The Maynard Family

January Happenings

2012-01-31T10:48:00.000-08:00

PHEW!! I finally got all the December posts done! What a BUSY, but fun month it was. January has come and gone and has been a lot more laid back! Brooklyn started back up in gymnastics and was able to move up a level- she is doing really well and loves it. We received a letter from the school telling us that she had been chosen as the "Citizen of the Month" for December. We are so proud of how well she is doing in school academically as well as socially. She had quite the crowd there to see her- as she sat down from getting the award, she said to my cousin, "Half the town of Newton came to see me!" (Such a crack-up!)

Gracie is also doing really well in preschool. It is so fun to see the learning and knowledge that is come to her. She wrote her name by herself for the first time in December and continues to love to write her name and other letters. Last Sunday, she started screaming that her ear hurt and that continued on for several hours until she finally fell asleep. I got her into the doctor the following morning and she had a nasty ear infection. Poor thing! It took her a good couple of days until she was really feeling better, but is doing much better now.

Ella continues to grow right before our eyes. I can't believe that she is almost 9 months! Pregnancy drags by SOO slow and then they get here and there is nothing you can to to slow down time! :( She has mastered crawling, although she still does lots of face plants. Last Sunday, she also went from laying down to sitting up all by herself. I love all these milestone that babies hit. She is loving her cereal too and is finally starting to like fruits and veggies. For awhile, she wanted nothing to do with them and just preferred the cereal. In November and December she went through a naughty phase of starting to not sleep through the night- we are talking she was up like 3 times a night. Not a nice thing to do to her mom! :) So we did the dreaded make her cry it out in her crib. The first night was bad- she cried for an hour straight. I would go in every 5 minutes or so and give her her binkie and then leave. Finally, after the hour she fell asleep and slept through the night. The 2nd night wasn't as bad, I think she cried for maybe 20 minutes. And then that was it and she sleeps through the night again and the crying it out really wasn't that bad! I think that moms can do anything if they have the right amount of sleep.

Don't mind the banner being upside down! ;)

Gracie has turned into a little crack-up- I was trying to get a picture of her and she was doing anything but smiling!

The gals put on their cute aprons that Chels made them and did some baking in the Easy Bake Oven- (I wanted to drop kick the thing through the window before it was all said and done!)

There she is ready to take off!

(Her poor hair is all over the place these days!)

Christmas Dresses

2012-01-30T22:30:00.000-08:00

With Christmas Day being so busy, I didn't get a picture of the gals in their Christmas dresses. (I should also have a picture on here on the burn damage my pinky received while making their bows.) I love that I was able to get matching dresses for them all- thank you Carter's- sadly I think this might be the last year of matching dresses. I sure love these gals!

New Year's Eve

2012-01-26T19:32:00.000-08:00

We had our annual New Year's Eve party at my Uncle Ric and Aunt Paula's. We had yummy food, good company, and good times!

My mom and dad had gotten the kiddos these cute matching outfits for Christmas- we tried to get a picture of them in them- it was not a success!! We even tried changing positions and still no luck!

I love this picture of Brooklyn- my cousin Jan made her homemade root beer- the kiddos always love playing in it!

Ric opened up his hot tub for the occasion and it was by far the highlight for the gals! Gracie talked about it ALL day before she finally got to get in!

We may of may not have turned to MTV and counted down with New York City- and we may or may not have had to rewind and forward several times until we were actually ready- thank you to DVR!

We always do a toast and Gracie and Garrett were LOVING this!! They loved to "cheers" their glasses together- they were quite hilarious!

And to end the night- my cousins dog cozied up to the most non-loving animal person I know- my mom! It was pretty hilarious! The picture doesn't do it justice to just how unimpressed she was!

Here's to a great 2012!!!

Temple Square

2012-01-26T18:50:00.000-08:00

Why oh why can't I keep up on this blog? I am still trying to get through our December activities. Gracie had seen a picture of Temple Square and decided that she wanted to go. So, we headed out on Friday the 30th before they turned them off on the the 1st. I think that every other person in the state had that idea too because there were about 5 million people there plus the weather was heavenly!! It was in the high 50's- we had brought all our warm gear and the gals ended up walking around for some of the time without their coats on.We talked about going to eat at Lion House and our plan changed when we got there and the line was out the door so we headed to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and ate there. We went up and saw Temple Square from the top- the gals thought that was pretty cool. We had such a great time and we were glad that we were able to squeeze the trip in before they turned off the lights!

And this is how Ella enjoyed seeing the lights!

Christmas

2012-01-13T07:53:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas morning. The gals woke up little before 8 and since we didn't have church until 1 we were able to enjoy the morning before heading to church. The gals were so fun to watch. They loved every minute of it. I love how when they would open a present they would yell, "Thanks Santa!" Ella loved the sound of the paper and loved being able to rip a little piece off and then eat it. It was great to go to church- to celebrate the true meaning of the season- the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. After church we headed to Newton- to Nat's- we had a wonderful breakfast and then opened presents before it was time for everyone to head to the in-laws. Grandma and Pops spoiled us!! My sister-in-law Chels had made all the kids aprons and cute little hats. The gals loved their presents from Garrett and Abby as well. In the afternoon, we headed over to the Maynard's- we had a yummy dinner and then once again we were spoiled! On our way home, we able to stop at Paula's house and visit with them for little bit. It was such a great, family filled day! I feel so blessed that we are surrounded by our family and so many people who love us and love to spoil our gals- thanks everyone!!

I love how they are holding hands

Gracie was so exhausted she fell asleep playing her LeapPad with her stylus in her hand

Christmas Eve

2012-01-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

We had a fantastic Christmas Eve day and Christmas Eve. We drove out to Stone to Sean's grandparents and spent the day there. We always have such a great time out there. Sean' uncle Kurt and aunt VaLyn and their boys were there- so Brooklyn was in Heaven- she has always loved to play with these boys and they are still cute and will play with her even though they are now all teenagers. The gals love to play in the snow, but since there was no snow this year, they went up to the canal and slid around on the ice. They had fun doing that and loved it when Tre fell in. They were also excited because they saw 2 Bald Eagles flying around while they were there. Sean's grandparents spoiled us, like they always do- his grandpa made Brooklyn a jewelry box. It is beautiful- and I failed to get a picture of it. Soon it was time to head out and go to the annual Maughan/Wright Christmas party! It was a TON of fun! The Nativity was a success with Brooklyn playing Mary, Gracie doing her part as an Angel, and Ella filled in as Baby Jesus! There is also a program where the kids (or adults) can perform if they would like. Imagine my surprise when my sweet little shy Gracie got up and sang "Rudolph" she got stuck on a part and ended up singing it 3 different time before she moved on. It was so funny! And when I thought it couldn't get more funny, up comes Garrett. I will forever laugh anytime I hear this song now!! He did his rendition of "Christmas, Christmas" from the Chipmunks. He had all the dialog and everything- the best part was when Dave yells "ALVIN" Garrett yelled it so hard that his little face went red and his whole body was shaking. It was epic. Brooklyn and cute little Ashlyn got up and sang "Silent Night" and did a cute job. And then to my astonishment Sean got up and sang- he does a mean Jimmy Durante- and sang "Rudolph". It was such a fun party- "the best ever" as my grandma Ila would say. Soon it was time to head home and get ready for Santa to come. My sister had given us a phone number we could call that was from Santa that would give updates of his whereabouts- it was SOO fun! When the gals went to bed they were so excited to hear that Santa had left South America and was headed the the United States! They did get to open one present before they went to bed, the annual Christmas Jammies- thank you Carter's for making a matching set in all their sizes! The plate was prepared and we were ready for Santa...

You can see in the background Tre's pants down- after he had fallen in

The performers- (gotta love Gracie's snow boots- she wouldn't wear anything else_

I love these gals!!

Limo Ride

2012-01-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

On the 22nd of December, I was able to live out a childhood dream and ride in an Escalade stretch limo!! In my mom's retirement, she has become quite taken with the show "Good Things Utah." One day while watching, a man came on talking about his limo service that would take people around to see the Christmas lights in SLC. My mom jumped right on this and decided that her and my dad were going to do this for our family. I didn't have any objections- seeing how I have always wanted to ride in one. We planned the day and told the kiddos that there was a big surprise for them, but didn't tell that what it was. We met at my brother Brian and Sher's house in SLC. The kids were (as was I) SOOO excited when they came out and saw the limo! We decided that we would drive to Thanksgiving Point to see the display that is there. It was so much fun! There was kinda weird lighting in it so some of the pictures I took have weird shadows. The gals keep asking when we get to ride in a limo again! Thanks mom and dad for the fun time!!!

The kids were so funny as we were driving through Thanksgiving Point, they could actually see better looking out the front window so they driver rolled the block down and they had their heads poking through. Garret would keep saying, "LOOK man it is a winter wonderland." "LOOK man it is a reindeer!" The guys was really good to them, but I think he was excited to get the window rolled back up!

All About Gracie- Age 4

2012-01-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

These are word for word answers our of Gracie's mouth-

Favorite Song: Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
Favorite Singer: Taylor Swift
Favorite Color: Pink and Purple
Favorite Show: Curious George
Favorite Movie: Curious George
Favorite Book: George's books and Alvin's books
Favorite Toy: Leappad
Favorite Animal: Pigs
Favorite Person: Taylor Swift
Favorite Game: The games on my Leappad
Favorite Place to go: Burger King
Favorite Activities: Play with stables (Nativities)
Things that Make You Sad: Brett and Chelsea going
Best Friends: Sissy
Favorite Food: Treats, Roll-ups
Favorite Treat: Christmas tree treats, snacks
Favorite Trip: Bear Lake
Things You don't Like to do: Cards

Brooklyn's Sing-A-Long

2012-01-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

*I am getting caught up- check out the 2 other posts beneath this one

At Brooklyn's school, they have sing-a-longs, where every grade performs songs the final week before going to Christmas break. The 2nd grade finished things up this year by having their sing-a-long on the 21st. It was great and Brooklyn even had a speaking part and did fantastic!

Gracie's Birthday

2012-01-02T22:15:00.000-08:00

December is a crazy month for our family- beside Sean and I's Anniversary, on the 20th was my little Gracie Kaye's 4th Birthday!! Gracie is such a little sweetie and I can't believe that she is 4 years old. She started Preschool this year and it doing awesome- she wrote her name all my herself for the first time writing her letter to Santa. For her birthday, she wanted to have a surprise party, open lots of presents, and watch Sissy (Brooklyn) perform with her gymnastics team at the USU basketball game. My mom asked her what she wanted for her birthday and her answer, "lots of presents." My aunt said, "okay, I will get you some plates and glasses." Gracie gave her a look and says in a disgusted tone, "Those are things for grown-ups." Same conversation someone said what about some artichokes? She says, "they choke people!" She is so funny and so literal. If I call her a doll she will tell me she is a girl- she cracks me up!! She has the biggest sweet tooth and loves to get licorice at my parents was house. So was beyond excited to get her own bag and some granola bars. As she was eating her cake she told my mom- "I thought you might have gotten me a can of Diet Coke." She got to have her surprise party at Frederico's- she was bit overwhelmed when she walked in and everyone yelled "SURPRISE!!" But she loved it and then we headed to the USU game to watch Brooklyn. It was such a great day!!

This picture is so funny because my mom didn't have an unopened bag of licorice so she wrapped up her baggie of licorice and Gracie just didn't know what to think of that.

10 Years!!

2012-01-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

On the 14th- this handsome man and I celebrated our 10 Year wedding anniversary!! I always had dreams of going to some exotic location on our 10 year, but having a 7 month old kinda put a little kink into that plan. I did however feel very lucky and blessed to be able to take a night and spend it in Salt Lake. Thanks to my AWESOME parents for so graciously taking the gals overnight so we could go! My brother Brian and his wife Sher sent as to a yummy Italian place named Vinto's. My niece Abby was in Primary Children's with croup so we went to the store Big Lots that was next door to get her a present. We ended up wasting a lot of time in there- that store is pretty random- we laughed because we spent so much time in there, but it was nice to know that we didn't have to hurry and we didn't have anywhere to be. The next day we shopped until we dropped!! We drove to the Fashion Place Mall to check at the much talked about H&M- I think I will like the store the next time I go and there aren't 5 million people there.

I can't believe that 10 years have come and gone since we were married- I feel so blessed to be married to this guy and 10 years later I love him more than I did the day we were married. Here's to the next 10 years!!

