Johnston Journeys

What a difference a day makes!

2012-01-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

This is where we happened to be yesterday...

This is what we came home to today!!

As much as I enjoy being home, I am having a little difficulty transitioning to this temperature. Welcome back to Utah I guess. :)

Life since Blogging

2011-11-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

Lauryn turned 3!!! We celebrated with a lemonade party at Grandma's.

I saw my very first circus with Shawn & the girls.

We met my newest nephew Dalton...Bry was is love and wanted to hold him any chance she could.

Shawn was able to get PLENTY of hunting time in, and our freezer is now completely stocked.

Brylie & I had a date to see Tuacahn's Little Mermaid.

Brylie turned 5, and insisted on a Tangle themed party. All of the princess's had a fabulous time!

Lauryn is STILL truly & deeply in love with Dora.

Halloween came and went...

We managed to fit in a family vacation to Disneyland, which I enjoyed as much, if not more than the girls!

And of course we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the family in Kanab.

The girls made these turkeys and had to write things they were thankful for...I found it very clever and funny to see what they came up with.
Lauryn is thankful for: French Fries, LaLa (Cousin Londyn), Papa, Giraffes, toys, Jasmine, Snow White, Daddy, Brylie, Dora, Boots, Mommy, Grandma, Chocolate Milk, & Kittens.
Brylie is thankful for: Holidays, Friends, House, Games, Food, Mommy, Daddy, Princess', Dance, School, Jesus, Kittens, Papa, Grandma, & Toys.

Oh yes, and we also found out that we will be adding a little BLUE to our mountains of pink the first of April!! :)

Costa Rica

2011-07-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

Cow Appreciation Day

2011-07-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

Lucky for us Hollie is always informed and called to let us know about Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A last Friday. If you are willing to dress up like a cow they will give you a free meal. Everyone knows I love a good deal, especially FREE! :) So we broke out the white clothes, black paint and got to work.
Of course not everyone was thrilled with the idea...when I told Bry she was going to be a cow she burst into tears because she DID NOT want to become a cow. Lauryn on the other hand said "I be a cow for you mom" and began practicing right then. Brylie came around though after she realized all of her friends were dressing up too, and she could take the costume off when she was done. We had a great time with all of our friends and the kids absolutely LOVED the Chic-Fil-A Cow. They followed him around giving him high fives and lots of hugs. He was a very nice cow. :)

Independence Day

2011-07-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!! I love this holiday. I really don't know why but I always look forward to planning the girls attire, watching the fireworks, and of course the parade...which we did not find this year but it was still great. Can't expect everyone to do the fourth as well as small towns like Kanab. :)
We began our day with a pancake breakfast, they were delicious but it was much MUCH too hot to be outside. The girls were begging to go inside after about 10 minutes and I came back inside dripping with sweat. (sexy, I know...but it's true...it was really hot.) After that we decided to find some indoor/air conditioned activities. The girls helped me make a flag cake, we painted fingernails, made our own flags, and played with water balloons. Then got nice and rested for the fireworks later.
When Shawn got done with work we headed to PF Changs for a yummy dinner with friends and off to a nearby park for the Firework Show. I would say it was an EXCELLENT 4th of July.

(Sorry about some of the pics quality, my camera died and we had to resort to Shawn's iphone. Bry was the photographer and insisted I put them on here. :)

Giraffes...may just be my new favorite animal.

2011-06-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

One thing I've really come to appreciate about these Summers away is all the activities we find to entertain ourselves while Shawn is busy at work.
Pretty sure I have never been to Hogle Zoo but lucky for us every summer there always seems to be a zoo close by. Fresno's is only about 5 minutes down the road and we were able to visit it with our friends before temperatures got to melting. The zoo was great, but the definite highlight of the day was feeding the giraffes.
For the bargain price of only $2 they let you feed them up close and personal. I have always loved the print but I now have a new appreciation for their freakishly long tongues and how pretty they are. Still not sure if the giraffe tops my adorable, talented elephants from Thailand but they are a close second, and as always we loved our visit to the Zoo.

Where to begin???

2011-06-24T14:13:00.001-07:00

Seems like we have been going, going, going lately. We made the journey from Cedar City to Fresno California right after Easter. Although closer than most Summers it did seem like a LONG journey. The girls were excellent though and kept me entertained the entire way by singing ALL of the songs from Tangled, asking a million questions, and inventing silly games to play with each other. They had me laughing the whole time. Just a few things I heard from the backseat were...
" Lauryn, doesn't it seem like fog is just clouds walking our way."
"Bryee! Get off, I not your illow!"
" Mom I feel so bad for daddy, he has no one to visit with. It would probably be best if I rode with daddy I am a good visitor and we don't want him to be lonely."
" Look at that most beautiful star, it changes color." That's not a star Bry it's an airplane. "Well it is my favorite airplane... it twinkles."
"Mom, this is the BEST day of my entire life."

After a few weeks in Fresno it was time to head back to Utah, then off to Costa Rica for a week, then to Kanab to spend time with Grandma and back to Cedar...and finally we made another journey to California where we plan to stay for a while. We have had a great time everywhere we went but are glad to be back. Below are a few of the things we've found to do here in Fresno.

National Train Day

Wandering around the River Park shops...

and occasionally stopping for some delicioso Yogurt.

Finding Frogs,which the girls love and become instantly attached.
Every time I try to explain that the majority of frogs DO NOT turn into princes, and please do not try to kiss them. Still every time we have a long tearful goodbye whenever it is time to let the froggies go. Good thing our apartment seems to have an abundance of them.

Building Forts

Riding Scooters

by far the FAVORITE toy we brought out here, thank you Aunt Jess!

Shopping!!!

And it is not my idea of Summer until you have a little...
Pool Time. Which now that we have reached the hundred degree temperatures always sounds like a good idea.

Most of all we are just happy to be in one place for a minute with not a lot to get done. I think we have all enjoyed relaxing for a bit...well except for Shawn we send him off to work while we relax. ;)

Georgia on my mind ;)

2011-04-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

Most people know my family travels A LOT. I usually stay behind watching with envy as they fly off to some new magical destination. Fortunately my dad sympathizes with me occasionally and will either take me along or set up a special trip just for us. (I know, I have a great dad.)
This little getaway happened to be a week in Georgia. I have always wanted to visit the South and secretly wished I had that adorable southern accent & charm :) My family has some great friends down there that were so generous to offer their beautiful beach house and I also have a great mom who was willing to watch the girls so we headed off with my sister Melissa and her husband Bret for a kid free getaway.

Shawn is incapable of taking a normal smiling photo, he is always making dumb comments or poking me somehow...this is usually the result we get. But the beach was beautiful!

This place had THE best homeade ice cream & the whole place smelled delicious.

Can't you tell how much Meliss is enjoying it.

Seeing as we were so close we just had to check out Charleston SC.

The town was absolutely adorable. I was in love with the giant Southern homes and could so envision the roaring 20's (or what I imagine it would be like :)

I know this is silly but I loved this sign. It genuinely made me laugh out loud, it also happened that no one else was around to enjoy this moment with me so I did get a few strange looks when I was laughing out loud. But really it is a fountain...why would you ever need a lifeguard? :)

On our way back to the Beach House on Tybee we had to stop by the Crab Shack just to see the gators.

Below is the Sullivan's Beach House it was gorgeous and you literally walked straight out onto the beach, the entire time I was wishing I had my girlies because I knew how much they would LOVE just playing in the sand and search for sea shells.

Not only was the beach house awesome but the garage was filled with amazing toys. Including Kayaks, Crab Traps, Fishing Poles, Kites, Boats and my personal favorite the Four Person Bicycle..once again in love. Seriously I have never seen anything like it and it was so much fun riding around the island on this thing.

Shawn tried his luck at crabbing without much success...

later they found the Crab Pods and did much better.

Bret was a little hesitant about trying to cook them..but they actually were quite delicious, and I'm not even a sea food lover.

We decided to take the boat out along the Island, unfortunately it could only hold 3 of us so Shawn paddled along behind us in the Kayak. I'm pretty sure he got an amazing work out that day.

Aww..finally a sweet picture, but no actually he was trying to drag me in the ocean...not so sweet.

still trying...

I swear I have a picture similar to this one on every outing we have. Shawn has a strange obsession with picking up strange creatures. Here he was trying to prove to me that you can pick up a jelly fish. They actually were very cool looking, I had never seen one so close up before.

We had such an incredible time, it was a much needed get away and I can't wait to go back and take the girls with us.

Soo Ready for Spring!

2011-04-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

It is April 9th and this is what it looks like outside of my window. Gray, Yuck, and Snow!!
Do I need to mention again HOW ready for Spring I am. Really this weather is putting me in such a bad mood, I may have to move...actually I probably will in a couple weeks. :) Anyone know what the weather in Fresno is like these days??

