. And boy did it work. I am such a wuss when it comes to fireworks. I HATE them. They're loud and scary :) but they are beautiful. I like them from a distance. So I just got little ones to with the girls. I wanted to save most of them for Monday, so tonight we just did sparklers, pop's, and snakes.

We did them a little early, cause it doesn't get really dark until too late. Although it really doesn't matter since fireworks have been going every night for three night anyway, and until late...so they haven't been sleeping well.

The pops were they're favorite.

Sophie wasn't sure at first if she even liked the sparkler...but she warmed up to it.

Aubs loved it.

So we put the girls to bed, and yep... Fireworks are going strong, the LOUD ones. I was scared for my girls. Not too soon after, we heard sirens, LOTS of sirens and really close. Dave took off to check it out. The homes in Daybreak are so close it's scary when fires start. Sure enough some guy set his house on fire, with his home-made fireworks. Not too close to us, but still in Daybreak. Dave, and our neighbor, Dave went to go check it out. There were fire trucks, hoses, firemen, the works. He said it was crazy. And the hoses were so strong they were ripping up the siding of the house. It's sad, but I'm glad it was his own house and not an innocent bystanders'. I bet the fire department just loves the 4th :)

Extreme Make Over: Home Edition

2011-06-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

Extreme Make Over came to Daybreak. To be honest I wasn't too excited about it, selfishly...which is terrible. But I just thought it would be crazy, trafficy, people EVERYWHERE. But I got over myself, cause it obviously is for a good cause, and then I didn't even realize they had started until 2 days into it. It was crazy in the surrounding streets, but since we are about 10 blocks away, we were safe. I wanted to volunteer, but time always has a way of sneaking up on me. So I didn't. We went on a walk up there and this was day 4! Can you believe it!
There were tents set up everywhere, for first aid, volunteers, supplies, etc...
signs to direct and instruct you :)
in the few block surrounding, the roads were closed, even to pedestrians.
More tents...

Cop cars, and moving trucks were everywhere too...

I wish I could have been more involved. My friend, Laci volunteered and was there all day, and through the reveal.. She said it was amazing..but it was still fun to see it happening.

While the Boy's away...

2011-06-26T17:44:00.000-07:00

So Dave went on his golf trip to St. George this weekend. I knew I would go crazy with out him, if we didn't keep busy....so we did! :)

At jamba juice

A new park down the street from us.

Splash pool of course...a few times.

More new parks,

And dress up...we survived and actually had a really fun time doing it!
The cutest point of our adventure happened at night. I HATE sleeping with out Dave here. In fact, I can't, not really. I got terrible sleep. One night I left the lights on and fell asleep reading a book. I woke up a few hours later to find Aubree laying next to me, fast asleep. The lights turned off, my book neatly placed on the night stand, and the bathroom light on with the door 3/4 closed. She took care of me :)

Costco and patriotic party

2011-06-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

We went on a big Costco run today, we literally had no food. After we unloaded the car, Sophie was in heaven. So was excited at the prospect of food, how sad is that :( but she crawled up on the counter and sat right smack in the food. Funny girl.

Tonight I hosted a craft night. The project, patriotic banners. So I wanted to do something cute for refreshments. This is what I came up with.....
I printed off these circles, added ribbon, and spruced up the water bottles...
Delicious red and white salsa...
....with blue chips. I even made sure I only used red, white and blue serving bowls too. I'm kind of a nerd that way.
yummy fruit...
Jello is a must for me, and I know that my friend Karen loves it too...patriotic of course!
And some cute favors. Covered matchstick boxes, there weren't any fireworks out yet...so this had to do...
I always forget to take pictures once the night has actually started, I get too involved at having fun. And it was, a really fun night!

The Dentist

2011-06-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

Sophie had her first dentist appointment today. She was amazing....did better than Aubree who has been a few times and KNOWS it doesn't hurt....

She laid half in my lap, half in the dentist's. He is an awesome dentist. I am so happy we found him out here. The girls just love him, and he definitely has a special patience and love of children.
Sophie was a little curious at what was going on, but she didn't resist.

In fact she had fun!
She liked the feel of his gloves,
And did awesome the whole time. I was so happy that is wasn't traumatic.

Pretty Portraits {[Favorites]}

2011-06-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

And now for my favorites...aren't they just beautiful? My Sister is amazing. Here is her blog if you want her to take amazing pictures for you.

Aubree 4 year portraits, favorites:

Sophie two year portrait, favorites:

Together favorites:

Pretty Portraits

2011-06-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

Here they are! Click on the picture to make it bigger.....trust me you'll want to :)

Sophie's 2 year portraits:

A couple of favorite toy shots...this is Casey.
And this is Doggy Bear
Aubree's 4 year portraits:

Unicorn pillow pet...not sure if she has a name....
Pictures together:

next post will be my "favorites" of single shots and together ones.....SUPER CUTE, just wait :)

Father's Day

2011-06-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

This Father's Day was fun, because my Dad was actually here! They came to our ward and saw Aubree sing in the program (which was her first time EVER)

My Mom and I set this up as soon as the boys went to bed Saturday night. The left side, for my Dad....and the right side for Dave.
I printed off this cute banner, I just love it.
I had my very talented sister take the girls 2 and 4 yr. portraits secretly. I have been D.Y.I.N.G to share them, because they turned out just BEAUTIFUL....but I had to wait until now since Dave and my Dad read the blog :) So for Father's Day they all got copies...except the copies didn't come in time, but thankfully Carlee had these two printed off early, so I could at least display them as a "soon to be present".
For my Dad...
I printed off this cute printable that reminded me of my Dad, and framed it. Then I printed off these super cute retro soda labels,
In honor of his "Case of Pop"
For Dave.....
I printed off this cute printable for Dave, and framed it. Then I got him a bag of tee's and spruced it up a little. His real present (besides the secret pictures) is a golf trip to St. George, so this was just kind of a reminder :)

After church we went up to a big BBQ at my Granni's house. We celebrated the thousand birthday's we have in the month of June, and of course Father's Day. It was a fun day.