Christmastime Activities

2011-12-20T15:17:00.000-08:00

We have had a lovely month of December thus far! We have loved the music, the lights, talking about Jesus, and the overall spirit that is in the air. At Thanksgiving time, my cousin Kami brought some Gingerbread houses for the kids to do. Gracie had been talking about making a Gingerbread house since after Halloween and one day when Paula was watching her- Gracie called Kami and told her she wanted to make one- so Kami brought them up. The kiddos LOVED making them and ours is still standing strong at our house. We were also able to make it to the Live Nativity- this is something we have done for the past 3 or 4 years. (There is a place in Nibley that has a barn and they put on the the story or Christ's birth.) It is a very humbling experience. I remember when I was pregnant with Gracie around Christmastime and there at the end as uncomfortable as I was- I couldn't help but think of Mary and having to ride on a donkey in labor- only to find that there was not a room available. The only place a stable, and knowing she would soon be delivering the Son of God. Our Savior was born into the most humble of circumstances- I really can't think of anything more so than being in a barn with animals surrounding. What a wonderful season and the opportunity we have to stop and reflect on the birth of our Savior.

Gingerbread houses on this end of the table

Games at this end

Ella enjoyed it bundled up asleep- with her hat over her eyes

Gracie has really been into playing Mary- any chance she gets- she puts a shawl over her head and plays the part well.

Ella 6/7 Months Old

2011-12-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

Well Ella is now 7 months old! I cannot believe how fast these 7 months have gone by. Once the baby is born, it seems like time just flies! I hate how fast it is going and how big my girls are getting. It is hard to imagine our family before Ella. She is such a good baby- we really are blessed with her! She has a very friendly, happy disposition. She is very charming and captivating. She will look at you and smile until she has your eye contact and attention. I have people coming up to me all the time saying what a friendly little baby she is- and she really is. She was sleeping like a champ, but has regressed and is back to waking up multiple times a night. This is about doing me in- I feel like I am always tired. We are to the point that we are going to have to make her cry it out and I just HATE doing it. But, we learned with Brooklyn and Gracie that one or two bad nights of them having to cry it out is worth it when they start to sleep much better! She LOVES Rice cereal. She tried baby food for the first time and loved the sweet potatoes I gave her but has since decided that she has no use for it and acts as if it is the most disgusting thing she has ever tasted- even the fruit. She is rolling all over the place- she can navigate a room by rolling and is starting to get up on her hands and knees- I don't think it will be long before she is crawling. She loves her sisters and loves everything and anything they do. Her little giggle and smile absolutely melt my heart. She loves her Saucer and spends a lot of time in there playing and watching what is going on. Everything goes into her mouth- I mean everything!! She didn't lose any of her hair and it has just kept growing- I had all these cute little headbands that she wasn't able to wear because they would come out the second she moved her head. So at about 5 months she got her first little piggy. At 6 months old, she weighed 17.12 lbs putting her in the 67% and is 25.75 inches putting her in the 43%. We love you so much Ella and feel so very blessed to be your parents and to have you in our family!

First piggy

First baby food- sweet potatoes

This picture is so her- everything in her mouth

Family Pictures

2011-11-16T20:57:00.000-08:00

Before our friend Dani moved in July we had her take our family pictures. She did such a great job and we love them all. She was so good to work with and it was the least stressful family pictures we have had by far! Thanks Dani we love them! (Gracie decided the day of the pictures to try a new smile- and I love how a couple of the pictures show how Brooklyn was missing 4 teeth.)

Deer Camp

2011-11-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

Me and the gals made our yearly trip to Deer Camp and grandma joined us!! This was big- in my 31 years of life my mom has never come to Deer Camp. She did before we were born, but after, my dad would take us and I think she would enjoy some alone time! ;) (Sean was going to come, but our best friend Nicks' mom passed away and he wanted to go and spend some time with him.) The gals were so excited to get up there and go on a horse ride- they have been asking for months to go on a horse ride. Ella even had her first horse ride and I rode as well. It was a blast! My aunt Paula came up too with Marlee and Marjika- Kami and Kyle also. And my cousin Camille and her boys Taylor and Colton were also there. Nat, Derk, and their kiddos were there. And then the regulars were there too- my dad, Brian, Bruce, and Ric. The food didn't disappoint either and we had a blast! There were however 2 big things missing- my brother Brett and his wife Chels- we miss you guys!! Until next year...

The horses were ready to go when we got there and Pops and Ric were ready to take them

Brooklyn had a blast and was excited to get to ride by herself!

Gracie had so much fun too and they did not want to get off the horses!

Ella's first horse ride

Pops and his gals

This picture is funny in a couple different ways- my mom went to take a picture of Camille and Ella and her hat was over her face and it just turned out that in the background I am trying to get on the horse with Ric's assistance!

It is true- Suzie is at Deer Camp!

Brian took chopping wood very seriously!

And the night wouldn't be complete without Smores over the fire!

HaLLoWeEn!!

2011-11-05T22:26:00.000-07:00

We had such a great Halloween this year! The gals picked their costumes- Brooklyn wanted to be a cheerleader and I talked her into being a Utah State cheerleader. My sis-in-law Chelsea saw the cutest bee and cupcake costumes you have ever seen so that is what Gracie and Ella were. I especially loved this year that the gals were able to wear their costumes more than once! Gracie started the week off by having a fun Halloween party and trunk-or-treat at her preschool. We attended our Ward Halloween Carnival on Wednesday night (I am the 2nd counselor in our ward Relief Society Presidency and so my committee and I were in charge of the whole thing. It was a big success and lots of fun. I was so sick this week with a sinus infection, but still managed to have lots of fun!) One of our neighbors had a little Halloween party on Thursday night that we went to- I slacked and didn't get any pictures. On Saturday, at the Newton Library they had Witches Storytime that we went to- my sister was in charge of this activity and it was lots of fun- she even managed to get my mom to dress up as a witch for the occasion! We then went to the Maynard's and carved/painted pumpkins. And then Monday was the big night of trick-or-treating! We hit a few houses in our neighborhood and then went to Paula's for the annual Halloween chilli and cinnamon twists- to die for! It was such a fun week!

Ward Halloween Carnival

Witches Storytime- this may be the one and only time the kiddos see grandma dressed up! :)

Carving pumpkins

Halloween Cuties!

Our Lil' Cupcake

Go Aggies!!

Our sweet little bee- she is so literal- someone asked her if she was going to sting them and she informed them that it was just a costume and that she wasn't a real bee!

Love these gals!!

The annual witches brew with Jan

Fall Fun!

2011-10-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

The gals had their Primary Program on the 16th. They decided they wanted to have the Taylor Swift hairdo (3 barrel) and looked darling! They both worked hard and had their parts memorized and did a great job. Days like that are such proud mommy moments! The gals and I joined the girls for a weekend of fun in Park City over UEA. We had a blast! We also made are yearly trip to the Pumpkin Walk- the gals loved it!

"Jesus has taught me to love everyone."

"The Temple is the place, I am going there someday"

The kiddos had a blast in the hot tub and my cousin Jan was such a good sport to get in with them!

Meanwhile inside- Gracie was so exhausted she fell asleep right on Karen.

Catching Up (again)

2011-10-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

My Blog is like my laundry right now- no matter how hard I try I cannot keep on top of it. We have had a great couple of weeks! Brooklyn and Gracie are both enjoying school and both got to go on field trips. Brooklyn got to go to Hogle Zoo and I was lucky enough to get to go with her. Minus the fact that it was the worst day of weather we have had. The Fall has been so lovely except for last Thursday- the day of the field trip. As we approached Hogle Zoo, the snow started and we walked around in the pouring rain. The kids actually did really well with it all- I didn't hear any complaining. Gracie went on a Fall field trip with her Preschool class to a really cute place in Paradise that has lots of Halloween blow-ups (which my kids love), a wagon ride, and a little train ride. It was fun to be able to go with her and the weather was excellent- in fact, I got a little sunburn. We also celebrated Sean's birthday. The gals decided to do some decorating and wrote him some cute notes. Ella continues to grow way too fast. The night of Sean's birthday she had rice cereal for the first time- she seems to really enjoy it! Life in the Maynard home is good right now!

Hogle Zoo in the rain. Good thing for rain ponchos, umbrellas, and rain boots! If you look close in the drinking fountain picture you can see the rain coming down. And the picture below shows how wet my shoes got. Note to self: next time you see rain boots on clearance, buy them!!

Ella loves spending time in her saucer and is getting too big!

It was Red Ribbon Week this week- Big Blue made an visit to the school and Brooklyn was SOOO excited! She had to wear her Jr. Aggie shirt. Her class even had a picture with them giving Big Blue 5 in the newspaper. She feels so famous.

Gracie loved her field trip and you can tell from the pictures that the weather was so much better!

The gals decorating for Sean's Birthday!

Garrett is more than obsessed with Witches and was more than thrilled when he got to dress up as a witch. He keeps saying that is what he wants to be for Halloween- Nat talked him into being a skeleton- but this night, he decided that he wanted to be an idiot for Halloween. I laughed out loud in bed that night thinking of Garrett saying he wanted to be an idiot- good luck with that one Nat!

Miss Ella Sue having cereal for the first time. The pictures go in order she tasted, smiled, and then wasn't so sure!

Sure do love these gals of mine!!

Ella 4 Months

2011-10-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

4 Months have come and gone and Miss Ella Sue is growing up too fast on me!! At her 4 months visit, she weighed in at 14.56 lbs putting her in the 62% and is 25.25 inches 77%. Ella is such a good baby! She loves to smile and has the cutest little smile- you know that when you talk and look at Ella you are guaranteed a smile. She also has the cutest little laugh. She loves her sisters and loves to watch them. She loves her little toys and goes between her swing, excersaucer, and bouncer. She is a drooling machine right now- most days we go through a couple outfits because of her drooling. She hasn't lost any of her hair, in fact it just keeps growing. I have all these cute little headbands that I would love to put in her hair, but she has so much hair that they don't stay in- so most days she is sporting a nice scare hair look. She is such a blessing into our family and brings so much happiness to us!

Utah State Hey...

2011-09-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

Aggies all the way! A couple weeks ago, Sean and I took the gals to the home opener football game and we had a blast! The Ags played Weber State and although the first half was close, the second half was a blow out for the Ags! It was the LOTOJA so my dad wasn't there (we missed him), but Nat and Greg brought their kiddos too. We are so excited for the upcoming season!

Preschool

2011-09-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

I don't know why my computer is underlining and I can't get it to turn off.

Miss Gracie had a big week this week- she started her first year of preschool. She has been so excited all summer for preschool to start and asked weekly if it was time. She is going to Little Star Preschool in Hyrum. This is the preschool Brooklyn went to and we loved Teacher Paskett! We went packpack (backpack) shopping and Gracie was thrilled to get a Dora packpack. Gracie is a very tenderhearted little thing and I was a little nervous of how she would handle me dropping her off and leaving her. But she did just fine and loved it. I really can't believe that my little Gracie is going to preschool- I may have had a tear when I left her. And her day wouldn't have be complete without celebrating with a trip to McDon's- as she calls it. It was also Garrett's first day so we met Nat and her kiddos and Grandma and had a great celebration!

Oh Give Me A Home...

2011-09-02T22:05:00.000-07:00

Where the buffalo roam. Me and the gals, my mom, and my sister and her kiddos made an impromptu trip to Yellowstone. My aunt Paula and her family were going and we were bummed that we weren't joining them. So the morning that my brother left, my mom was sad and Nat said to her, "should we go to Yellowstone?" My mom asked her if she thought we could find anywhere and Nat quickly got on the phone and my some miracle was able to get 2 nights in the Park- which is unheard of on that short of notice. Nat awakened me from my slumber to see if the gals and I would be in and of course we were. It was the day that we were meeting Sean's family at Downata- so in a couple of hours I had us packed for the day at Downata as well as for our Yellowstone trip. My mom and Nat pulled the rest of the packing off and picked me and the gals up at Downata and we drove to West Yellowstone and stayed the first night. A few of our family members already in Yellowstone knew we were coming, but Paula didn't and we had made plans to surprise her. We pulled into the Bridge Bay campground just as the crew was heading to their cars- Paula's back was to us and my mom pushed on the gas and honked the horn. My cousin Jan said, "crazy driver!" Paula whipped around ready to give the crazy drivers a piece of her mind- the look of death on her face was classic. It took her a good 10 seconds to realize it was us and then her jaw dropped and a scream came out of her mouth. I was so bummed I didn't have my camcorder going because it was priceless.