Due to this bad weather we have had to be pretty creative with our indoor activities. Below are just a few of the things we've been doing to keep from going stir crazy.

Of course I had to put Shawn and the girls to work on many, many projects.
I'll try to show more of the finished products at a later date.

Dancing with Daddy... (one of the girls favorite pastimes.) Good thing daddy is a good sport, I seem to get really dizzy after just a few spins, I'm not sure what happened to my monkey bar skills.

Long naps

A trip to Vegas & Chuck E. Cheese

The girls were SO excited to stay in the castle.

I love how Lauryn is giving the M&M five in the background. She is all about "high fives" & "pounds" even to a statue. :)

Lauryn picked out this hat as her souvenir and from that point on NEVER took it off. She was getting compliments from all over.

Any and ALL indoor activities we can find in the Cedar City area...
Most recently Fun time Inflatables.

Of course the snow does bring Sledding with cousins.

Disney on Ice

Oh and happy late St. Patricks day!
Maybe (hopefully) by Easter we may get to see the sunshine again.

December and DONE!

2011-02-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas Photos in no particular order...

We began our season with welcoming Mr. Elfie to the family, the name of course was chosen entirely by Brylie. Despite Shawns efforts to be more inventive but Bry was positive and I thought it fit nicely.
Mr. Elfie was given to me by my amazing friend Jamie who honestly knows more about kids than I ever will, and man I wish I could keep him around all year. He came to us at Thanksgiving from the North Pole to spy for Santa and he would pop up in the most random of places.
Lauryn just basically loved playing hide and seek with him and would call out his name first thing in the morning. "Mr. Ephie, wer aur ou??" but he made sure Brylie was on her BEST behavior at all times! Really she was an absolute angle ALL month, I kept waiting for the excitement to wear off and her attitude to reappear but it never happened. She was the sweetest most helpful, polite little girl I have ever met. I sure did love Mr. Elfie, THANK YOU Jamie.

Christmas Eve P.J.s

All cozy in their snuggies from Grandma.

Our Little Family Christmas Party

Polar Express on the Heber Creeper

My dad set it up for the whole family to go on the Polar Express this year and Bry was the perfect age for it. She was SO excited about everything that was happening. Mr. & Mrs. Clause came, we sang Christmas songs, had hot chocolate and cookies made with pixie dust...which she told me tasted quite good! It was so much fun to have all of the cousins with us and I loved watching as her eyes lit up over EVERYTHING! 2 months later she is still talking about it.

While wrapping presents I looked over and immediately recognized Bry's guilty face but it took me a while to realize what she was hiding in the box.

It was a wonderful holiday but now i am ready for spring. :)

November in February...(but I'm getting closer :)

2011-02-14T19:18:00.000-08:00

Of course the frost begins to come early in Cedar City so this is the view from our living room window the very first of November...

in my opinion that is MUCH too early for the cold to come so we headed to Page, AZ for my nephew Landon's baptism, lucky for us it also happened to be the Hot Air balloon festival that weekend.

So after Shawn's amazing talk (thanks for getting me out of that one baby ;) we headed down to mainstreet where they had tons of booths and you could walk right up to check out the air balloons.

I did not get to ride in one "this time" but it is definitely still on my to do list,

still very cool though, they would send signals to light all the balloons at the same time, loved it! I think we need to get this started in Cedar City :)

Most people know that although I LOVE the mom thing, it is the stay at home part that gets to me occasionally. So lucky for us we have a BEAUTIFUL little getaway only 30 minutes away, we don't do it nearly often enough but we headed to my parents condo in Brianhead for some fresh air and non interrupted family time.

Halloween Times

2011-02-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

"Angel & Devil" Perfect fit for our two little diva's. Brylie has really turned into a little sweetheart, always wanting to help and make her sister happy. Lauryn on the other hand is the poster child for the terrible two's. She sure is cute though, with more attitude and personality then we know how to handle.

Poor Lauryn was TERRIFIED of Jaxon's mask, she burst into tears any time he came out wearing it.

And how about this bike we won in a raffle at the Halloween carnival? Lucky huh?!

I really was SO excited! They were giving away a ton of stuff but I didn't even consider entering because I never win anything, Shawn on the other hand was sure he had it in the bag, he put in his crinkled ticket and we waited till the very end for them to announce the BIG prizes. I found myself getting so nervous I couldn't believe it but what do you know. YAY, we had Jaxon ride out our brand new bike. Of course it was the wrong color though, only pink or purple would do.

So this is the bike Brylie traded it in for...

2011-02-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

Shawn: "Bry, what do you want to be when you grown up?...Do you want to be a doctor?
Brylie: "No,....a butterfly"

Birthday Bug

2011-01-18T16:43:00.000-08:00

Even crazier than the fact that my baby is two is that I have a FOUR YEAR OLD!!
I know... nuts right?! I always thought you had to be a grown up to have kids that old, turns out I was wrong and Bry pretty much takes care of all of us. :)

On the 25th Brylie had her 4th birthday, at the time she was currently obsessed with ladybugs...she requested a ladybug pillow pet as her birthday present, insisted on being one for Halloween, and begged to have a ladybug party with her cousins. She really didn't have to work that hard talking me into it because well I love to throw a party, and immediately thought of many, many cute black & red things.

Bry really has turned into such a sweetheart! She is sooo helpful, the BEST big sister, and very neat & tidy (always cleaning her play room). I honestly LOVE this little girl, she is one of my best friends, and already all grown up.

All about Brylie Jo:
FAVORITE FOOD-Hot Kind Noodles & Mommy Kind Cereal (Cajun Chicken Pasta & Special K w/ strawberries)
FAVORITE COLOR- Purple
FAVORITE ANIMAL- Ladybugs (although she recently told me maybe she was getting to big for ladybugs and was considering switching to kitties and horses)
FAVORITE PRINCESS- Rapunzel (she is now determined to grow her hair to the floor)
FAVORITE MOVIE- Tangled
FAVORITE SONG- Taylor Swift "Princess Song" ...(everyday #8 mom)
FAVORITE THINGS -Fancy parties

And on to OCTOBER...

2011-01-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

In October my dad was taking a group to visit Eastern Europe. He happened to have a few extra spots and luckily that happens to be Shawn's down time (except for hunts of course.) even so being the amazing husband he is, he offered to keep the girls while I went.
Obviously I didn't hesitate and jumped at the opportunity to tag along.
It was BEAUTIFUL!! Seriously amazing, every place so different and gorgeous. I now have the itch to travel even more, I told Shawn we have to make it happen at least once a year or I would be willing to go without men if anyone else wants to join me ;)

Overlooking Montenagro

Bled (probably my favorite, straight out of a fairytale :)

Island of Burono, Italy

On top of the Castle in Bled

Dubrovnick

Plitvice Lake (Most beautiful walk I have ever taken)

Best gelato ever! Yum, so smooth and creamy, really it makes me want one just looking at it. My mom and I had at least one a day. :)

The ONLY picture you will find of my dad

Venice

More September happenings...

2011-01-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

Shawn has been crying for 3 yrs that he hasn't been able to get in his annual Lake Powell trip, so this year the entire Drake clan got together with their many toys to make sure Shawn had an amazing day at the Lake.

Brylie on her first day of preschool at Mrs. Lisa's

More outdoor outings

Jen is always so creative in finding ways to entertain the kiddos :)

I know it does look like she is about to pee, but the kids were LOVING this bouncing on the board game.

Hello World :)

2011-01-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I realize I have been a complete slacker in the blogging world since we have returned from Baltimore, but we have been loving being home as well as the added bonus of having Shawn around more often. We have been so busy filling up our time with holidays, outings, and many many projects. So because this is my ONLY method of journaling or scrapbook right now, I have to play catch up. I realize this will all be old news, and very boring for anyone to read so just an advanced apology and feel free to check back in a month or so when I will "hopefully" be caught up to now. :)

Starting with SEPTEMBER!
(I know I am really behind :)

On the 5th my baby turned 2!!!

Shawn made it home just in time to celebrate Lauryn's second birthday. I know everyone says this but seriously I have no idea how she is already two. Really when did that happen!? My sweet, mellow baby girl suddenly became this independent, grown up with a WHOLE lot of attitude. But I must admit I love this age. I love it. Everything she says and does seems to be hilarious, I could spend my days just following her around and laughing.

Just a few fun facts I want to remember about our Lauryn at age 2...

NICKNAME: "Tink" , which originated from being Shawn's wing man (such a daddy's girl) aka Tiny Wing...which Brylie changed to Tiny Wink due to that fact that she does wink all of the time and has since she was 6 mo old...which then just shortened itself to "Tink" and that one has stuck.
FAVORITE SHOW: "Da boots" - translation: Dora & Boots
PERSONALITY TRAITS: All girl!! Must have dresses and skirts all of the time, although still very wild and definitely runs the show at our house. Nonstop jabber mouth and very entertaining.
BEST FRIENDS: sister "Byleee" (Brylie) and cousin "La La" or (Londyn)

Well, that is probably all I can handle for today...yes, this catching up may take a while but I will try to be better tomorrow.