We loaded up and went on a drive and had a picnic. I have got to say that I LOVE Yellowstone- I have such priceless memories of the many trips we made to Yellowstone with my Grandma Ila and Grandpa Mar. I love to be able to start to have my kids get some of these same memories. We love to go on drives looking for animals- the gals never get tired of seeing buffaloes, we saw elk, deer, and we were even lucky enough to see several bears. On one drive, we saw a black bear, a grizzly bear, and another grizz with her 2 cubs. The next day as we were driving through one of our favorite places called Hayden Valley, there were about million cars pulled off. We got out to see what was going on and found out that there was a dead buffalo in the river and bears were feeding on it. At one time there were 7 different bears including the mama and her cubs. It was quite the sight- the kiddos were even able to see what was going on and could clearly see the bears- it was a highlight.

These 3 deer were hanging out at the campground during our hotdog roast

My gals love Old Faithful so we headed there one day. We pulled into the parking lot at 12:21 and noticed that there were tons of people gathered around. My mom jumped at of the car to see what time it was predicted to go off and it was to go at 12:26 so my mom, Nat, and I started scrambling getting strollers out and unloading the kiddos. I am sure we looked a sight. We were able to get them unloaded, my mom and Nat go and park the cars and get back just in time to see Old Faithful shoot off! Perfect timing! It is 90 minutes in between it going off so it would have been a brutal wait with the kids. And seeing Old Faithful isn't complete without enjoying some yummy ice cream. By the time we got the ice cream and had it eaten we were actually able to see it shoot off again!

This was the story of Ella's trip-blow out after blow out!!

The crew minus me at the cabin at Lake Lodge- what a great trip!! THANKS mom for drowning your sorrows of missing Brett by taking us to Yellowstone- we had a blast!

Farewell

2011-08-28T03:21:00.000-07:00

Well the event that we had been dreading all summer happened on Thursday the 18th- my baby brother Brett and his wife Chels left to start their 3 year adventure in Connecticut for Brett to attend Physical Therapy school. My family has been so lucky and beside Brian and Brett serving their missions, we have all lived in Utah. Good-byes really do stink and this good-bye was not fun. The gals and I spent as much time as we could hanging out with Brett and Chels before they left. My parents had a BBQ for them on Sunday and an open house for friends and family on Monday. The gals and I had to say our good-bye on Tuesday (because we were going to Lagoon on Wednesday)- I held it together pretty good until Chels was saying good-bye to Brooklyn and they both started crying- well any hope of holding it together was lost and Brooklyn and I cried the whole way home. It is even harder seeing how hard it is on her- she realizes what them moving means- Gracie doesn't. Brett and Chels took about a week to make it there and took in the sites. They were welcomed to Connecticut by the earthquake that hit the East Coast and right now are bunkered down in their apartment (that they had unpacked and had to pack back up and get their stuff off the ground) as Hurricane Irene is going to go right over them. We can't wait until December when they get to come home for a couple weeks! Good Luck Brett and Chels we are going to miss you like crazy and love you guys!!

The day of the BBQ- Ella also rolled over for the first time that day

The kiddos enjoyed playing dress-up

The day they left, Sean's cute grandparents took all the Maynard family that is around to Downata. We had a blast!! And then me and the gals headed to Yellowstone with my mom and Nat and her kids.

First Day of 2nd Grade

2011-08-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn started her first day of 2nd grade today and she (and I) was very excited to get started. She has Mrs. Nielson this year (she is my cousin) and is SOOO excited about that plus she is in my mom's old classroom. She picked her outfit out and looked darling and had a great day!

Summer Happenings part 2

2011-08-23T04:26:00.000-07:00

For the life of me, I cannot keep this blog current. Maybe when school starts- that is my excuse for everything! :) We continued our busy summer by taking the Frontrunner down to Salt Lake and letting the kids play at the splash pad at the Gateway. I have never rode the Frontrunner and this was something that I wanted to do before school started. The kids had a blast!! When a storm started rolling in, we walked to Clark Planetarium and watched a 3-D movie and let the kids play.

We enjoyed spending time at the Cache County Fair and Rodeo. Sean and his brother Keith had a booth at the fair so we spent a couple of days there. Brooklyn loved Big Blue and got a couple pictures taken with him. The second day she even planned her outfits- the first one was a Utah State shirt for her picture with Big Blue and the second outfit was one of the shirts Sean was selling- to support him she said. Gracie wanted nothing to do with Big Blue- the gals LOVED playing at the gymnastics booth. The gals and I went to the rodeo with my mom and dad, Brett and Chels, and Nat, Greg, Garrett, and Abby. It was a lot of fun. Brett and Chels moved this week to Connecticut so we were trying to squeeze as much in with them as we could before they left.

Gracie was thrilled to get her first haircut. Sad to say she will be 4 in December and just got it, but her hair actually has grown pretty even. We just trimmed a few inches off- nothing major.

Sean and I braved it and took the gals to Lagoon. I haven't been to Lagoon for over 10 years, but we had a blast!! There was a lot more for kids to ride there than I remembered. We spent time at Lagoon-A-Beach when we first got there and then hit the rides. We gave the gals a some money they could spend there and they decided to get their faces painted. It was so fun watching how much fun they were having and watching them on the little bumper cars was so funny! Another funny thing happened when we stood in line to ride the Puff rollercoaster, the gals got in a car together and so I decided that I wouldn't ride, but Sean still did. It was so funny to see a grown man riding in the little car all by himself on this tiny rollercoaster. Thanks to the Andies for watching Ella!

Fun with Cousins

2011-08-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

My aunt Patt recently returned from a mission. My cousins Tara and Ashleigh came to town to visit so we got together at Patt's cabin in Bear Lake for a day of fun! It was so fun to visit and catch up and see our kids interact and play together.

Miss Willa does not like the camera so trying to get a picture with all the kids was quite funny.
Ashleigh, Willa, Guimo, Mirabelle, Gracie, Ella, Garrett, Brooklyn, Hudson, and Abby

The kiddos had a fun time playing with each other, the pool table, and the fun toys outside.

I love these gals!

Mirabella doing some awesome posing!

Guimo was quiet upset at this moment and wanted Tara- so the cousins with Guimo.
Tara, Jan, Kami, Marlee, Marijka, Ash, Em, Nat

Summer Happenings

2011-07-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

We have had a FUN and BUSY summer! I can't believe in a couple of days it will be August.

Ella started smiling and like her sisters, her smile melts my heart. She also had her 2 month check-up which meant she had to get shots. YUCK! At 2 months Ella is still sleeping from about 11:30 to 7- which is nice for me. She still spends a lot of time sleeping, but is awake quiet a bit too. She is starting to coo and talk. She loves her sisters and they are good little helpers. She is a very sweet little thing- she hardly ever cries unless she has a bubble in her tummy
Her stats at 2 months:
Weight: 11.56 lbs. 70%
Height: 22.75 in 65%
Head: 15 in 29%

Sean came home one day with a tent and him and Brooklyn and Gracie have had several camp-outs in our yard. They all sleep surprisingly good out in the tent.

My cousin Kim had her baby Nora a month before Ella. We wanted to get a picture of them together while she was here- we had settle with them sleeping in their carseats.

This picture was a MAJOR feat! We got together with cousins one day at Willow Park and had a blast. It is always fun to spend time with family!
Lacey, Averie, Rylee, Brooklyn, Ella, Gracie, Carson, Hallie, Claudia, Eli, Kjeaton, Vinnie, Alivia, Carley, Daxton, Garrett, Nat, Abby, Kristen, Lolin, Nora (me, my mom, and Kim were taking pictures)

Brooklyn and Grace took a session of swimming from Gin's swimming. They did GREAT and loved it (most days). Gin and her helpers are awesome. She doesn't let parents stay and is a no nonsense lady- which I liked. She doesn't care if the kids don't want to get in or get their face in the water- they do it! And learn to swim the right way. We won't be taking swim lessons anywhere else. The last day was parents day- Sean, my mom, and I watched them and I was amazed at what they had learned in the week- they both jumped off the diving board for the last thing. I will admit that my mommy pride was bursting this day!

Me and the gals enjoyed the Newton town celebration. The kiddos enjoyed the parade, got their faces painted, ate snow cones, played in the water, and cheered for uncle Brett in the volleyball tournament. We had a great day!

After the Newton celebration, we had our own little celebration. Sean cooked a yummy meal on the grill and had gotten some fireworks. We did them and topped the night off by going to Mendon to watch the fireworks.

Relay for Life

2011-07-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

We came down from Bear Lake to participate in my family's 9th the Relay for Life. We had kinda a traumatic morning the day of the relay. Brooklyn was holding Ella and dropped her on her head. She landed on a metal bar on a chair Gracie has. She had a big goose egg and a bruise so I called our pediatrician and they said we should probably just take her to the ER. She ended up having a CT Scan to rule out a fracture and make sure there wasn't any bleeding going on. Everything came back fine- it was super scarey will not go down as one of the better days in my mothering. After the hospital we were finally able to make it and we had a BLAST!! Our team was able to raise over $5000 and the whole event rasied over $86,000! THANKS so much to everyone that donated and helped out our team!

We had the folks from Studio 21 bring the photobooth and had a blast with that!

Bear Lake & The 4th of July

2011-07-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

We always go up to Bear Lake over the 4th of July. We were able to spend a week up there and as always had a blast! There were people coming and going all week and we drove down on the 3rd to bless Ella in our Ward and drove back up. I absolutely LOVE Bear Lake!! I have so many fond memories of Bear Lake and I am so excited that my gals are able to start to get their own memories of fun times at the Cabin- they love it and keep asking when we are going back. Paula's family was up there with us and are so good to help with my kids. Paula spent a lot of time holding Ella for me and it was nice to be able to have some one-on-one with Brooklyn and Gracie. I feel like since Ella was born they get put off a lot. When Sean was up we were able to go go-carting, get a shaved ice, and go swimming. My little family is so blessed to have so many people that love us and are willing to help us- I couldn't have done it without all the help I got!

We enjoyed swimming, mini-golf, and the beach at Ideal Beach. My cousin's Lori and Camille are always at Ideal Beach the same week and we have fun spending time with them and their kids. My gals LOVE their kids. Brooklyn is especially taken with Elisha- and she is such a good sport to tote Brooklyn along with her.

We spent the majority of the day outside playing- my mom bought the fun squirters and the kids had a blast playing with them. I wish I would've gotten a picture when she lined them up and told them the rules of playing in the water- I don't think the teacher in her will ever be gone. If they didn't obey the rules they had to come in the cabin for a time-out. The kids (for the most part) took the rules very seriously and there was plenty of tattling when someone wasn't obeying the rules.

The kiddos didn't have an adequate pool so when my uncle Ric went down for the Cruise-In, he bought a pool and brought back up. They had a BLAST in it!

My mom also bought some water balloons for the kiddos. Gracie didn't want anything to do with them and Brooklyn and Garrett loved them and loved filling them up by themselves.

Ella was a champ on her first outing to the cabin and loved being held by anyone who would hold her.

One day we heard a commotion outside and looked to see almost every rule being broken- Ric, Brooklyn, and Garrett were having a great water fight.

Nat and I braved it and took the 4 kiddos to the beach. They loved digging in the sand.

We were even able to get a pretty descent picture of all 5 of the kids.

My 4th of July cuties!

We did some fireworks before the firework show on the lake and the kids had so much fun! Garrett and Brooklyn loved the sparklers- Gracie, ever the cautious one, like them but not too close. Notice the picture of my dad holding the sparkler and her trying to get as far away as possible!

Ella's Blessing

2011-07-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Ella-

On Sunday July 3rd, you were blessed at our church by daddy. You were given the name Ella Sue. Daddy gave you a very special blessing. You looked so beautiful in your white dress and were an angel all day! You had lots of people there to support you. All of your aunts and uncles were there except uncle David was home in North Carolina. Ella you are a very special little girl! Your have the sweetest little spirit and bring so much joy and happiness into our home. Your older sisters love you so much and you are quite fond of them already. You light up when you see them or hear their voices. Mommy and daddy love you so much. You have a very special name. Ella was the name of my great grandma Petersen. I have so many great memories of her. She lived in the cutest little house in Newton- I loved to explore that house with aunt Nat and uncle Brett. I loved to go and visit her. Every so often after my piano lessons, I would go visit her. She would always request that I go into the parlor and play a song on her beautiful upright piano. She was a tiny lady with a lot of spunk- she lived to be 102. Sue is the name of my mom, your grandma and it is also my middle name. I have always loved having Sue as my middle name and I hope you do to! You had quite the crowd standing in your circle as you were blessed- so you will know who was there- daddy, Bishop Todd Brown, grandpa Pops, grandma Maynard, great grandpa Harris, uncle Brian, uncle Derk, uncle Brett, uncle Karl, uncle Keith, uncle Brent, Ric, Matt, my uncle Ron, my uncle Kevin, my cousin Grayson, and daddy's friend David. After the blessing, we had a dinner at the bowery in Wellsville. It was a VERY hot day- 104 degrees. We were staying up at Bear Lake and drove down for your blessing and then drove back up after the dinner. Ella, I love you so much!

Love- Mommy

Ella- 6 Week Photos

2011-07-15T21:22:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that 2 weeks have come and gone since I got Ella's 6 week pictures taken. We have a good friend, Dani, that took the pictures for us. Ella was being a little stinker, but Dani was so patient. Thanks Dani we love them! (here are a few of my favs)

Next up- the 4th at Bear Lake, The Relay, and the gals swim lessons.

Catching Up and Life with 3!!

2011-06-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

*In the true spirit of the title of this post- I have been catching up on my blog and there are 7 new posts below this one.*

The past 6 1/2 weeks of my life have been chaotic! Good but chaotic! I feel like I can't keep on top of anything. I heard two different things about having 3 kids. First- some people said that 3 was the one that about put them under because you only have 2 hands. Second- that 3 isn't that big of a deal really not harder than 2. So far in our home the adjustment to having 3 has been easier for me than it was going from 1 to 2. I think it was harder when we had Gracie because it was hard to see how the whole thing was affecting Brooklyn. With Ella, Brooklyn and Gracie have each other. There have for sure been some behavior problems and issues but not too bad. I am tired. I don't remember being this tired with Brooklyn and Gracie- I guess I was able to rest a little more. Plus Sean did remind me that I am older too. :) It is also hard for me feeling like I am constantly putting Brooklyn and Gracie off. Somedays I feel like all I say to them is "just a minute" "in a minute- I need to feed Ella" "not right now" you get the point. But with the hard things there are the precious things- like seeing the way Brooklyn and Gracie love Ella, seeing the joy that a new baby brings to anyone around, the night feedings when it is just her and I, the smell of a new baby, the spirit that surrounds Ella, the way when I am burping her she will lift her head off my shoulder and look right into my eyes, Sean and Ella cuddling on the couch, seeing the first smile, and the way that you don't think your heart has anymore room to love and it grows and you love this new little person with your whole being. So so sum it up, life with 3 is chaotic but GREAT and I feel so blessed to be the mother of these 3 beautiful girls!!!

I love that Ella is flipping the bird in this picture! (haha)

This picture was to show how her hair sticks straight up on that side. It is so funny!

Grandma Maynard

2011-06-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, we got a call from Sean's mom telling us that his grandma had had a stroke. She passed away a few days later. Yesterday was her funeral. It was a really nice day and a funeral. Sean talked and did a fabulous job- she would have been very proud of him. Grandma Maynard was living at Legacy House (assisted living) when I had Ella- Sean's mom wheeled grandma over to come and see her. She loved Ella and anyone else in the room had a hard time holding her because grandma wanted to the whole time. :) As she was holding her she would give the cutest giggle and say, "she is just so cute!" I hope that I never forget that cute little giggle and how taken she was with Ella. She also loved Brooklyn and Gracie and loved them to sing to her when we would visit. She is will deeply missed and is loved a lot!

I love these 2 pictures- the last 2 that I took of her with my girls

This picture was taken on her birthday this year at Legacy House

Maggie, Emma, Celina, Brooklyn, Grandma, Gracie, Ali, Jonah

I also love this picture of Sean and the gals with grandma last Halloween

Aaron, Audrey, Ali, Gracie, Maggie, Celina, Emma, Lexi, Ryan, Jonah, Lauren, Brooklyn, Ella, and Becca

Sean's sister Evelyn moved to North Carolina 2 years ago and hasn't been home since. We have had so much fun spending time with her and her kids. They are missed a lot!! After the funeral we attempted to get a picture with all of them. Good luck to us trying to get 14 kids holding still and looking at a camera- smiling!

This picture is classic- not one of them is looking at the camera

Books N Buddies

2011-06-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law Shawna told us about a fun activity at the USU Firestation called Books N Buddies. The firemen are there and teach about bike safety, fire safety, and water safety. Each kid got a book, got to see inside a firetruck, and had some different activities to do as well. It was a lot of fun and the gals enjoyed it and playing with their cousins.

Gracie on the left and her cousin Aaron on the right. The kids loved this activity- they had to wear a life jacket and get pulled on tubes behind a 4-wheeler. As they were going they got sprayed with water from a firefighter.

Brooklyn insisted on taking Abby- Abby not so much a fan. Cousin Audrey on the right. The guy pulling them took them a little too far and they went off the curb and almost went face first onto the blacktop- luckily Brooklyn held on tight to Abby so no injuries occurred.

Gracie, Brooklyn, and Garrett being taught some fire safety information- I love how serious they are all taking it.

Ali and Gracie enjoyed playing inside the firestation.

The girls were sitting up there when the alarm went off and the firemen were being called out. They got in their gear fast and I quickly grabbed the girls.

Sean's sister Evelyn is visiting from North Carolina and they joined us there. Audrey holding Emma, Ali, Brooklyn, Ryan, Gracie, Aaron, and Lauren

Cooling off with a frosty at Wendy's

Fishing

2011-06-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn got a fishing pole last year for her birthday and never used it. So we decided this year she would be using it and Gracie used some of her own money and bought her a pole too. We have already been 2 times and it is a BLAST!! There is a dam here in Wellsville that the city has made really nice so we have gone there with Ric and Paula and their family. Good thing we have had Ric with us- he spends the majority of his time there untangling, putting hooks and bait on, and anything else the gals need him to do. Thanks Anderson's for helping the gals- we have decided this is going to be a weekly outing. The first time we went, Gracie caught 2 fish and got them to the bank and the line broke. It was so fun seeing how excited she was reeling them in. The second time we went, my aunt Paula caught one and got it on shore and as we were getting ready to leave Ric caught one and let Brooklyn reel it in. She was so excited! YAY for summer finally arriving! :)

Kami was a good sport to help Gracie the first time we went so I could take pictures!

Her first fish- Ric is ready to grab it and the line broke

Marlee, Marijka, and Gracie

Ric and Paula

Ella chillin in her carseat

Brooklyn's Dance Revue

2011-06-26T00:12:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn has taken dance for the past 3 years and had her 3rd dance revue. The past 2 years she was in the Preschool/Kindergarten group and it was a night revue. This year was 2 nights plus 2 days of rehearsals. It was a proud parent moment for Sean and I (he deserves a medal sitting through both nights) Brooklyn danced her little heart out and did such a great job. We were so proud of her. Sean and I had perma-smiles every time she was out. Thanks for those that came and sat through it and supported her it really meant a lot to her!

After it was over- we were waiting for Brooklyn to come out. We waited and waited and no Brooklyn. When there were just a few people left we went looking for her. We finally found her and she informed us that she was changing back into her favorite costume for pictures. She was also so excited for the flowers she got.

Ella's First Outing and Visitor's

2011-06-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

We kept Ella in for a couple of weeks- you would've thought she was our first baby and not our third. Our motto is we would rather be safe and there are just so many nasty germs. Anyway- Ella had her first outing to Nat and Greg's house. (Minus the couple times that I took her to lunch and she stayed covered in her carseat.) I only took a few pictures.

Garrett was so excited to finally be able to hold, love, and pet Baby Ellala as he calls her. He is a wild little guy, but was very gentle with her.

Sher finally got to hold Ella- the first time she came up she was worried she had a cold so she didn't hold Ella.

VISITOR'S

Sean's grandparents came by one day and met Ella for the first time

Aunt Shawna

Grandma and Grandpa Maynard- Sean's dad works in Florida and was home and this is the first time meeting Ella

Jan's Wedding

2011-06-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

My cousin Janalee married Matt on June 4th. It was such a wonderful day. The weather was perfect and she was a BEAUTIFUL bride! We are so happy for her and Matt. ( I forgot my camera- so thanks Nat for the pictures!)

The gals took their duty as flower girls very seriously

Gracie and Garrett loved the fountain

I love how Brooklyn is standing in between Jan and Matt holding the bouquet (as I said- she took her duties very seriously- she lasted about 2 minutes standing there.)

Garrett and Gracie loved the food- especially the frosting on the cupcakes

So the one the the newest trends at weddings is to have a photobooth there- we had a ton of fun with it. I think the gals were in there every other turn.

Memorial Day

2011-06-25T22:17:00.001-07:00

Memorial Day has always been a big or busy holiday for our family. My grandma Ila was the Queen of putting flowers on graves. She was so good to make sure that all the relatives had flowers on them. And she taught us that we don't just throw the flowers on the grave- you arrange them very carefully and away for the headstone. She passed on this tradition to my mom and my aunt Paula- who have now taught it to us. With the weather forecast not looking too hot for Memorial Day, we went out on Saturday and got the flowers all arranged.

Brooklyn made sure the grave was very clean

Gracie was a good help to Pops

My polygamist roots. My grandma's grandpa William H. Maughan (son of Peter Maughan) had 6 wives.

Grandma Ila and Grandpa LaMar's headston

Brooklyn found a Robin's egg and was so excited about it.

Ella enjoyed the experience sleeping in the car

Grandma Vone and Grandpa Claude's headstone

Happy Retirement Mom!

2011-06-02T22:22:00.000-07:00

After 28 years of teaching at Wellsville Elementary, my mom retired! There was a fabulous retirement party for her and Annette Jensen. Here's to a fantastic retirement mom!

My mom and Annette

The fam- minus Brooklyn who was running around and Ella

Welcome Ella

2011-05-18T20:49:00.001-07:00

*Between computer problems, Internet problems, and getting adjusted as a family- is has taken me a little bit to get this post done. There are lots of pictures so get a drink and a treat! :)*

On May 10th, we welcomed Ella Sue into our family. I went to bed on Sunday the 8th and woke up around 12:30 and was having contractions every couple of minutes. I was able to go back to sleep, but then they kept coming. I started timing them and they were between 2 and 3 minutes apart so around 3:30 I woke Sean up and told him what was going on. We called Paula and she came up to sit with the gals and we headed to the hospital. I noticed on the way over that the contractions were not coming as often as they had been. We got to the hospital and hooked up to the monitors and they stopped almost completely. That was lovely!! So they sent us home. Luckily for me, I had a doctor's appointment that day. At my appointment, I was dilated to a 3 and about 70% effaced. He did a "super strip" (as he called it) of my membranes, scheduled to induce me on the 16th, and told me that he wouldn't be surprised to see me that night. And said that if contractions started again to head in and not let them send me home. (With Brooklyn and Gracie, the stripping of the membranes did nothing- but when I was induced with them I was barely dilated to a 1). I had major cramping that night- we went to Nat and Greg's because Greg and Sean were working on Sean's truck. We decided to put the gals to bed there and my mom would take Brooklyn to school and we headed home. Nothing happened that night and I was kinda disappointed- Sean had started another job the week before and was really hoping that I could make it until Thursday. Since we had been up early on Monday, we were able to get a decent night of sleep. Sean went to work Tuesday and I did some things around my house that needed done and laid down. About 12:30, I woke up to an intense pain- different from the day before. I laid there for awhile and started timing them again and they were coming about every 3 minutes and very intense. So I texted Sean and put him on stand by and decided to get in the shower. At that point I knew that this was the real thing and told him we needed to go to the hospital. He rushed home while I was getting ready and we headed over. We walked into Labor and Delivery about 3 P.M. they checked me and I was at a 4 and decided to keep me. I got my epidural and Dr. Horsley came in right after around 6 and broke my water. I was dilated to a 6 and 80% effaced so we figured it would be awhile longer. My nurse checked me around 7:30 and I was still at a 6- she did mention that with second and third babies you can go from a 6 to a 10 super fast- but figured we would be there for awhile longer. Ten minutes later she came rushing into the room and said the baby was acting like she was ready to be born. She checked me again and I had gone to an 8 and was fully effaced. Ten minutes later I was complete and she called Dr. Horsley to come. He got there had me push once and then said push one more time and her head will be out and then one more time and she was out. So I went from a 6 to giving birth in 30 minutes! I am really blessed and have had awesome labor and deliveries with all the of my gals. I LOVE it!!! I could do it every day- I don't think there is anything like when that baby comes out and a new life is started. She weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 inches longs. Like her older sisters, she has a full head of hair. Because she came down the birth canal so fast, her forehead and lips were really bruised. They were concerned that she wasn't getting enough oxygen but tested her and she was at 100%. Both Brooklyn and Gracie were in the NICU so we prepared ourselves that she would be in there too and she didn't have to go!! It was so nice. I had the most amazing nurse during this and she was with me the whole time- she will never see this, but THANK YOU Joni!! We still hadn't decided on a name. We had discussed several different ones and had narrowed down to 3 and decided on Ella. Ella is my great-grandma's name and she was an incredible lady- I am proud that my Ella can share her name. And Sue is my middle name and my mom's name. Another biggie for us is that Ella didn't have to be in the lights!! YAY!! Brooklyn and Gracie both had to. On Saturday when we got her biliruben tested it was at 13 which is intermediate high- right on the border. (My sister and her husband went to the Temple that night and put her name on the prayer roll and we were having everyone pray that she wouldn't have to be under the lights) On Monday, she had her newborn appointment and I got her tested right before. Her doctor said he still wasn't sure she wouldn't be under the lights, but we would keep our fingers crossed. The test came back while I was still there and had jumped down to an 11- Dr. Visick was shocked and asked what was going on- I told him it was all the extra prayers. I know that our family received a very big blessing this day in the fact that she didn't have to go under the lights.