What else we've been up to...

2010-08-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

Our Summer back East is quickly coming to an end, but we have had an awesome time and below are just a few things we have being doing to occupy our time...

DC

Museum of Natural History

Museum of American History

Michelle Obama's inauguration dress...

Aerospace Museum

White House

They really don't let you get too close..completely surrounded by gates and security

Crab cakes and football...that's what Maryland does!

ok so I guess we just had crab, (although Shawn has tried crab cakes twice out here) this was purely crab but the real true Maryland Blue Crab experience where they dump the whole thing directly on your table and give you a mallet. Lauryn and Bry both really enjoyed the smashing part but it only Lauryn appreciated the taste.

Annapolis & United States Naval Academy

And of course it is not summertime with out baseball games and hotdogs.

Wow!!

2010-08-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

I have heard a lot about this floating temple since I got out here, I couldn't quite get what people were saying so I of course had to check it out for myself. Shawn and I drove down to find it a few Sunday's ago and as we were driving along down the busy freeway I suddenly looked up to find... the "floating temple". Immediately I knew what everyone meant.
You cannot tell due to the poor night time abilities of my camera,but that is exactly how it appears... glowing, floating above everything else.
Beautiful, Amazing, WOW! (no wonder there are so many car accidents :)
Brylie was immediately in love as well because it looked like something that popped out of one of her fairy tales. She loved walking around the grounds to stare up at it and could not stop asking questions.
"Mommy, why does Jesus close his castle at night time?"
"If we come back tomorrow can we go inside and visit him?"
"Mommy I want to see where Jesus's bed is."
I am not very well equipped to answer her many questions, but I do love how her mind works. :)

Inner Harbor

2010-07-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Inner Harbor is in downtown Baltimore and only a 15 minute train ride away. We have visited it quite a few times because it is so close by, and Brylie is always asking to see the boats. I think it is such a pretty part of the city where you can relax by the water, watch the street performers, and enjoy a slight breeze. :)

Amish Country

2010-07-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

When my mom was here we headed down to Intercourse, PA. I know it's hard to hear the name without laughing but that really is the town, and really I do "heart" intercourse-as i have the key chain to prove. :) It is like stepping back in time... wagons, horses, buggies, homemade everything, exactly how you would imagine it. Well except for the giant Target down the block but other than that exact. Very cool.
We did get stuck at the petting zoo for quite some time because well, that was a party in itself. But Bry had her mind set on going for a ride in the horse & buggy, unfortunately by the time we found one she was only able to last 5 minutes before crashing...I do hope she enjoyed those 5 minutes. :)

Life back East

2010-07-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

I am loving how different things are back here. There are SO many places to visit...I can't seem to fit it all in. One of our first ventures was to Gettysburg. It was BEAUTIFUL! Yes, sad too...but really pretty. The drive there was filled with rolling green hills, big red barns, and cows everywhere. I do realize we have cows in Utah but,...this seemed a bit more picturesque. :)

Home Sweet Home....for the Summer

2010-06-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

After YEARS of complaining about stability and a life plan...I finally decided to embrace my situation of living like a gypsy and now love the fact that I get to experience new places, and meet awesome people every summer. It is a fresh start with a whole new state, new empty (clean for a minute) apartments, and whole lot of undiscovered things to see and do! So although I am still a true lover of lists, goals, and plans I have "tried" to stop nagging Shawn and enjoy the apx/amp/alarm experience while it lasts.

This Summer our destination happened to be Baltimore Maryland, actually Towson to be exact but only about 10 minutes from Baltimore. I was thrilled to find out we were heading back East this year, It is completely different than where we have lived before and I have always found it so pretty, with history everywhere. So far I have not been disappointed.

Below are just some pics of our apartments this year...which may just be my favorite to date

We are Here!!

2010-05-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

It took us 3 1/2 weeks longer than Shawn but we have finally made it to Baltimore/Philly.
Towson Maryland to be exact. We have been here a little over a week and I have so many pictures of so many things, but only get the internet while sitting on my deck. Although..I do love to sit on the deck...I usually spend that time checking on all of YOU! Hopefully soon I will get ambitious enough to upload some pics, until then I just wanted to say Maryland is BEAUTIFUL! Super green everywhere, and so far the weather has been perfect.

Fitting it all in

2010-04-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

We sent Shawn off to Baltimore, and are down to our last few days in Utah, these are just a few random pictures as we tried to get everything in before heading out.

Four Wheeling

Manicures & Pedicures

Projects

Camping

Cousins

As much daddy time as we could get in!

And of course packing, and more packing!

Sunshine

2010-04-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

In the words of Brylie...

"Ahhh...I LOVE the sun. It is soo beautiful and it makes me all warm & comfy."

So True.

Lot & Lots of Easter Pics

2010-04-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

In no particular order...but great fun!

City egg hunt...very unsuccessful

Bry rushed in to tell me, "Mom I got NONE...we all got NONE!!!"

The girls Easter loot

Shawn's Easter loot...Brylie helped me pick it all out.

Flying Kites

Rolling the eggs
(I guess it's a Kanab tradition, although I have ALWAYS assumed it was world wide, what could be more fun than rolling eggs down a sand hill!)

Making a trail

Making faces

Baseball with the eggs

And of course shooting is also part of the tradition.

Easter

2010-04-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Bry's matter of fact statement after I tried to explain why we celebrate Easter...

"Nails aren't suppose to go in hands and feet, they are to put in the wall to hang things."

I completely agree.

Birthday Bliss

2010-03-27T01:46:00.000-07:00

Shawn tries to convince me that birthdays are only a big deal until around age 12, then you begin to outgrown them and it's just a regular day. I for one refuse to believe this logic. I love ANY reason to celebrate, and fully believe that EVERYONE should have their own special day-(or in my case own birthday week) dedicated just to them. :) So although Shawn may disagree he knows how I feel, and every year tries to accomadate by making every birthday great. This year was exceptionally good due to great friends and family.

I began celebrating Thursday night by going to the always delicious Pastry Pub, with my very thoughtful friends Hollie & Mikkel-yummy food and good company! It was great, thanks guys. :)

I then came home to a fairly clean, empty house. After some investigating I found out that Shawn had taken the girls to get a few things to surprise me. (So sweet!) I actually think they were meant to be saved until the next day, my ACTUAL birthday but Brylie is a terrible secret keeper, and gets much too excited to hold anything in. She immediatly called to say..."Mommy, we got you a cake, and a balloon with flowers on it, and oreos, and tiny-one sprite (which is really pepsi in the small cans, but to Bry everything is sprite...but I do love everything in small sizes. :) a card, AND a present!!!!" She was so thrilled to tell me about EVERYTHING , and the fact that she helped to pick it all out.

That night Shawn put both girls to bed without any help from me, and the celebrating continued throughout the weekend. Including sleeping in tell 8:30, breakfast in bed, lunch with my sister, a dance recital where Brylie shinned in her "under the sea" routine. (actually it was pretty bad, she had no idea what she was suppose to be doing, but at least she is still young enough that EVERYTHING is cute.) Date Night included dinner and a movie with Shawn, and Saturday we were even able to meet up with my parents for dinner on their way home from Ireland.

I feel completely spoiled, and so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family that make everyday fun! Thanks so much everyone!

P.S. I also TOTALLY appreciated all of the facebook comments, I felt very popular! :)

Below is purely for me, my quarter of a century checklist of things done, and still to be done. I'm sure I will be adding to it constantly.

25 Year Checklist...

Great husband--- I think so, CHECK
College Degree ---- CHECK
2 cute kids ----- CHECK
Live in 5 States ----CHECK
Buy 1st home ----- CHECK
Travel to Asia -----CHECK

Before I'm 30 To Do's...

Visit Europe
Career plan
Live in 2 more states
Visit at least 5 states
Trip to Disneyland :)
Another baby????...possibly
Buy bikini and wear ONCE without hiding
Become a better person
Hot air balloon ride
Swim with dolphins
Complete my many projects

Ta-Daa!!

2010-03-20T16:53:00.001-07:00

PROJECT OF THE WEEK....
One day sitting in my home I just happened to mention to my friend Jen that I have always wanted a red wall, but their really is not a wall without cupboards or doors to do it. Jen being the amazing, talented person that she is thought of painting the pantry. "What a great idea!!!" However me, being the procrastinator that I am would have put it off another year...so once again my amazing, talented, and ambitious friend Jen made it happen. On Monday she and her husband Kyle drove over just to help me paint. (Did I mention what good friends they are? :)

BEFORE:

So I did not think to take a before picture until we were mid-way through the first coat, so this is all I could come up with. One before we moved in, and one at Lauryn's birthday. (Just try to see past the balloons to the boring drab spot with a clock on it.)

Here is Jen applying the first coat of paint...
(At this point I was pretty much freaking out because my paint was extremely bright, and slightly pink! But doesn't Jen look cute sitting up on the fridge...and she was my reassuring voice the whole time.)

Here is Jen applying the second coat of paint...
(At this point I was sitting in the corner sipping on my coke, while Jen was hard at work. I really do love this girl! What would I do without her, she did everything! THANKS JEN.

AFTER....Ta-Daaa!!!

It took 3 coats of paint, and all morning but I Love IT!!!
I really had no idea how plain, and boring it really was before; until I saw this wonderful splash of red that I had been missing my whole life. :)

Thanks again Jen, I really can't thank you enough, and can't wait to do many more projects so you can teach me all your many talents. Oh, and a special thanks goes out to Kyle & Shawn for their hard work watching the kiddos while we painted. (ok maybe it wasn't HARD work...but still thank you.)

From 3 to 13

2010-03-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

Below: My conversation with Brylie while dealing with two naked girlies and a tub full of poop...

Me: "Brylie, go tell daddy I need his help."
B: Umm...I don't really want to mom."
M: I don't care if you don't want...if I tell you to do something, you just do it!"
B: Ugh..you can't be serious!

Please tell me we have not hit the teenage comebacks already! How do I deal with that??
(So cute, but so so sassy. I will never know where she gets it. ;)

Good Times @ Grandma's

2010-03-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

LOVE

2010-02-14T12:58:00.001-08:00

So I am and will always be a hopeless romantic, but it's funny the way time alters your idea of romance. Instead of long walks on the beach what is more fun & romantic than princess dress up for daddy.
So in the spirit of Valentines day, here are just of the simple things I so love right now...
1. Lauryn's pattoned winks. I do not know many one year olds that can wink, but she has been doing it for the past 6 months and I LOVE it!!!
2. The way that EVERY single time we get into the car Brylie begs for Chicken Fired or Montana and the fact that both of

Adventures in Thailand

2010-02-05T20:17:00.001-08:00

As one of our many Christmas presents my dad sent us on a two week adventure to Thailand. ( I know my dad is a very generous man!) He had the whole thing set up for us from flights, to chauffeurs, to tour guides, and meals. We didn't have to worry about a thing.
So while the kids had their very own adventure at Grandma & Grandpas, Shawn & I headed out on a 20 hour plane ride to see a whole new continent. It was AWESOME! I of course had over 300 pictures from our trip, but thought that might be too overwhelming, so here a just some of those to describe what a great time we had.

Our first stop was Bangkok. It was crazy, busy with over 7 million people, but also had the neatest temples that were completely gold plated. Here we are at the Grand Palace.

The Floating Market
We headed down the river in these tiny speed boats that took you to an entire market where they sold everything from a boat. (I pretty much felt like James Bond in my boat, speeding through the jungle.)

Rubbin the Buddha's Belly for luck!

Feeding the Elephants

so I must admit I completely made fun of Shawn for being such a giant baby when he was feeding the elephants...he wouldn't even go close enough for them to get it. But then our guide wanted me to put the bananas not just in their trunk, but directly in their mouth!!! Can I tell you how big these animals are?!?....No I can't, cause it would not do it justice. They are HUGE, and a bit funky feeling I might add. It was much more intimidating than I would have guessed. (on that note I guess I have to apologize to Shawn, even though he still did not go near their mouth. :)

Moi Tai Boxing-pretty brutal stuff!

The Orchid Farm-Beautiful!

In Chiangmai we were able to go to the elephant camp...which was AMAZING! You cannot believe what these elephants can do!

Dance, Hula Hoop...

play Soccer..

and paint! Much better than I can...I might add.

After the show, we even got to ride through the jungle, on our very own elephant!

here is our feet on top of an elephant. I don't know why I found that so cool, but honestly how often does that happen. Shawn also really appreciated the way his big ears fanned your feet. :)

Many beautiful Temples, and Wats in Chiang Mai.

I got very educated on Buddhism...pretty cool!

In Phuket we were able to...Relax, Relax, Relax!

Shawn & I enjoying our Pina' Coladas during happy hour. (virgin of course! ;)

one of my favorite things was just playin in the sand...too bad my girls weren't there to make it seem more normal for me to be building sand castles:); but I still had to write their names in the sand...oh & that is suppose to be Dora, (I thought Brylie would appreciate it.)

So I may seem a little odd...but Shawn's favorite pastime was bothering the crabs. (boys. I'll never understand) :)

For the last week my dad set us up in the JW Marriot and the resort was absolutely Gorgeous! My exact image of tropical paradise. Above is the view from our very own veranda. (We felt super high class for a few days. :)

This is where I was, while there were constant snow storms in Cedar City, I think it was the perfect time to go.

Our trip was amazing, beautiful, wonderful, relaxing, and unlike any other experience I've ever had. I can't thank my parents enough for allowing us to go. THANKS!!!

2010-01-28T11:06:00.000-08:00

Where I was yesterday...

Where I am today...

Although I do love my home, I think maybe I should have stayed gone a little longer. :)

We have arrived!

2010-01-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

After...

4:00 am wake up
3 hour drive
1 delicious Cinnabun
5 in flight movies
2 airpline magazines
1 entire novel
4 different airports
About 5 Cokes
4 games of tic-tac-toe
10 notebook pages of scribbles and doodling
3 terrible airplane meals
5 bathroom trips
and two days later

We have finally made it to Bangkok Thailand!

Christmas Time

2010-01-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas in Kanab as usual and had a wonderful time. We went to Grandma Shawna's for Christmas Eve Dinner then spent pretty much the rest of the time at my parents house.

Grandma & Baby Myla

Lauryn couldn't get enough of this sled! All of the cousins took turns dragging her around the house and she was loving it!

We had a hard time keeping Lauryn out of the presents she just could wait to rip into that paper!

Christmas Eve Playing out the nativity story.
We then sang Christmas songs, set out cookies for Santa , and hurried off to bed.

MERRY CHRISTMAS MORNING!
The kids didn't wake up until about 7:00 the next morning, which was extremely difficult for me because I strongly believe it still needs to be dark outside when you open presents, but I couldn't risk grumpy kids, so I waited patiently, and Lauryn sure was excited!

This kid loves her hats!!

Cute little bike from Grandpa Geno!

Say "CHEESE"!

Brylie and Summer baking. These two have a love, hate relationship and you can probably tell which one Bry is feeling at the moment...

but they make up quickly! :)

NEW YEARS EVE

games with grandma

and movie time!
(There are 12 kids stuffed on that bed, not sure how comfy it would be,
but quite a party.)

Lisa couldn't wait to put her kids to bed so she could finally get her hands on their new Wii game.

Here she is practicing to be the next American Idol. "You go Lis!"

Sledding, Sand Dunes, Bon Fire, & 5 Gallons of Hot Chocolate.
What could be more fun than that?!

New Years Resolution #1- Catch Up!!!

2010-01-04T20:54:00.000-08:00

Sadly my motto lately has seem to be "better late than never" (resolution #2 is to get a better motto for myself) but until then here I am mid January trying to catch up for October/November. Seeing how I'm so behind I just wanted to do a quick recap of the fun times we had during these months....

My brother-in-law Jason coaches football for Cedar High and Brylie loved going to the games, I couldn't believe how excited she was about them, even when the weather became freezing!!! She insisted on wearing her football shirt to every single game and joined right in cheering and playing with the boys.

Drake Family 5th Annual Pumpkin Festival

Good food, family, and fun!

All the cousins painting pumpkins

Halloween Party & Brylie turns 3!

The girls had a Dance Magic Halloween party, and they were so excited for the chance to wear their Turkish belly dancer outfits Aunt Jessica had just brought back for them from Turkey. They jingled everywhere they went. :)

After the Halloween party we had a little birthday party for Brylie with the family

the party continued all night when the cousin got to sleep over and eat popcorn in the living room. (now that is a special treat! :)

Carving pumpkins with dad

My nephew was baptised on Halloween day so the whole family was in town, and I can never pass up a chance to have another party. We had our very own Halloween carnival at my house.

TRICK OR TREAT!

Shawn's sister Callie had her baby right before Halloween, Damian Gene, Brylie thought such a tiny little person was pretty neat.

Brylie got her dance costume, and now believes she's a natural performer.

Brylie decided it was a great idea to start dressing herself. I promise my daughter really does own cute clothes, but you would never know because I cannot talk her into anything and she truly believes skirts are for every day, even if there is snow outside. (What do ya do???)