The gals are loving their new little sister! There are moments where I wonder if things will ever be normal. Seeing the way this effects them and the hard moments are worse for me than the getting up every 3 hours to feed Ella. I feel so blessed to have such a great support system! Thanks to Nat and Greg for bunking the gals! Chels and Brett for helping out. And Chels bringing the gals over to see us and taking them to lunch and playing with them! And for everyone else that helped us and called or texted us at this time! We love you all! Ella is such a joy to have in our family and I feel so blessed that she is here with us

Labor and Delivery

Brooklyn seeing Ella for the first time. So cute!! It was love at first sight. She is such a great big sister and a good helper.

Ella's first bath. The nurse was so cute with Brooklyn and let her help out.

Gracie meeting Ella for the first time was sweet. She was very tender with her. She didn't like the fact that we were in the hospital and was ready to go about 3 minutes after being there, but eventually warmed up. And our first picture as a family of 5.

Ella's visitors at the hospital

Ella at home

Ella- 1 week old

All About Brooklyn- Age 7

2011-05-06T20:32:00.001-07:00

My sister-in-law had this on her blog and I thought it was a cute idea and so I can remember some things about Brooklyn when she was 7 years old. These are the answers word for word out of her mouth.

Favorite Song: "Love is Spoken Here" "Back to December" "Mean"
Favorite Singer: Taylor Swift & Jonas Brothers
Favorite Color: Pink & Black
Favorite Show: Jonas L.A. & Good Luck Charlie
Favorite Movie: Tangled
Favorite Book: Magic Tree House & Fancy Nancy
Favorite Toy: DS
Favorite Animal: Horses, dogs, cats- I do not like mice or rats
Favorite Person: NAT, Gracie, Mommy, Daddy, Family, & Friends
Favorite Game: Ballet Star for DS & Playing with sister
Favorite Place to go: Chuck-E-Cheese
Favorite Activities: Roller skating, jump roping, playing with sister
Things that Make You Sad: When Gracie gets hurt
Best Friends: Sammy, Kenzie, Brittany, Gracie, Lexi, Scottlyn, Alex
Favorite Food: Mac-N-Cheese, Candy, Ice Cream
Favorite Treat: DC-Diet Coke & Candy
Favorite Trip: Disneyland & Sea World
Things You don't Like to do: Play with mean friends

Brooklyn's Birthday

2011-04-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Miss Brooklyn's 7th Birthday!! I can't believe our little girl is 7. CRAZY!! For her party she was back and forth between Chuck-E-Cheese and The Fun Park and opted for The Fun Park- we were all glad to stay in the Valley. Chels had told her she would rollerskate with her and was so excited. She started the morning off by opening her presents from us. Grandma and Karen checked her out during lunch and took her to Burger King and she was thrilled. After school, we picked up Sean and went to The Fun Park. (So the funny thing about this is that Brooklyn had decided that she wanted a surprise party and told my mom that everyone could be there waiting and when she walked in they would yell "SURPRISE" even though she would know that they were all there.) So we decided that we would give her a real surprise. The family that came to The Fun Park left early and headed to Fredrico's and the rest were there waiting. We walked in the back room and everyone yelled "SURPRISE!" It was classic- she was so surprised and loved every second of it and loved her pink cake! It was such a great day for her and we are so blessed to have such great family that love and support us and our little gals. I don't know what we would do without our little Missy! She brings so much joy and happiness into our home and we love her so much!

Brooklyn's new birthday outfit- she insisted on wearing even though it was chilly.

Her and Chels and her first time rollerskating

The big SURPRISE- I love the look on her face!!

Her birthday loot- spoiled girl!!

Happy Easter!!

2011-04-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic Easter this year! We started our Easter festivities on Monday when we dyed Easter eggs. Wednesday we had an egg hunt- the gals LOVED this! Sean was flying out on Thursday to go to his brother Brent's wedding near Nauvoo. So we got a hold of the Easter Bunny and he came on Wednesday night so when the gals woke up on Thursday he had hidden their baskets. They were both excited to get a pillow pet and some bubbles. The gals and I went and stayed at my parents house for the weekend. They were thrilled to dye eggs again with grandma on Friday. They waited patiently on Saturday night for Pops to get home to have an egg hunt and get their present from grams and pops. On Saturday they got all dolled up in the their Easter dresses and looked so cute! (We were glad to get Sean home on Sunday. He was flying out of St. Louis and a tornado had ripped through the airport. We weren't sure when he would be able to fly out. But was able to come on Sunday just later than he had wanted.)

I love how hard they are both concentrating on their egg

Egg hunt between the rain storms

The gals coming in looking for their baskets. (Brooklyn does have shorts on they are just really short.)

Egg hunt at grandma and pops'

I have had a few people ask for a pregnancy update- I don't like to take pictures of myself pregnant, but here are a few. I went to the doctor today and she is measuring big. Gracie was 8 lbs. 10 oz. so we will see how big she is. I have 31/2 weeks left, but most likely will be induced a week early.

Brooklyn's Program

2011-04-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn had her school program last week. Her and 2 other kids had speaking parts right at the start to introduce the theme. She had 3 different parts and worked hard to memorize them. She nailed it and did a great job. We were so proud of her!

She was excited to get all dressed up for the program

And these 2 cuties loved climbing up and down the bleachers

The Gals

2011-03-29T20:26:00.001-07:00

Last Wednesday, my mom was on her lunch and called me and said that they had called her from the school and that Brooklyn had fallen on the playground and hit her face. Gracie had been running a fever all week and her I were just hanging out so I told my mom to check things out when she got back to school. When she got back she called me and said she was bringing Brooklyn home. So at that point I knew it probably wasn't good. At recess Brooklyn and some others were chasing a boy when one of the 4th grade girls ran smack into Brooklyn. She fell down and her face bounced off the blacktop. She was pretty banged up, but was fine. She healed better than I thought she would and has just a little bruising left around her eye.

This picture was taken shortly after she got home

This picture was taken yesterday it doesn't show the full extent of the bruising

And this little cutie (or stinker) has gone from being the best sleeper to not wanting to sleep at all! I guess it is getting me used to getting woken up multiple times a night. I don't know if she senses the changes coming or what. With that smile and those dimples how can I not melt when she smiles at me?

I Looked Out the Window and what did I See...

2011-03-24T20:05:00.001-07:00

A HUGE mess!! We have had sewer problems since we bought this house 6 years ago. We have had to call Roto-Rooter out 5 or 6 times. Last year we replaced the sewer line from our sidewalk to our house hoping that would take care of the problem. Last Friday we realized we were having the same problem- Roto-Rooter came and couldn't get their camera in. So we called the guys that did the job last year to come and see what they thought. After digging into things they decided that we should replace the line from the sidewalk to the mailbox. We have had a few delays in the process because the Blue Stake people didn't stake a spot where some fiber optic telephone wire were- so Qwest had to come out and fix them. When they got the old pipes out they found that in part of one of them was a huge tree root! We are cautiously optimistic that this will solve the problem and we won't have to deal with this mess again. However, the gals have quite enjoyed the process and talking to Perry and Tom- the 2 taking care of the problem.

What do You do in the Wintertime?

2011-03-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

The gals were so excited last Saturday when they woke up to a Winter Wonderland and about 12 inches of snow. We had to put snow clothes on and get outside- fast! They had a blast! I knew we weren't done with winter and we were just being teased with Springlike weather. But we made the best of it and had fun in the snow.

The snow day was also my mom's birthday. We had a fun party on Sunday- the gals LOVE to blow out candles. And they sure adore their grandma!

Yesterday was Dr. Suess's birthday. Brooklyn's school was having a weird dress-up day. She chose to dress up as one of her favorite storybook characters, Fancy Nancy. She sure looked fancy and played the part well!

Evening of Art

2011-02-26T21:51:00.001-08:00

Several weeks ago, Brooklyn came home from school with a note explaining that there was going to be an "Evening of Art" (our school changed from a PTA to a PTO this year and this is to replace the Reflections contest.) Brooklyn told me that she wanted to draw a picture and enter it in. The theme for the event was "Treasure" we talked about what different types of treasures were and I told her to think about what she wanted to draw. She immediately told me that her best treasure was her family. Sniff Sniff. She came up with that by herself and I am so proud of her for realizing that over her toys, her DS, her scooter, etc. her family is her greatest treasure. She sat down to draw the picture- she started over once- and came up with her piece titled, "My Family is my Greatest Treasure." Thursday night was the event it started at 6:30 and at 5:30 she tells me that she is going in to get dressed in her Christmas dress because she needed to look really nice. I told her that I thought that what she wore to school would be just fine, but she insisted on her dress. She got all dolled up and then patiently waited for her daddy to get home from work so we could head up to the school. She found Grandma and was beyond thrilled when we found her picture and she noticed that she had purple ribbon- she has ALWAYS wanted one. Her other incentive for entering was that every child that entered received a free meal from Texas Road House- she was ecstatic to get that also. Texas Road House was there serving a lite meal. It was such a great event and I am so proud of Brooklyn for wanting to take part in it!

I love this picture- it shows the pure joy on her face

Her purple ribbon

"Family is my Greatest Treasure"

2 of my greatest treasures

Fun in the Snow

2011-02-21T20:20:00.001-08:00

What do you do on a day that daddy has off and Brooklyn doesn't have school? We forget all the things that we need to do around our house before May and the baby arrives and play in the snow! We enjoy spending time together and by choice of the gals have some fun at the Fun Park.

Brooklyn going to get Sean with her snowball

Sean getting Brooklyn with his snowball

Sean and his gals

We kept trying to get a picture and Sandy kept running in the shot

Valentine's

2011-02-14T21:35:00.000-08:00

Today has been such a great day!! Sean and I decorated the house last night to surprise the gals when they woke up. They were so excited to see the balloons and streamers. We had a fun breakfast of pink, heart-shaped pancakes. We have had so much fun with the Valentine's envelopes. The gals have been so excited every morning to see what was in there and it was fun to go down memory lane and write some of my memories to Sean and his to me. This morning the gals got to get their last Valentine item and their Valentine from Sean and I to them. They opened their presents and got a new sweater to wear. At Brooklyn's school, they have a Valentine's tea every year and so she was so excited to get all dolled up for that. After school, Brooklyn had dance and then we came home for a fun dinner that we had planned. Thanks to the Dollar Tree I had gotten some fun plates, glasses, and napkins. We got a heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphey's, had strawberries, and red Jello jigglers. Sean and I were lucky enough to go out on Friday and celebrate together. This year has been one of my favorite Valentine's- it was so fun to see how excited the gals have been. In the words of Brooklyn, "Best Valentine's EVER!!"

Little stinker- I was telling her to smile and this is the look I got. On a side note- you can't really see it in these pictures and I tried taking a picture of it, but Gracie has a lovely black eye. Her and Brooklyn were super hyper on Saturday and we had told them to settle down more than once. Well they went running into the front room and Brooklyn pushed Gracie out of the way and it cause her to fall into the couch. Right off her eye started going black. So we will just add that to the list!