In November we made our first visit to see Santa Clause!
As you can see it went over fantastically....

here I am dragging Brylie over to see Santa,

here is Brylie pissed that I made her sit on his lap.

Lauryn had a similar reaction, but I had to get a least one picture!

'Tis the Season to be Jolly!

2009-12-22T13:23:00.001-08:00

And I AM!!!
But when I think of jolly, it includes round & happy and unfortunately both apply after the way I have been binging on all the delicious holiday treats, but I've been enjoying myself while doing it, and there's always the new year right?!! :)

Anyways before I go off to celebrate with the fam, I wanted to post a few of the fun times we have been having this holiday season.

This was Brylie's first year going with the boys to cut down the Christmas tree, I think she froze her tooshie off and made Shawn carry her through the snow most of the time but thought she was pretty cool to go with the big boys, and continues to say "mom I got to go, cause I'm big, but Lauryn's too little. "

They did come home with a beauty though! Much bigger than usual and we did not have near enough ornaments to fill it, but Lauryn had a great time playing in the few we did have.

Brylie preformed her Suzy Snowflake dance at the Christmas Festival, and in my opinion was the cutest little snowflake up there! I thought she would be much to shy to preform on stage, but she seems to love it and is so excited when she tells me, "Mom, they clapped for me!"

This is Brylie with her cousin Summer who is only 7 months older and they are the best of friends!

What is a Christmas party without Princess's!! Here they are with Cinderella.

Bry & Summer found their favorite tree and of course it is pink!

Because I am a holiday fanatic as well, we tried to fit in as many Christmas movies as possible, and saw a lot of Barbie singing Christmas carols.

The girls are at such a fun age, and get almost as excited about Christmas as I do. Lauryn walks around the house saying "HO, HO, HO, & Fa, la, la, la, la" while Brylie reminds her not to pout or she will be on the naughty list with Swiper. We of course have been trying to teach Brylie that Christmas is more than just Santa, but she continues to tell me, "Mom, Christmas is when Santa Clause brings us presents, but....Jesus gets to blow out all of the candles!" (I hope she's getting it. :) All in all, we have had a wonderful holiday, and it's a little bitter sweet that Christmas eve is already here. I'm sad to see it come to an end, but cannot wait to see the girls faces on Christmas morning!

Merry Christmas to all...And to all a good night! :)

What am I missing???

2009-12-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

So Saturday night was date night. No not a typical thing, but we had two movie tickets which had to be used before the end of the year and also had to take advantage of my wonderful generous sister before she left for the holidays. ;) thanks Lis.

Anyways I somewhat tricked Shawn into taking me to New Moon, because although ALL of my friends went without me, I still had not seen it, and had to see Jacob for myself. :)

So I get that it would be a hard story to make, but every one who loved the books, seemed to love the movies. So I have to ask what am I missing? I truly LOVED the books but I can't help but laugh at the corniness of the movies. I mean running through fields of flowers.....
Don't get me wrong I have always had a soft spot for Jacob, and immensely enjoyed looking at him without a shirt for two hours, but other than that found the movie kind of long and silly. I will say it was much better than the first one... I just wondered if people were seeing something I didn't or maybe I just need to get back in touch with my love for the twilight's. :) It has been a while since I read the books.

The threat that worked.

2009-12-11T11:53:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled to say goodbye to the "terrible two's" only to find out we were entering the stage of the "terrifying threes." Brylie is a really good girl, 90% of the time, but she has a mind of her own and is always trying to prove a point. Lately it has been a fit just to show she is not going to budge if it's not her idea. Naturally, as any good mother would do, when these fits occur I resort to threats...

The first being Jesus. "Brylie, please be nice to your sister. It makes Jesus really sad when we're not nice, we need to make him happy."
Sadly this one had little effect, really didn't seem to phase her much at all. I mean she doesn't usually like making people sad but at the same time it wasn't going to be enough to change her mind at that moment.

So next I tried Santa. "Brylie, it is not okay to act like that; Santa Clause does not bring toys to naughty little girls, you need to be nice if you want any toys for Christmas. Do you want Daddy to call Santa and tell him how your acting??"
This threat worked slightly better, she thought it over seriously and behaved for at least a few hours before stating "That's okay mom, I already have toys, I not need Santa to bring me anymore."

Ahhhhh....What's a mother to do??

The one and only threat I have found that worked for my Brylie, was one she created for herself. She saw the commercial for Princess & The Frog weeks ago, and decided along with her cousin Summer that they were going to go see it as soon as it came out. Brylie has been talking about it ever since and tells everyone we run into. I'm going to see Princess and The Frog . I of course immediately jumped on this opportunity to try to create far less battles in our home. And....ta da...it worked!!!!

Brylie: "I'm not getting dressed!"
Me: "So you don't want to see Princess & the Frog?
Instantly dressed! :)
Can I mention how easy today has been. My sister must have mentioned that today was the opening day ... Brylie woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, cleaned up her toys, and put herself back down for a nap.
Thank you Princess & The Frog, my only major dilemma is...what will I use now that she has seen the movie???

ANYHOW, ENJOY BRY. YOU EARNED IT!! :)

Lauryn thought it was really neat to sit in her own big kid chair for about...10 minutes after that we spent the rest of the movie chasing her. (I think next time we'll leave her at home with daddy.)

New York, New York

2009-12-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

So I realize it is now mid December and I have yet to catch up for October/November, but before I do that. I had to update on our latest adventure to New York City.

PRE-WARNING: Great trip...LOOONG Blog!!

Luckily my family does a few fun things, and lets us tag along. This time it happened to be my brother-in-law's dental convention. (who knew dentistry could be so much fun.) I actually don't know how much of the convention he made it to but all that really mattered is that he had an extra hotel room and was kind enough to extend an invitation to his favorite sister-in-law. :) (ok maybe it's Shawn he likes, but we'll take what we can get.) Anyhow thanks to his hotel room, my dad's frequent flyer miles, and my mom's wonderful grandma/babysitting skills we were able to have a an awesome, kid free week in Manhattan.

Shawn & I thought since we were in NYC on Thanksgiving, we had to at least attempt the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. It was complete chaos and more people than I could ever image, but totally worth the experience at least once.

These balloons were enormous and had about 40 people underneath directing them. I of course had to get a picture of Dora to send to Brylie at grandma's house. Now she says "Mom, you should have taken me there with you." Next time Brylie.

This is where Shawn and I stood amongst the thousands of people. I had to sit on the subway rail because...well I'm short. But I did have a much better view even though my bottom was completely numb & I nearly fell to my death about 5x from people pushing me. Thankfully we both survived and met some very nice people from South Carolina.

My niece Jaycie & I in Central Park

TIME SQUARE...Shawn is in awe, quite the site for us small town folk. :)

Christmas Spectacular @ Radio City Music Hall.
The Rockettes were pretty amazing and I think Shawn was quite impressed with their leg extenstion.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE

My nephew Landon's favorite attraction on the trip was the Charmin building. He could not believe it was a whole building designated to toilets! It was pretty amazing, they had people outside dressed as toilets, singing about enjoying the go, then you went up the escalator to your own private bathroom with an ipod, and the nicest toilet paper ever! Then a giant pit filled with toilet paper to jump in, and as you left they would take your picture on a giant toilet. Quite the place! Said to be the best seats on Broadway, and I don't know if I could argue.

"City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style..."

ok so as corny as I may seem, and regardless of Shawn's numerous rolled eyes, I seriously sang this song the entire week as we walked the streets because that's exactly what it reminded me of. Every window had the neatest Christmas displays and all of the buildings were lit up. I LOVED IT!!!

The above window theme was "Couples that were meant to be..." (Cleopatra & Marc Anthony, Salt & Pepper, Michelle & Barack Obama-Peter did not appreciate that one, but I had to get a picture of Mr. & Mrs. Clause.)

Ice Skating in CENTRAL PARK....

Actually Jess & I sat this one out. I know kind of a party pooper but my last experience in Boston was not the best, and I thought my body would be safer on solid, dry ground.

I had a great time, watching the kids try it for their first time. Talk about good sports...they sure don't give up! :)

It was usually Jaycie helping Landon up, I don't think he lasted on his feet more the 2 minutes at a time but it didn't stop him from trying and I just happened to catch Landon as the hero. What a sweet brother!

And what could be better after a workout of ice skating or watching people ice skate, then a hot dog from a vendor. I think Landon ate 3, which could not top Peter's 6. (I don't think he slept very well that night, glad I wasn't rooming with him. :)

Between all of the fun we thought it might be a good idea to include a little education on our trip, so we headed to the Museum of Natural History. (aka: where Night at the Museum was filmed.)
Jaycie of course wanted to stay the night to see if the exhibits really came alive.

The dinosaur exhibit was awesome. As you can tell by the expression on Peter and Shawn's face, they are completely enthralled.

This is me on the moon...

this is how much I weigh on the moon.

Shawn of course thought we had to make it to at least one sporting event while in the city, and I opted for the one in doors. So on Saturday night we headed to Madison Square Garden and were lucky enough to scalp some tickets for 20 bucks a piece. I felt a little dirty while doing it, but I love a good bargain!

Turns out they were playing the Orlando Magic, so I was even able to see Jamie's Duke boy toy J.J Reddick make it off the bench to score two points. (He is quite the cutie Jame. )

After the game we headed over to the Empire State Building, to check out the view.

It was pretty windy that high up, we were worried Jaycie might blow away.

STATUE of LIBERTY

that is one LARGE foot!

The United Nations, where a lot of important things happen.

ROCKEFELLER CENTER

unfortunately we didn't get to see the tree lit up because they were doing it the night we flew home. This is just a small portion of our trip, but I have already gone on much to long, needless to say it was an amazing trip and thanks so much to Jess & Pete for taking us along.

Not too soon...but trying to catch up!

2009-11-02T19:21:00.000-08:00

Apparently we are trying to experience life as the Amish do, and have spent the last two months without cable or internet. It has been rough at times but I've found I am more productive without my usual excuses to be lazy so September and October have been jam packed with our many projects and outings. I'm stealing the internet from my mom's house so don't have time to update on all of those outings but will begin with September. So here you have it, what we've been up to. September at a glance....or more like a long stare. :) Sorry about that.

Lauryn turned 1 on September 5th and decided to get attitude!
She is still our sweetie and I am loving this age!

Brylie began her dance class, and in my opinion is the cutest little ballerina.

Shawn turned 27 on the 10th and I know you may have a hard time seeing him. :)

We were so excited to spend time outdoors, and had to make up for a summer of apartment living. The weather was perfect for this and we had a great time enjoying all of our outdoor activities.

Here we are roasting marshmellows with the cousins.

There were many road trips to visit grandparents and cousins, but Brylie thought they were a breeze compared to her journey from California and decided to kick her feet up with a slurpee and head phones. What could be finer! :)

Reunions and Canoeing at Zion's Park

Fishing and Potty Training at Duck Creek

And yes Brylie is caught with her pants down, but there is no time out for potty trainin.

And finally hunting antelope in Wyoming.

It was actually my kind of hunt, we sat in a heated truck while we drove around and Shawn picked out which one he thought looked the best out of about 10-20 we saw along the drive. It was a good time, but I am yet to talk myself into actually eating the meat. Maybe I'll work my way up to it. September was a good month and hopefully I can update on October before the end of the year. :)

Will Catch Up Soon!

2009-10-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

So we have made it home safely...actually about a month ago, have loved being home and have stayed constantly busy. (mostly playing.) I will update on those adventures soon. This is just a quick post to let ya know I haven't forgotten you all...and I have not died. :) But still have no internet in my home. I know, it' s a little like missing a limb. I told Shawn that is our "TO DO" first thing Monday morning but we will see. Hope all is well with everyone...and hope to be back online shortly. :)

Jelly Belly

2009-08-25T12:31:00.001-07:00

Time is quickly running out for us in Cali and I still have activities on my to do list. Jelly belly is no longer one of them. Last Sunday we happened to be in Fairfield so I made Shawn stop at the Jelly Belly Factory to take the free tour of how Jelly Belly Beans are made. It was a lot of fun, and very insightful! :)

Bry was super excited about her hat...for about 2 minutes.

One of my main reasons for going was to get my sister a bag of belly flops (those are the jelly beans that don't look perfect, but still very tasty.) I am a very thoughtful sister and I know she has a sweet spot for Jelly Belly's, however they went up to $9 dollars a bag, and I'm NOT that thoughtful. But don't worry Lis we did manage to save you a free sample bag. :)

This Ronald Reagan picture is entirely made out of Jelly Beans, I thought it was so impressive!
(F.Y.I. He also had a sweet spot for the Belly Beans, and was the one who helped to make them famous. His favorite being blueberry,...i think. :)

Probably Brylie's favorite part of the afternoon was that Daddy let her have a picnic in the back of our car. She thought it was the coolest thing ever, and I was just super excited to find an Arbys, which are harder to come by out here...but I do love the curly fries. :)

Lake Tahoe-Part 2

2009-08-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

Scenic Overlook at Emerald Bay...

Ahhh...breathtaking :)

Bridger & Brylie worked REALLY hard trying to move this rock, they even recruited Kyle and I to help, but despite my astounding strength, it still wouldn't budge. :)

Fun at the Beach...

The beach was right across the street from our hotel, and even though the sand was not Cancun smooth it was still awesome to play in, the water on the other hand was FREEZING! Only the big boys were not bright enough to stay out. They risked the cold and dove right in.

Shawn finally convinced Brylie to join him, but as you can tell I think it was much too cold for both of them and Bry did not last long.

Lauryn & I were the only smart ones who decided to stay on dry land.

Evening walk...

Jen & I

I thought this bench was awesome and had to have a picture of it.

Later that night we had the kids sleeping soundly, but were not quite ready to end our fun for the evening. Shawn and Kyle came up with the brilliant idea to put a picnic table directly outside of our hotel room, close enough to hear the kids if they needed us but far enough we wouldn't disturb them. Great isn't it! I think the other residents may have thought we were a bit nuts, but it worked out perfect. With the exception of the guys beating us at cards it was such a fun day!

And of course a road trip, is not officially a road trip unless someone gets car sick. Luckily for me it was not in our car but of course when I saw Jen's panicked face my immediate response was to find anything to help...Shawn's on the other had was to grab the camera in time to snap one of Kyle heaving over the ledge, unfortunately he was a little too slow and missed his true moment of pain. This was just after as we were trying to clean up the mess. Poor Jen :( oh and poor Bridger who was the one who actually got sick.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend! I absolutely loved Lake Tahoe, and had such a great time. Thanks again to Jen & Kyle for letting us tag along.

Lake Tahoe-Morning Hike

2009-08-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

A little behind posting these but here they are...
Two weekends ago we were able to take a weekend getaway with our friends (also Shawn's cousin) the Allens to Lake Tahoe. I had never been before and seeing as it's only about 3 hours away from where we live, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to check it out, and I'm sooo glad we did. Luckily we had Kyle with us to be our guide to all the hot spots and pretty places. These pictures our from our morning hike to "Fallen Leaf Lake"

It actually wasn't so much a hike, more of a leisurely walk. Perfect for the kids.

The baby bjorn belongs to Jen, but what a cool contraption! I was so glad she had it for me to steal. I loved having free hands and Lauryn though it was pretty great too; definatly on my must haves for the next baby. :)

Bridger and Brylie loved playing with these dogs, but I think the dogs enjoyed it even more. Their two "moms" kept calling for them to come, but they were ready for some kid interaction.

And of course we had to stop so they could play on the giant log.

I honestly could have sat there all day. It was so quiet, peaceful, and GORGEOUS!

Bry was quite the little mountain goat she wanted to climb everywhere the big boys went and would not accept help from anyone!

Beautiful hike, Beautiful place!!!

There are many more good times and great pics from our Lake Tahoe adventure but I will save those for another day. :)

Family Photos

2009-08-13T20:10:00.001-07:00

We have been needing to do a family picture well ever since Brylie was born, but I am not much for pictures and kept finding reasons to put it off. Luckily I have a friend out here that takes amazing pictures and made sure we were able to get it done. These are just a few we took this morning that she already edited and sent to me. I was so impressed and thought they turned out great, despite my non-photogenic-ness , and my sassy, squirmy children!

Thanks again Liz, I love them and you are so amazingly talented!

Just Makes Sense.

2009-08-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

Brylie and I's conversation while we were chaotically getting ready this morning...

Me: Bry why are you pulling out all of the drawers?"
Bry: "Because I just love it."
Response: "Ok, I guess that makes sense."
Bry: "That's right mom"

Later that afternoon...
(In the Kitchen getting out all dishes, pots, utensils.)

Me: "Brylie what are you doing, your making a mess!"
Response: "No mom, I'm just making some sense."

I think she understood the concept perfectly :)

Painted Princess

2009-08-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

I should have realized she went to bed much to easily, but once again I wasn't about to argue when for once nap time was not a major battle.

I pulled down the covers to reveal Sleeping Beauty still in her dress up, covered in orange and markers leaking on the sheets.

At least their washable this time. :)

Six Flags with Daddy

2009-08-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Because the Apx office was able to hit their goal they gave all of the guys a ticket to Six Flags. I of course have my season pass, but Bry was thrilled to have daddy get to go on the rides with her dad.

Here we are with Melly & Max patiently waiting for the dolphin show to begin.

These animals amaze me! Next time I want to try swimming with them.

Brylie & Lauryn both were quite excited about the dolphins, and Bry had to keep demonstrating how high in the sky they could jump.