Our fun Valentine's dinner. Sean bought me a rose and the gals each a flower. A tradition I hope he keeps up. My dad sent my flowers every year and it was always something I treasured!

Poor Grace

2011-02-09T21:12:00.001-08:00

Poor Gracie has had a rough couple of weeks! She has been sick for 2 straight weeks. She ran a fever and after the 3rd day of 103 I took her to the doctor. He and I were both hoping she had Strep. Kinda sad when you are hoping your child has Strep, but at least it can be treated. It came back negative and he said she would start with a cough and runny nose. Well she didn't get it for several days and was starting to feel better so I thought we were lucky and had bypassed that. But no such luck! It hit full force and she is miserable!! Her poor no as she calls her nose, lips, and chin are all so sore and chapped. And to make matters worse, I was making some rolls one night for dinner and had the big bucket of flour sitting on a chair. She climbed up and was playing with it and helping me. She managed to get it everywhere, but was having so much fun. I walked into the other room and heard a nasty thud, it was one of those that you knew was not going to be good. She started screaming. I ran in and could not see that she was hurt anywhere- I loved her and got her happy again. She was in the kitchen again climbing up the drawers and I told her she needed to get down or she was going to get hurt. As I said that she fell and hit her chin on the counter. Of course she started bawling and said she had hit it again. I didn't think anything of it until that night I noticed something on her chin and went to clean it and found this lovely bruise! Poor thing! The next day or two it looked even worse, but I didn't get a picture. (We are hoping to have all illnesses out of the way before May arrives.)

She did like the way that it looked like a rainbow

Kinda a random picture, but grandma got all the gals matching dresses for Christmas. We finally had them all wear them on the same day and this was the best picture we could manage. They looked so cute though.

And our lives would be pretty dull without this firecracker!

Valentine's Envelope

2011-02-03T19:36:00.000-08:00

My sister came across the cutest blog called The Crafting Chicks. On this site there was the cutest idea for Valentine Envelopes. The gal that made them saw them originally in Pottery Barn Kids and made her own. So my sister and I decided to make them for our families and I am so happy with how they turned out. It is kinda the same idea as a Christmas stocking. We put little treats or dollar store things or notes in them. The gals are so excited to wake up in the morning and see what they have gotten for the day. In Sean and I's we decided to write little notes to each other or favorite memories. It has been so fun so far and I am excited to have this be a new tradition for our family.

This is how I have them hanging. I made one for our nameless baby and decided that I better do all 3 the same so I didn't have to hear any complaining over whose was better. :)

Also hanging on the shelf but hidden is this impression of the gals hands. My good friend Rory owns a darling boutique in Logan called A Child's Touch and they do these impressions. I love it! I can't wait to get one with 3 little hand prints on it.

Fun in the Sun

2011-01-19T20:37:00.000-08:00

Over the holiday weekend, the gals and I escaped the inversion with my mom and some of the Andie's and headed for sunny St. George. To say we had a great time would be an understatement! We were able to visit with family and friends- it was so good to see each and every one of them. We enjoyed some shopping, grandma spoiled the gals (and me) rotten! Thanks mom!!! (The gals LOVE their grandma- in fact the night we got home Gracie had a come apart when her grandma left. She bawled for quite awhile and woke up in the morning bawling because she wanted her grandma so I had to call my mom and see if we could meet during her lunch so Gracie could see her.) We enjoyed the sun- I had to buy Brooklyn a pair of flip-flops because all I brought us were our boots. The gals love going to the temple grounds and walking around and going through the visitor's center. We went on Sunday and it was delightful! The gals keep asking, "can we go back to St. George?" It was a fun get-away and probably my last until this new little baby joins our family. Thanks everyone for your help with the gals- they love you! Gracie has really turned into quite the funny little gal. She made a few classic comments during the trip that I don't think will die. My cousin Marlee was getting ready and Gracie looks at her and says, "you look terrible." And then awhile later she looked at her and said, "you look funny." So the rest of the trip we would look at each other and inform one other that they looked terrible. I guess I should start working on tact. :)

We went shopping and Gracie shopped til she dropped!

New Year's

2011-01-19T20:02:00.000-08:00

(Way late post- but I am posting anyway.) We had our usual New Year's Eve party at my aunt Paula's house. We had good food, good treats, and good company! The gals had a blast and loved ringing in the New Year. Here's to a GREAT year!

At this point, Brooklyn had worn herself right out and was tired!

Garrett and Gracie loved "cheers"

Sugar and Spice...

2011-01-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

and everything nice. That's what little girls are made of. And don't we know that! These 2 cuties are so happy to announce that they will be having another little sister joining our family in May!

CHRISTMAS!!

2010-12-29T19:35:00.000-08:00

I am so sad that Christmas has come and gone already! We have enjoyed the season so much! The gals have loved all things Christmas the Nativites, lights, songs, Christmas books, talking about Jesus, anything to do with Christmas. I loved how they were as much or more excited to talk about baby Jesus as they were to talk about Santa. It is such a great time of year and it is so fun and magical with little kids. I love the innocence they bring and the joy they are to me!

For Christmas Eve, we headed out to Stone and had a great time at Sean's grandparents house. They always spoil us rotten- his grandma had gone to so much work and made a nice meal. We found out while we were there that she had fallen down the stairs outside on ice earlier on the week and was really sore and had been to the doctor and was on the verge of pneumonia. We felt so bad that she had done all she had, but also so loved that in spite of being sore and sick she still wanted her family to have a good Christmas.

We came home and the gals opened their Christmas pajamas and got a plate ready for Santa and went to bed. They were so excited in the morning- when we told them they could come in they came holding hands- it was so cute. They were so excited to see the presents they both just sat and stared at them for a minute. It was so fun watching them open them. We scaled back this year and they were as excited as if they would have had a ton of presents to open. Brooklyn kept saying over and over, "Thank you Santa! Thank you so much Santa!" And so then Gracie started saying it to. It was so cute and made me happy that they were so grateful for the things they were getting. Christmas day was crazy busy, but fun. After we were done opening presents we went down the Ric and Paula's and had a yummy breakfast. We came home from breakfast and loaded up and headed to Smithfield to Sean's parents house. We had another yummy meal, opened some more presents, and headed to Newton. All my siblings arrived and the Andie's came and we had another delicious meal. (I think that I have eaten more this year than any other year.) We opened more presents and headed home to bed. Sunday was busy again going to my parents and Sean's so it has been so nice the past 3 days to do nothing!! The gals have enjoyed playing with their toys, we may or may not have gotten out of our jammies, I have looked at the million things that I should be getting done and not doing them, but we have just enjoyed the time together! This Christmas season has been so wonderful!

The usual playing in the snow. The gals had a blast and Gracie LOVED eating the snow. Brooklyn had to take it easy and couldn't go on the sleigh because earlier she and Sean were playing and she hit her head on the corner of a chair and cut it open. Luckily, she didn't need stitches- it was a really close call. But she had fun riding around in the Ranger with her daddy and her sissy.

Every time we leave Sean's grandparents house I am always so sad that I didn't get a picture of us with them. It was a priority for me to get one. I even got a cute one of the two of them together. They are so cute and call each other 'babe' which is what Sean and I call each other. I love hearing them say that to each other.

Brooklyn got Santa a nice plate ready.

They got to open their Christmas jammies and their presents from each other before they went to bed. They were so excited and loved both things!

Christmas morning is the best! That was the best picture I could get of them coming in together.

I love the top left picture- Brooklyn had asked for a DS and was THRILLED when she opened it and even more excited that it was pink! And the bottom left she was so excited that the family got Kinectimals for the Kinect.

Gracie loved opening her presents to. Of everything she got, her favorite thing is the Color Wonder light up paint set. She is painting non-stop.

Brooklyn also wanted an American Girl doll. (I found this great set from Target with the doll and 5 outfits for less than what an American Girl doll costs.) Grandma and Pops gave it to her and she was in awe when she opened it. She didn't say anything for a minute and just stared at it and then she squealed with delight! Uncle B put Gracie in the box and she was the present. It was so funny. And she got a new baby to replace the one she has loved and worn out. Nat gave her the dress-up outfit and she was strutting her stuff it was so FUNNY!! She would put her hand on her hip and stick it out and then walk and do the same thing over again. She had us all laughing so hard!

We pulled out the Easy Bake Oven grandma and grandpa Harris had given Brooklyn and made some yummy smores.

December Happenings

2010-12-27T19:59:00.001-08:00

Before I do my Christmas post, I need to get caught up on the rest of December. This year we had our Petersen Christmas party at Logan Lanes. (My cousin's husband owns it- so we had the hook-up.) It was a great time and the gals had a blast! They looked so cute in their little bowling shoes. Brett and Chels went to an ugly sweater party after- they looked great! Brooklyn also had her Sing-A-Long at school. She had a part and was able to memorize it and nailed it. She had been sick the whole week before and missed the whole week of school. She ran a fever for 5 straight days. I took her to the doctor and they tested her for strep, influenza, checked her oxygen levels and then determined it was a virus. She was one sick girl. I was worried Gracie was going to get it just in time for her birthday and Christmas, but she didn't get it. The gals had their annual Christmas dresses- my sister and I were able to get matching ones for my gals and Abby. I love getting my gals Christmas dresses- it is such a fun tradition for me. We also took them to see Santa. Brooklyn was all business and enjoyed her time sitting on Santa's lap. Gracie on the other hand- wanted NOTHING to do with it! She wouldn't even go up with Sean or I. So the only picture I got of her was the pouty one. :) Up next- my Christmas post!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-24T21:13:00.000-08:00

With Much Love- The Maynard Family

Happy Birthday Gracie Girl!

2010-12-23T22:10:00.000-08:00

On Monday, we celebrated Gracie's 3rd Birthday!! I can't believe that my baby is 3. Ever since we had Brooklyn's Birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese (in April), Gracie has been talking about her birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese with a pink cake. She got both and we had a great time!

Gracie 3 Years Old

We had a blast playing games- Gracie even got into this time.

I love the top left picture- she was so excited for her pink cake (THANKS Paula)! She also loved the pink cupcake and got nice and messy from eating it.

She got to party with Chuck-E (she didn't want to get to close).

Sean went into the ticket blaster and scored 500 tickets. (It was classic watching him in there.)

Gracie was so excited for her presents. The top left picture is her when she first woke up and saw her presents. She tried to hold up 3 fingers, but couldn't do it. Brooklyn was just about as excited as she was to open a present.

Gracie is such a joy to have in our family. She is so low-key and mellow. Her big brown eyes and her dimples melt my heart. She loves to play with her sister. They currently are loving to play Tangled. I feel so blessed that she is part of our family. I love you Gracie!!

Catching Up...

2010-12-15T18:17:00.001-08:00

How did it get to be the middle of December already? I guess the same way I lost the whole month of November. We had a great and cold Thanksgiving. It snowed before Thanksgiving and then was about 10 below the whole week. We are loving all things Christmas in our house right now. The gals were so excited to get the decorations up this year, we started before Thanksgiving. We have been trying to really get the true meaning of Christmas into the gals heads. They love talking about Baby Jesus. Gracie's birthday is on the 20th and we keep asking her whose birthday is coming up and every time she says, "mine and Baby Jesus." I bought a gingerbread house kit and we had a blast creating it one night. There was also an awesome live Nativity that we went to. It was a real spiritual experience to me to walk into a barn and see the scene and there in a manger Baby Jesus way laying. He really was born into the most humble of circumstances- how blessed we are to celebrate his birth this season!!

Gracie cracks me up. One night she put 2 of our stockings on and was walking around the house saying she was Santa.

The live Nativity was rainy and muddy but we had a blast. Thanks Keith, Shawna, and girls for going with us. I have to explain the picture of Sean- he came straight from work and had barely gotten new, white shoes that he had worn once maybe twice- so he covered them with grocery sacks. The gals thought it was so funny and were kinda embarrassed by it. They also talked us into going on the hay ride- it was a fun night!

One night after we had gone to the Nativity, Gracie wrapped her blanket around her and said, "Look mom, I'm Mary." She also had a complete and total meltdown one day. She said she wanted to go and see Baby Jesus again and I told her it was over. And she started crying as hard as I have seen her cry- huge tears were coming down her cheeks. She then said to me, "I just miss Jesus so much and I just love him so much." I got tears in my eyes as my 3 year old testified of her love for her Savior.