And thanks to our good friends Ashley & Danny Cope who watched our kids, we were even able to go on a grown up ride! "The Medusa" I must admit, I almost peed my pants a little bit, but LOVED IT!!! (I didn't think to take a picture of this so had to steal Hollie's. Thanks Hollie :)

Brylie was pretty upset she couldn't go on the big yellow ride so Shawn had to find her, her own "toller toatser."

Lauryn was a pretty good sport getting dragged around from ride to ride but by the end she was plum wore out. (thanks again to Ashley C. for getting her to sleep.)

Picnic in the Park

2009-08-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

The only major flaw to our house in the sky is there's no play area. We do have the rock park, but we recently got kicked out due to ornery neighbors and it's rising popularity of noisy kids. Luckily, we have a really nice park right across the street with lots of grass to run and play on.

We spread out our blanket or Jen's awesome GIANT towel...

enjoy our many snacks, (Lauryn's new favorite happens to be cheese.)...

play with friends...

meet new friends...

and get all our restless energy out!

Too Much Silence...

2009-07-30T12:14:00.001-07:00

Since my parents left on Sunday this was suppose to be a week of cleaning, catching up on long overdue laundry, and getting back into our typical schedule; however, that did not sound appealing at all! Instead I've found myself being completely lazy and enjoying every quite moment I have. (which honestly is not many.)
My kids are not really what would call easy going. OK let me rephrase that, BRYLIE is not easy going and wants constant attention, that is unless.....she is getting into trouble, in which case she says "mommy go take care of Lauryn" hint: leave her alone because she doesn't want me seeing what she is up to.
Lately however I really have not even cared what she was into as long as I could have 5 minutes peace. After about 15 minutes though I began to worry, and sure enough this is what I found...

Two little girls with no pants on and a whole bag of potato chips on the floor.

Lauryn apparently thought it would be easier to dump them out instead of having to reach into the bag every time!

Brylie was happy to help clean up after the mess she had made

but insisted on having Lauryn help too, because well, she was the one who dumped them on the floor.

As for the no pants, well I must admit that was probably just laziness on my part. :) And I still believe my 15 minutes of quiet was worth the mess.

Pics from our week with Grandma

2009-07-28T14:40:00.001-07:00

Brylie loved Waterworld and has wanted to go back ever since the first time. Grandma of course can never say no and promised to take her before she left. However she did this before knowing that the tempertature the next day was going to be 68 degrees, but Grandma is always a good sport, and the cold, cold weather did not slow Brylie down.

She dove right in and loved dragging Grandma around with her.
(Which is huge for my mom, because she does not like it cold!)

This is where Lauryn & I hung out most of the time, and actually outside of the water the tempurature felt quite nice, that is if I kept my jacket on. :)

Bry tried to be tough, but even she got a little cold.

Everyone loves to snuggle with Grandma!

This is where she ended up...

Apparently she couldn't get warm enough & had to hide.

Chuck E. Cheese

Once again we had a great time and it really doesn't need much explaining.

Lost Camera Cord!

2009-07-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

I know I have gotten behind on my blogging, which we all knew was coming, but I was hoping to at least stay on top of it during the summer when I have a little extra time on my hands, this time though it is genuinely not my fault. I have actually attempted to blog about our many adventures and cannot seem to find my camera cord ANYWHERE!!!! ( And it's just not the same if you can't have the pictures to go along. :) I'm totally upset about it...and am hoping it is just temporarily misplaced. Until then though I wanted to write a few things down before I forget them all and hopefully the pictures will come later.
My parents were able to come out this week because my dad was taking a group around the San Francisco area. We were only able to see him a few days because he was busy tourin around, but my mom stayed here with me and the girls which worked out perfectly because Shawn ended up leaving us to go sell a few hours away. Thank goodness she was here to entertain and keep us company! It was great week and we were able to lay by the pool, watch a few chick flics, visit Waterworld, Alcatraz, and spend quality time with Grandma. My dad was even nice enough to take me on the greatest date to see Harry Potter! I cannot believe there are not more Harry Potter fans out here, I thought for sure since they love their Twilight and vampires so much wizards would not be a stretch, but still I could not convince anyone to go see it with me so luckily my dad has great taste and came out just in time to join me.
I do love visitors but sadly they have to leave today to go meet my sister Jessica and her family in Hawaii for a week. (I know, I know retired life is rough. :) Brylie is terribly upset to see them go and continues to tell me she wants to go to Grandma's House. I tried explaining it is really, really far away, but she simply replies "well maybe we can drive faster!"
Anyhow, sorry no pics we will work on that later, and thanks mom and dad for a wonderful visit and constantly spoiling us!

Wormie

2009-07-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

This is the "Rock Park" so named by Bridger and widely know by all of the Apx kids.
It is on the first floor of our apartment complex and is the only spot of grass we have so this is the place we go when we can't handle the apartment any longer. (quite often :)

Our last visit to the rock park the kids found a friend ...

Wormie! He was quite the excitement and everybody wanted a turn to hold him, wormie was passed around, put in the dump truck to have a ride, and oohed and aaed at by all!

Poor Wormie, thanks for the entertainment, hope you survived....until next time!

Waterworld

2009-07-11T10:50:00.001-07:00

I bought a season pass for Waterworld before we came out to California, but just now realized that it is already July and we hadn't made it once. Between two girls different nap schedules it just seemed hard to find a time, but this last week Jen invited us to join her and her two boys there just for a few hours, and I am so glad we did! It is only 2 minutes away and Brylie LOVED it, because she could touch everywhere! Normally she is terrified of the water because she does not want it in her eyes, and even though we are always at the pool she usually just wanders around with her friends and will put her feet in the hot one. I can never actually get her to swim in the pool, but here she was thrilled to be able to walk around the entire kiddie area without the water even getting close to her eyes.

Brylie being the extremely cautious girl she is climed up and down the stairs of the slide, examining it each time, before she finally decided it was ok to go down. After which she seriously stated "I Love it!" and continued to go again, and again.

She also had to approach this turtle very slowly and carefully before it was ok to touch it. Then she patted his head and decided they we're friends.

Jen's little boy Bridger thought the water was much too cold to play in (which I agree), but because he just wanted to relax and eat snacks brylie had to keep recruiting Jen and I to come play with her. I kept trying to get out of it by saying I needed to see Lauryn but then she would just go over and drag Jen in the pool instead, she could not experience all this fun by herself! (Thanks for being such a good sport Jen:)

I love these babies!! Lauryn loves to play with Jen's little boy Roper who is only a month older. They get along so well, and are just the happiest, most easy going babies around. They do tend to get left behind quite often while we take the other kids to play, so thank goodness they have each other.

Waterworld turned out to be quite a success, we had to drag Bry out as the workers were cleaning up, and she continues to ask when we get to go again.

Sunday in the Park

2009-07-08T13:17:00.001-07:00

At the end of the week, I am usually going crazy from being stuck in the apartment with two kids and sooo anxious to get out and play. Shawn on the other hand is completely warn out from working all week and I'm sure would love to just relax and do nothing. He pretty much always gives me my way though and happily goes along with whatever activity I have planned for us. So this Sunday I tried to be a nice wife and not give in but compromise. :) After church and nap time we headed over to the cute town of Pleasant Hill where we stopped by Cold Stone for some delicious ice cream, then found a great little park to play & RELAX in.

Sunshine and ice cream-Life's little pleasures! :)
Lauryn could not get enough!

Shawn even bought Brylie her own little treat from the ice cream cart that was driving around the park. It was WAY to big for her and she made an absolute mess but was thrilled she had a Dora popcicle.

As much as Brylie wanted to take Dora on the swing with her, it wasn't quite working out...

after finally convincing her to hand Dora over to daddy, (just for a minute) we had a great time on the tire swing.

Lauryn got so excited on the slides but Bry pretty much just thought she was in the way of her going fast.

Luckily we found this slide where they were able to go side by side without getting each others way.

It was an awesome park, that Brylie DID NOT want to leave, but after promising to come back another day she grudingly walked back to the car asking constantly what happened to her dora. (Shawn had to be sneaky and throw it away while she was playing because it was dripping everywhere! We were hoping she wouldn't notice but no such luck, she is still bringing it up 3 days later.)

I think we all enjoyed ourselves and hopefully Shawn got rested up for another long week of knocking the doors.

2009-07-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

This year for the fourth we didn't have to make it to the parade till 11:30, which I loved and even nicer it happened to be right across the street! So the girls and I were able to ease into our morning, get ready, then catch up with the other kids and wives to watch the parade together.It was the perfect day for a parade not to hot or cold & I must admit Concord put on a pretty good show, although it did last a REALLY long time so we had to head over to the park a little early where we walked around the booths then enjoyed a nice little lunch while listening to some live jazz.