The house is all decked out and we are LOVING it. We went to Preston on Monday for FHE to see the Hollingsworth's house. If you have never made the drive up there to see it, you really should. They have a couple field's filled with wood painted scences from Disney shows, Shrek, Mickey. This is a tradition that my parents did with me and now we are doing it with the gals. They LOVED it and we drove through it 3 or 4 times. (Up next, Gracie's 3rd birthday!)

9 Years

2010-12-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary Babe- I Love You!!
(We will be celebrating tonight by taking care of sick kids- very romantic)

Bow Giveaway

2010-12-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

I have an amazingly talented friend named Chantel that makes the most adorable bows!! She sent an email out last week asking if anyone would be willing to do a giveaway on their blog for her bows. And I thought why not?

The Darling Daughter is the name of her company. Check out the website. She makes awesome boutique looking bows, way cute fabric flowers, the cute knit hats (my gals LOVE these), cute headbands for little babies, and she has started making posh petals. These are a new twist on the flowers that you see everywhere. These are interchangeable! So you pick the colors you want and then you build your own flower to match the outfit your little one is wearing. How great is that? You reuse, rebuild, and create lots of different flowers. I LOVE this idea!

Posh Petals

Another great thing about Chantel is that she will custom make any of the bows to match your daughters outfit perfectly. She has made a lot of my gals bows to go with their Easter and Christmas dresses! If you aren't sold yet, the prices will sell you on these bows! I have seen similar bows to the ones she makes sell for double or more of what she charges!

BUY IT

Head on over to The Darling Daughter and buy your favorite bows. (You will have a hard time choosing.)

WIN IT

The Darling Daughter is giving away a $20 GIFT CERTIFICATE for hair accessories to one person from my blog!! That is awesome!

MANDATORY ENTRY

Visit The Darling Daughter website and tell me what your favorite bow is.

EXTRA ENTRIES (leave a seperate comment for each entry)

1 Entry: Become a fan on THE DARLING DAUGHTER facebook page

1 Entry: Update your Facebook status with a link to this giveaway

2 Entries: Add The Darling Daughter button to your blog. Code at the bottom of the page.

4 Entries: Post about this giveaway and include a link back to my blog (please put the link to your post in your comment)

Giveaway closes December 12th at Midnight

Winner will be chosen using Random.org & announced the following day

(Open to U.S. Only)

GOOD LUCK!

(Remember to include your email in one of your posts or have it available on your profile so we can contact you of your win)

If you would like to add The Darling Daughter Blinkie to your webpage here is the link

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Shutterfly Chirstmas Card Giveaway

2010-11-20T21:48:00.001-08:00

I have been thinking about my Christmas cards for quite awhile now. I was excited a couple weeks ago when I was looking at one of my favorite hair ideas blog and she had a post about an AWESOME giveaway from Shutterfly. This giveaway is for bloggers you go here- and follow the instructions and can get 50 free Christmas cards!! Who doesn't love getting things for free and I usually end up spending quite a bit of money on my Christmas cards. Although I have never used Shutterfly I am excited about this website because there a lot of choices to choose from. It is going to be super hard to pick which one I am going to use for our Christmas card. They have other great products to- like calendars and cute invitations.

In the things I have been seeing lately, bright colors are really in for Christmas cards- I love this one.

I love browns and I thought the presents were so cute!

I love the folded styles they had!

Fun in the Leaves

2010-11-15T19:42:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, when it was still warm, the gals got the rake out and played in the leaves. I have so many fun memories of playing in the leaves. My parents have a big maple tree in their yard and we would get a lot of leaves from it and our neighbor Donna had an awesome leave tree. My sister and I and the Christiansen gals made some epic houses out of leaves. We would make walls and rooms and have so much fun. The gals had a ton of fun playing, raking, and jumping in the leaves.

A 6 Year Olds Declaration of Love

2010-11-11T19:24:00.001-08:00

My little Brooklyn is so boy crazy- I don't know what I am going to do with her. This is her conversation with me on the way to dance.

Brooklyn: "Mom, I have a boyfriend and it isn't even Justin. His name is Peydon."
Me: "He isn't in your class, how do yo know him?"
Brooklyn: "We chase each other all the time at recess. He had another girlfriend before me and she broke up with him. I told him I am SOO not breaking up with him."
(Imagine her using a dramatic voice, head bob, and rolling her eyes and such)
"And mom this is not just a crush- I like like him. And when we pass each other in the hall I'm like 'Hi, boyfriend' and he's like 'Hi, girlfriend'"

Heaven help us!!

HaLLoWeeN

2010-11-02T21:14:00.001-07:00

We had a great Halloween this year! We started our festivities on Tuesday when our Ward had a Trunk-or-Treat. Then on Saturday we went to Sean's parents for a little party, did some trick or treating in Wellsville, and then ended our night at my Aunt Paula's for the annual party. The gals decided on what they wanted to be this year. Gracie wanted to be Tinkerbell (and we already had the costume- score!) Brooklyn wanted to be Dorothy and my good friend had the cutest Dorothy costume she let us borrow. All I bought this year for costumes was Brooklyn's shoes- yay!! The gals looked so cute and are loving all the candy they got. Sean looked awesome in his mullet wig and I told the gals I was dressing up as a mom (I am a dud and don't love Halloween)!

Fall Happenings

2010-10-25T21:02:00.001-07:00

I have been in somewhat of a blogging slump lately, so I have a lot to get caught up on.

Sean celebrated his 30th birthday. We had a little party at our house and then him and I went out. It was low key, but a nice birthday.

We have also reached a very happy milestone with Gracie. She is POTTYTRAINED!!! Most milestones kids reach are kinda bittersweet, but I can't think of anything sad about her getting pottytrained.

The gals played doctor one day. It was way cute!! They got all the gear out and Gracie was having a baby. She took it very seriously, as did Brooklyn being the doctor. These 2 are the best of friends and I am so glad. They play so well together (most of the time).

The Petersen men made their annual trek up to the mountains to try and secure food for the winter. The gals and I headed up one day after school. The gals were so excited to go on a horse ride. Brooklyn even got to ride her own horse. She was a little scared, but my uncle Ron led and they had a great time. They are still talking about the horsey ride.

We also went up to Stone to visit Sean grandparents. They are so good to us. The gals talked grandpa into taking them on a ride in the tractor and then in the Ranger. I was sad I failed (again) to get a picture of grandma. :(

Tonight we painted pumpkins for FHE. Brooklyn decided she wanted to paint them instead of carving and Sean and I were more than happy to go along with that. The clean-up is so much easier. We also made caramel apples- they were delicious!

This fall has been BEAUTIFUL!!! I love the fall and it seems like it never lasts long enough. I feel like it was perfect this year. It was warm and sunny and dry- until the past 2 days. And we have paid for it. Our window started leaking yesterday and we have a mess! The paint down the wall has bubbled and looks bad. Here's hoping for a perfect winter!

Merry Chirstmas Mom and Dad

2010-10-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

For Christmas this year, my siblings and I decided to give my mom and dad family pictures. My sister-in-law Sher's sister Carrie took the pictures and she did a FANTASTIC job. We are so happy with how they turned out! Here are some of my favorites of about the 5000 that were taken.

Brooklyn had a picture that she just had to have done and it was on the loveseat in the back of Carrie and Derek's truck and she is absolutely thrilled with this picture

LOTOJA

2010-09-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

We made our annual trip to Jackson last weekend to see my brother Brian participate in his 6th LOTOJA!! I think to finish once would be amazing, but 6 times. I think is amazing! In the words of Brooklyn, "We were such proud of him!" Thanks to the place we were staying overscheduling and offering us a free night, the gals went up the night before and met up with B along the way. We had a blast!! On Sunday, we decided to take a major long-cut and went home through Yellowstone. We were so excited when the first animal we saw was a grizzly bear. Our family LOVES Yellowstone so it was fun to drive through! Thanks B for taking place in this so we can go and make some fun memories!!

With these cuties cheering for you- how could you not get motivated?

So cute!

Gracie and Pops cheering for B

Mal wanted in on the action- so she grabbed Garrett's Magnadoodle and came up with her own picture.

B and Sher at the finish line

The kids were SOOOO excited to see some buffalo.

The Tetons are amazing!! This is the bear we saw and the entrance into Yellowstone!

Random Things

2010-09-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

I can't let summer end without posting about some things that happened. I have meant to put Brooklyn in swimming for several years now and then before you know it summer is over. That was the #1 thing that I wanted to accomplish this summer. She took at The Peak in Brigham. I was really happy with her lessons she learned a lot in the 2 weeks and 1 private lesson she had.

The gals had fun in our little pool. I love how Gracie is cheesing it in this picture.

We also sold our Durango to Sean's brother, Brent. I was super sad to sell it and I miss it! It was a good car for us. It took us all over. To California, Island Park/Yellowstone, Jackson. We are on the lookout for another SUV or van. If you know of any good deals let me know. We thought we were going to be able to upgrade. But to our surprise the used car market is up 30% right now. It is really discouraging- making me miss the Durango that much more!

One day I put the sprinkler under the tramp and the gals LOVED it!

There were several nights this summer where there were AMAZING sunsets. I love sunsets.

We had a great summer and now we are moving into my favorite season- fall. Everyday I look at the Wellsville's and see more and more color changing taking place and I am SOOO excited!

Funny

2010-08-31T13:30:00.001-07:00

I don't know where Brooklyn comes up with some of the stuff she does, but she crack me up. It is hard when she says these things not to burst out laughing.

My sister was asking her how her first day of school went. This was Brooklyn's reply, "Nat, I REALLY want to tell you. But so many people have asked me about it and I didn't tell them and it just wouldn't be fair if I told you!"

I asked her how her day was. Her reply, "One word, AWESOME!"

She was talking to a girl that was going to be going into Kindergarten. She says, "I really like to talk. They tell me I'm a socialist."

The other night she was in bed and called me in. She tells me, "Mom, I have a crush on Justin. That means I want him in my heart." She said this with this dreamy look in her eyes. Heaven help me!!

Gracie is following in her sister's footprints because she has said some things that crack me up to.

I was trying to get the gals out the door and she was just laying on the floor. I told her to c'mon. She then tells me, "I can't walk my leg is broken."

Today she was saying the prayer "Heavenly Father thanks for Elmo." (It happened to be what she was watching.)

My life would be pretty dull and boring without these 2 little gals to keep me on my toes. I don't know what I would do without them!

The Big 3-0!!!

2010-08-28T20:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday- not just any birthday, it was my 30th birthday!
It is kinda weird that my 20's are behind me now. I enjoyed my 20's!
A few things that happened in my 20's
- I got married
- I became a mom to 2 sweet little girls
- Sean and I bought our first house
-I went to Hawaii (LOVED it!!)
- I lost my 3 remaining grandparents
- I graduated from college
- I went on some fun vacations

Me and Sean on my 30th

I had a great day. I got Brooklyn off to school and hung out with Gracie for a little bit. And then Nat came and got her, I turned my phone off and had a nap. It was a nap like I hadn't had in years. Quite possibly the best present I could have gotten. Then we had dinner at Cafe Sabor with my family and Sean's family. It was a great day! While I have enjoyed my 20's, I am excited for my 30's and can't wait to see what they bring!

Week of Firsts

2010-08-27T09:41:00.001-07:00

We have had a week of firsts in our house this week. On Monday, Gracie and I started a mommy and me dance class. It was quite fun- she had a few moments of needing me to hold her but other than that she had a fun time. Brooklyn also started dance on Monday. Yesterday, was Brooklyn's first day of school. she started first grade so she is gone all day. It is a little weird for me to have my little side-kick gone all day. She has Mrs. Giddings and we are hoping for another good year.

Gracie looked so cute in her little leotard

First day of first grade!

She picked a Barbie backpack this year

In front of her classroom

A picture with grandma. (this is grandma's last year of teaching and then she retires)

A Trip 3 Years in the Making...