Davie & Brylie , so cute in their patriotic attire.

Stole this picture from liz because she actually had one of Bry holding still, and plus Liz's pictures are just always better than mine. :)

So it wasn't quite the dutch oven dinner and fireworks in the red hills that I would get in Kanab but instead here in Cali we have rainbow flags and equility for all, marching in the parade. Oh and also these cool dragon head things!

All of the Apx kids lined up patiently waiting for the parade to begin, (of course Brylie is not one to wait patiently and I could not get her to hold still for a picture either.)

After the parade had gone on for quite some time Bry decided to begin her own parade, marching with Bridger's light-saver.

Later that night after the guys got off work they headed to a park to have a little BBQ, play some football, and watch the fireworks. Unfortunatly I had to stay home with a tired little girl but could not let Bry miss out on the fun, so here she is so excited because she had her own snap pops.

Brylie was to interested in her light stick necklace to look up for a picture, she was thrilled that there happened to be fireworks that matched her necklace! "Look dad, they match! " (she's very into matchy matchy lately. My little fashion consious girl.)

Happy 4th of July to all!!!!!

A princess & her prince

2009-07-03T21:33:00.001-07:00

Brylie asked Bridger if he would be her prince and he makes such good one. You should see those dance moves. Aren't they cute!!!

Chocolate: The Best Medicine

2009-07-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

You would think I should know by now that Lauryn is too old, and wild to leave sitting on the couch. But I never learn and I was only two feet away picking up toys, so today she took quite a head dive, and let me tell you she was UPSET!!! I mean I could not find anything to calm this girl down. I knew she couldn't be seriously hurt because...well it's not that big of couch and all of her limbs moved fine. Any how I tried giving her carrots....no luck, rocking, singing, bouncing....still totally inconsolable. Desperate to quite her before she woke up her sleeping sister in the next room, I grabbed one of my favorite things. Chocolate! Oreo to be exact, but its all wonderful :) Sure enough within a matter of seconds, happiest girl in the world! The pain is forgotten and a complete mess from head to toe.

Just goes to show you, like mother like daughter... Carrots never seem to soothe me either, chocolate on the other hand always makes life a little better. :)

Chuck E. Cheese is now Open!!!

2009-06-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

I was pretty dang excited when I saw a brand new Chuck E. Cheese just a few blocks away from us. I mean who doesn't love Chuck E. Cheese, and to have it that close by...was just a dream come true. :) You can now imagine my utter dissapointment when I realized it wasn't even finished! I know, I know I was pretty upset but Mikkel had some calming words by letting me know that they only had 3-4 weeks to finish. I waited patiently and soon enough that grand opening time was here.

Brylie was almost as excited as I was, especially when the "real" chucky even came out. He was actually doing a birthday party but Bry kept yelling. "Chucky, chucky, HI, I'm over here!" It tooks a few minutes of following him around to get his attention but Brylie was thrilled!

She actually just enjoyed climing on the rides, and didn't even realize they were suppose to do anything...so we should have saved the tokens for another day, but once she did figure them out she wanted to share with everyone!!! Those tokens did not last long.

She kept saying mom I share with davie, however it wasn't until a few parents came up to me giving me their tokens that I realized she was putting money in for EVERYBODY to ride! (soooo thoughtful)

Well we all had a great time and I am sure will be visiting there more often.

Girl Time

2009-06-27T16:36:00.000-07:00

Although we spend a lot of time just us girls, we rarely get to have good quality pampering "girl time", but this last Monday thanks to Hollie's friend Crystal coming to visit, who happens to do gel nails and toes, we we're able to get mommy, daughter pedicures!

Originally it was only going to be me getting the pedicure, but of course Brylie could not be left out. She LOVES anything girly and had to have pink sparkly like her mom. I tried to convince her that this was just for grown ups and we would find pretty finger nail polish for her when we got home, but she was not having that and continued to cry "I want to do my finger-toes pink, sparkly." Crystal was so sweet to finally give in and take the time to do hers.

Bry felt so grown up and had to rush home to call everyone we know and tell them that it tickled her toes and they were sparkly with a flower.

Ta-da!! Don't we look pretty. Thanks so much Crystal for the wonderful pedicures and thank you Hollie for the pictures, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to capture this exciting moment in Bry's life. :)

House in the Sky

2009-06-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

So I am probably one of the very few people who lived in the same house from the time I was born until I went to college. Brylie on the other hand has had a slightly different experience. At age two she has gone from our house in Cedar City to an apartment in Oklahoma City straight from there we headed to Emeryville CA, after which we came back to Cedar then on to Las Vegas NV, back again to Cedar, then into our NEW home in Cedar City to Grandmas house for a month and on out to our current location in California.

All of this moving and variety of homes may seem a bit confusing to a two year old, but she seems to manage by giving a different name to each of them. The new home we moved into in Cedar is .....of course "Brylie's New House", and it didn't take long to put a name to the apartment we're living in now. Everytime we walk out of the building Brylie points up to the windows and says "mom is that my house in the sky?"...

And EVERY time we drive down into the underground garage she yells "Hold on everybody we're going up to my house in the sky!"

I actually thought the name was quite clever and has definatly stuck.

Here she is in the loft of our apartment, on the very, very top floor of the building. Out this window you see mainly clouds and the tops of trees, hence the name "our house in the sky." That building directly below us is a movie theater, so that's a nice little convenience. :)

Fathers Day Fun @ Pixieland!

2009-06-22T15:26:00.001-07:00

So everyone knows Shawn is honestly worlds best dad! I'm not being cheesy it is truely almost annoying how much better he is at the parenting thing than I am. He is willing to do the dress up's, tea parties, get up at 6 a.m. and shockingly still deals with the dirty diapers. So for fathers day of course he wanted to do something fun with his girls. We tried to do Six Flags but it is was bumper to bumper trying to get in and lines all day long did not sound appealing, bry was set on rides so for Plan B we ended up at this little tiny amusement park called Pixieland. Some might find it rather cheesy but there were NO lines ( probably only 10 other people there total), Bry was tall enough for all of the rides and dads rode free. I thought it was a perfect little place to spend the day.

I was sure Bry would be terrified of this ride; it really had alot of drops and was pretty fast but she insisted on riding the dragon and ended up screaming the whole way, but just because daddy told her that's what you do on roller coasters, hold your hands in the air and scream. She loved it!

I think the airplane had to be her favorite she just wanted to keep going on it over & over.

Of course we HAD to have the pink one!

Doesn't she make such a cute little "Batgirl!"

As you can see Brylie is practicing her roller coaster hands.
Happy Fathers Day Everyone! And thanks Shawn we love ya.

Little bit of Lauryn..

2009-06-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

A good majority of my time is consumed by a very sassy two year old so today I just wanted to mention how much I appreciate my easy going, sweet & mellow little girl that I soooooo needed to keep my sanity. Lauryn Rae. Don't get me wrong Brylie is definitely the comedian of the house and many times my best cheerleader; (ex: when I FINALLY got the jar of spaghetti sauce open Bry's response was "good job mom, I knew you could do it, I'm so excited for you!") but this great cheerleader also has A LOT of attitude, and thank goodness we have our Lauryn always with a smile to calm down our many many battles. She is so happy all of the time and always willing to shell out slobbery loves!

Look at that face, it just helps my heart! :)

Did I mention how easy going she is, Bry has found her new favorite toy and it happens to be her sister.

Our day with Dora

2009-06-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

So anyone who knows Brylie knows she has an obsession with Dora the Explora, and has had since she was about 1. A good portion of Bry's first words actually were in Spanish. (thank you Dora.)
Any how the first weekend we got into town, there just happened to be a kidfest going on at the park across the street from us. There were booths, bounce houses, music, food and most importantly DORA. Once we heard this we couldn't miss it!

Bry was actually too shy to go up to or talk to Dora but she also was much to excited and awe struck to leave her. So we spent $15 and 45 minutes of our precious Sunday standing near...but not too near Dora the Explorer. TOTALLY WORTH IT!

Six Flags

2009-06-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well as I mentioned we are out living by San Francisco for the summer while Shawn works selling security systems, and being an Apx wife means a lot of LONG days as a single mom. It's pretty rough but we try to maintain our sanity by keeping busy laying by the pool, going to the park, shopping, and our most recent outing was to Six Flags Adventure Park. Shawn convinced me to come out with him by getting a season pass to water world and six flags so we didn't stay long for our first attempt, but Brylie loved the kiddie rides and all the animals she got to see in the zoo part. Mostly I think she just enjoyed hanging out with all of her friends .

Aren't they cute together! Melly, Bry, Max, Davie, & Bridger. Melly is such a good little mom already.

Lauryn & Roper got left behind most the time while we went on the rides but they didn't seem to mind to much. All in all I would say it was a good day for everyone!