2010-08-16T23:27:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a fabulous family vacation. With Sean being in school, we weren't able to go on a vacation during that time. There was a 2 week gap in between him being done with school and being licensed so we planned a vacation. We decided to go to California. We spent a couple days with my cute cousin Kristin and her husband Tyler and their cute kids. They were amazing hosts and we had a blast with them. After we stayed with them, we headed to the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. We were so excited to get there. As we were driving down the 405 in Los Angeles- if you have been there you know this is a crazy freeway. We were driving in the carpool lane and heard a weird sound we were trying to figure out what it was when we heard the dreaded thump thump thump and knew that we had a flat tire. Sean then started trying to get us over 4 lanes of busy traffic. We were able to get over and Sean started unpacking the trunk to put the spare on. A policeman pulled over and told us he had called someone to come and change the tire. He told us to stay in the car with our seatbelts on and basically hope they we didn't get hit. Sean decided that he would just change the tire instead of waiting the 15-20 minutes it would take for the towing company to get there. He got it done and we found a place to get a new tire. And then we FINALLY made it to Disneyland. We stayed there 5 days and had a BLAST!!!! We had a fantastic time. We would just go when the girls woke up and then come back to the hotel and have lunch a little nap and then head back for the night. It was a good system for our little family. It was super busy there- I will not go again in the summer time, but that was when we could go. After we were done at Disneyland, we headed down to San Diego. On the way we stopped in Oceanside and Sean was able to do some surfing and me and the gals played on the beach. We spent 3 day in San Diego, took in Sea World, and headed home. We were gone for 13 days- so it was really nice to get home. We took over 600 pictures which means this post will have lots of pictures (if you want to see a the collage bigger just click on the picture).

Tyler works for Fox so he took us to the Fox lot and gave a tour. It was really cool. Brooklyn likes to watch the Simpson's with Sean when I am not home so she was happy to get her picture taken with the wall. We went to the beach with Kristin and Tyler and the kids and had a good time. The water was pretty cold so there was a lot of playing in the sand. The kids did a lot of bickering back and forth, but had a good time together. Brooklyn and Vinny put some music on and started dancing. They were so funny. Thanks Atkinson family for letting us invade you guys- we had a blast with you!!!

Our first day at Disneyland the gals decided to dress-up. Gracie was Tinkerbell and Brooklyn was Minnie Mouse. Brooklyn was so excited when we walked in and one of the first things we saw was Minnie Mouse. We also got the gals their cute mouse ears with their names on them. Gracie decided sometime during the trip that start giving a big cheesy smile. She cracked us up with it. We only had a few hours the first day because we had tickets to go to a Dodgers game.

We had a blast at the game. The Dodgers were playing the Padres. Brooklyn picked out her cute hat that says- Dodgers Princess.

The characters. We spent A LOT of time in line to get pictures with these guys, it drove Sean nuts, but Brooklyn loved it. I wasn't sure how Gracie would do. But as long as I was right there she did good.

Our first ride we did was the Tea Cups. The gals LOVED Dumbo and A Small World. At night time we would do them over and over.

Brooklyn was so excited to get her Autotopia driver's license (she thought it was real) and was even more excited to actually drive the car.

One of the favorite parts for the gals- getting to see the princesses. Cinderella was the first one we saw and you can see Gracie wasn't so sure so Sean got in the picture. She had dressed up as Snow White one day and so was happy to see her and she loves pink so she loved Sleeping Beauty. Brooklyn was in heaven with the whole thing.

The gals LOVED playing in Minnie's house

Just some random pictures. At California Adventures Brooklyn got her face painted. She actually got 2 days out of it. The picture on the top right, the gals were so excited to ride the train and that was their reaction to getting to ride it. We loved the Toy Story ride even though the wait was 45 minutes or more- we look stylin' in our 3D glasses. Brooklyn and Gracie looked so cute dressed up. Sean and the gals waiting for the High School Musical Parade. The last picture was taken of us the last night in front of the castle. The gals loved the castle.

Our last day there, I took the gals to Disneyland while we were there we were able to see Tinkerbell. The gals loved her. Sean had gone surfing while we went and got stung by a sting ray. He said it felt like 20 bee stings in the same spot. He soaked it in hot water and rested for a little bit and then was ok.

We had a blast in Toontown! In the top right picture you can see Gracie cheesing it again.

The High School Musical Parade. We spend a lot of time waiting to see this. We read the schedule wrong and sat waiting for it one day for 20 minutes and then we were told it was blacked out for the day but would be going the next day. We went the next day and realized it wasn't showing that day either. We were finally able to see it. I love how the gals are taking it in- laying on the ground (gross)! Brooklyn loves Loves LOVES all things High School Musical so she was very serious about the whole thing and took it all in. Gracie loved the music and was up dancing to it.

Sean surfing and the gals playing in Oceanside

On Sunday, we went to the temple. They are doing construction on temple.

After the temple, we went to La Jolla Cove. It is a beautiful place. There are rocks there where Sea Lions or Seals I don't know the difference hang out. We were hanging out on some rocks where I got the picture of the wave hitting. I was getting nervous and told Sean I thought we should go and I headed off with Gracie. The rocks are super slippery and I totally fell carrying her. Luckily I was able to save her from getting hurt. But I didn't end up so lucky- my knee got all scraped up and bruised, the other foot got scraped up, and my hand. It hurt so bad. I was wearing a skirt so I am sure that the many people that saw it happen and didn't ask it I was ok got quite the sight! :) We did see a pod of dolphins swim by and witnessed an amazing sunset.

We had a blast at Sea World. (I actually didn't take too many pictures here.) We fed the dolphins and that was really cool. They have the Sesame Street characters there and Brooklyn was excited to get a picture with Elmo.

We had so much fun on this trip and made so many fun memories as a family. The flat tire and Sean getting stung weren't fun. A funny thing happened to me. I went and rode the Matterhorn while Sean took the gals on Small World and we were pretty close to the end when the ride just stopped. They got on the speakers and said it would be shut down for 45 minutes. I was thinking great. We were right by an exit door and couldn't figure out why they just couldn't get us off through it. Finally, 20 minutes later they did. A kid had been sticking his legs out of the ride so they stopped it and escorted him off to security. At the same time in Small World they were riding along and then starting going backwards. Those are some random things that happened. The worst thing that happened on the vacation was when we got word that my brother-in-law Greg was admitted into the hospital and was very sick. Things were not looking good and I happened to call my Aunt Paula- she was upset and said they had taken Greg into emergency surgery to take out his infected gall-bladder and that things weren't good. I felt completely helpless and all I wanted to do was be with my sister. Sean and I started looking for flights to try and get me to Utah. It was about 10 o'clock and we could not find one until the next day. The surgery ended up going good. He stayed in the hospital for several days after. He had salmonella, bacteria in his blood, and a bacteria in his stomach. We are so glad that he is getting better every day. But other than that it was really an awesome vacation for our family. I can't wait to do it again!!

Oh Brooklyn!! (part 2)

2010-07-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

So I thought this gal had grown out of the funny things she used to say. But, tonight she treated me with another classic Brooklyn line.

My family and Sean's family surprised him tonight with a dinner for finally being all the way done with school. On the way over I worrying that we would be put upstairs. Sean's grandma was coming and she is in a wheelchair. So I just figured if we did a couple of the men could carry her up. Well Brooklyn comments in her sweet 6 year old attitude voice (sense the sarcasm), "Well, I bet Lance Armstrong could carry her up ALL by his self."

UH! Ok- wherever that came from.

Oh Brooklyn!!

2010-07-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who voted for Brooklyn's picture- sadly she didn't win. But that is ok- we are already planning on going- that would have just been an added bonus.

So tonight, the gals and I went to enjoy some ice cream at Casper's. We were having a good time and Brooklyn looks out the windown and says, "UH OH!" I ask her what is wrong- wondering who it is she saw. She then tells me (still staring out the window), "there are A LOT of cute boys coming in." And in walked 5 or 6 teenage boys. I was trying so hard not to die laughing. When it was time to go and we were out in the car, she kept opening and closing the door. I finally told her stop doing that and looked over and saw the boys getting into their truck. She told me she just wanted to hear what the truck sounded like. Heaven help me when she hits the teenage years!

Please Vote for Brooklyn- again

2010-07-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to all of you who voted last time for Brooklyn to win the trip to Disneyland. We are going to try again. If you are reading this Wednesday night- please come back tomorrow and vote. If you are reading this Thursday- please vote. It is actually going for another week so if you want to vote every day that would be awesome too! Remember hers is #47! Cross your fingers! THANKS!!
http://www.todays1065.com/pages/disneyland/

Relay for Life!

2010-07-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we were celebrating those have won the fight against cancer, remembering those we have lost to cancer, and fighting back!! This was our family's 8th Relay for Life. And through AMAZING AMAZING friends and family and AWESOME businesses we were able to raise $7070!! THANK YOU so much!! The Herald Journal actually came and did an article of our team. There was a way cute picture of Gracie and my dad in it. You can click on this link to read the article https://secure.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=8972648e586070b96e97.

(Thanks Nat and Kami- I took pictures off of your blogs.)

Here is the crew- I can't help but think that my Grandma Vone and Grandpa Butch would be so proud of what we are doing. My grandma passed away from colon cancer and my grandpa from pancreatic cancer. We did our first relay a few short months after my grandma passed away and it was a form of healing for us.

The Relay begins

Our survivors (in purple) my cousin Janalee and our good friend Karen

Our 3rd survivor- my Uncle Bruce

My kids had the time of their lives- I couldn't keep track of Brooklyn through pretty much the whole thing. Thanks to my cute cousins for going with her wherever she wanted to. Nat had her wagon up there and the kids hitched rides any chance they could.

Uncle Brett giving them a ride

This year we tried something new and did a bucket auction at our campsite. I am still not over the generosity of the many businesses that provided items to be included in this. We were able to raise over $1000 just through this.

The campsite next to us had a "petting zoo" of stuffed animals that you could buy. And before I knew it the gals had talked Pops into giving them some money and had bought 4 stuffed animals. So in this picture, Brooklyn had put Paula in charge of them.

The gals and my cute cousin Elisha- Brooklyn pretty much attached herself to Elisha's hip.

There was a DJ there and a stage and the gals danced on it for probably close to an hour. I couldn't believe that Gracie was loving it as much as she was. We couldn't get them down. They were sad when we left for the night. And first thing when Gracie got back- she wanted to go to the stage and dance.

Brooklyn taking a breather

My uncle Bruce even got in on the action (as did Pops but I had the camcorder going and didn't get a picture)

4th of July and Bear Lake

2010-07-13T20:58:00.001-07:00

I am so far behind on this blog- so get yourself a yummy snack, a good drink, get comfortable, and enjoy this long post! I LOVE summer- I love BBQ's, fireworks, playing in water, running from one activity to the next, being with family, I love it all. I especially love the 4th of July- it is my favorite holiday! We always go to Bear Lake over the 4th of July. This year, before we headed up, we attended the 4th of July festivities in Stone, Idaho. There was a HUGE parade- consisting of maybe 10 "floats." Sean's grandpa has restored an old truck and he drove it with the kiddos in it. Brooklyn was ecstatic all week just thinking of her parade debut. I didn't think Gracie would ride in it, but one look at the candy bag and she was sold. They had a BLAST!! We hung out at Sean's grandparents house all day with family and then went to the BIG firework show. Like the parade, it was small, but for a small town it was nice.

The gals in their 4th apparel

Our little family

Sean's cute grandparents and the gals. The gals adore these two- so do I.

Sean's grandpa posing with his classic truck

The gals in their parade debut

Brooklyn enjoying the fireworks

The gals and Sean having fun with the sparklers. Quite surprisingly, Gracie was enjoying them. I think that 2.2 seconds after this picture was taken, she touched the flame and burned her finger- ending her fun with sparklers. Sean's grandma spoiled us with a fun firework display at their house.

On sunday, we headed up to Bear Lake. My dad and uncle Ric put on their usual 4th feast. We had a blast up there. I have had a part-time job this summer so I was driving back and forth- I would hate to think I would have to do that every day. But, luckily the gals have grandma and Nat that watched them while I was gone. We enjoyed the beach, swimming at the pool, playing in the sprinklers, visiting, and looking for deer. The kids loved the night that we saw one right off the side of the road and they were able to sit and watch it. I LOVE Bear Lake. I have so many fun memories of up there and can't wait for my gals to start creating their own memories of up there. I am glad my grandparents had the vision of it being a gathering place- and for my parents keeping it so I can create those precious memories with my own little family.

Enjoying the beach

Hey good-lookin'

This gal cracks me up- good thing she has her goggles and snorkle to play in the sprinkler

Again she cracks me up- at one point she also had on a life jacket to complete the ensemble. She loved swimming.

Gracie being ever so cautious- I was shocked that she enjoyed swimming as much as she did. She couldn't get enough. She even got brave and rode down the slide with my cute cousins.