I cannot believe . . .

this (not so) little guy will be ONE on Monday! What a wonderful year it has been.

This poor little girl . . .

Is not feeling very well. Poor thing.

We're hoping it passes quickly . . .

And we can get back to more moments like this . . .

A common site at our local grocery store . . .

Something I LOVE to do is to pack the kids up in our Croozer and walk to the grocery store with them.

Highlights include:

• Walking through the neighborhood looking for cats
  
• Squeezing the stroller through the door
• Letting Lucy get out and walk to the bakery
  
• Getting the kids a cookie from the nice bakery lady
• Playing tetrus with the grocery items in the back of the stroller
• Chatting with the sweet old lady who checks us out. She usually has some sort of prize for the kids too.
• Walking home up the hill pushing a heavy stroller and feeling good about counting it for my workout for the day.
• Lifting up the rain shield once we get home and having my cute kids give me a great big smile!
  

Home: Before & After

We loved our little red home, but it just kept fading to the point that somebody commented to us how they loved our purple paint job! Something needed to change:

BEFORE

AFTER

(isn't she lovely)

Army Crawler

Lucy calls him, "Scoots":

Utah Republican Convention

Some random thoughts about my turn as a state delegate:

-I was absolutely thrilled to be nominated by my neighborhood precinct to represent them at the state convention.
-I told my Dad about it and he came too. I couldn't find him at first (it is at the Salt Palace and about 4,000 people are there passing out all kinds of literature and goodies). Then I looked up and across the crowd saw my Dad with a Bennett shirt on. It was so fun to be there with him.
-We listened to Mitt Romney speak for a bit and then chatted with Orrin Hatch. I think my Dad was a bit star struck.
-When they began with the pledge of allegiance, they requested that all current and former servicemen give the proper salute. My Dad proudly saluted and even shed a little tear as the pledge was said. I love him.
-My precinct overwhelmingly wanted Bennett re-elected. I had met all the candidates and felt we could benefit from Bennett's leadership for 6 more years so I felt good about voting for him. They got the vote down to the top 3 which was: Mike Lee: 28% Tim Bridgewater: 27% and Bob Bennett: 26%. That was CLOSE!
-We voted again and the vote came down to Mike Lee: 37% Tim Bridgewater: 36% and Bob Bennett with 26%.
-Bennett did not go on and in the end Bridgewater and Lee will go to a Primary for the remaining of The Republicans in Utah to decide.
-I felt since Bennett had about a 78% approval rating in Utah, we owed it to the people to let them decide in a Primary. Obviously others did not.
-If it were just up to me, I would have gone with Bridgewater from the beginning. He has a lot of real answers, a lot of REAL experience in the business world, a strong direction regarding education and is a very personable man.
-I strongly endorse Tim Bridgewater for the upcoming election.
-I do NOT endorse Mike Lee. He looks great on paper, but the more myself (and other delegates) heard him speak, the more we did not feel like we could get any REAL solutions out of him. I think he'd make a great Attorney General.
-So there's my 2 cents regarding politics. I love being a part of something so influential.


Favorite quotes of the day:
"Mr. President, we are not the party of no. Quoting John Boehner, we are the party of HELL NO!" -Bishop

"It was the states that created the federal government NOT the federal government that created the states." -Chaffetz

"Who cling to their guns and religion." -Philpot (the best part about this quote was that all this candidate had to do was mention guns and religion in the same sentence and the crowd went wild. You gotta love the Right).

And my personal favorite: "Try being informed instead of just opinionated." -Hough

David's Happy Song

David has this happy little song he sings when all is well. We caught a short clip of it while we were hiking in Zion (because who wouldn't be happy hiking in Zion?)

Mother's Day was Special

Marc made sure to make me feel special on Mother's Day (but he makes me feel special no matter what the day).

The day started with yummy omelets and then I was treated to go back to bed while Marc took the kids on a walk. Oh how I love naps! Then as we were just about to leave for church, Marc said, "You need your flowers." He then pulled out a lovely corsage with my favorite flowers on them (white daisies and yellow roses). I was so touched. It reminded me of how my Mom always looked on Mother's Day. I felt like a very special lady with my flowers on at church.

For my gift, I got exactly what I asked for, an hourglass (as in a TRUE 60 minute one). I told Marc I wanted one to use everyday to remind me to spend at least that much time a day just playing with my children. I used it today and I loved the reminder!

The best part of the day was the time we spent together as a family. Marc did not have to go to his BYU Ward and we had the whole day to be with one another. I loved every moment. It is so true that the best thing we can give our families is time and I am grateful for the visual reminder this hourglass will be for me every day. I hope every Mother was able to feel special on Mother's Day and that most of all, you had time to be with the ones you love.

A little while ago . . .

I went to Disneyland as a single lady with no commitments to anyone but me. It was fun, it was adventurous, it was easy to ride every ride and see all the sites.
Then in December I went to Disneyland as a Mother of a 2 year-old and a 6 month-old. I found myself on a completely different schedule. We chose rides that wouldn't be too scary, spent a lot of time in Toonland at a slide we could have found at our neighborhood park, stood in a long line to see Minnie Mouse, looked for places I could discretely nurse a baby, and stood in awe at all the helium balloons. At the end of the day, we had seen maybe 1/50th of the park . . . and somehow it ended up being the most magical experience I have ever had there.

Becoming a Mother has changed my life in so many ways and I wouldn't trade the small moments of discovery for anything. I am grateful to be a Mom. I hold the title very close to my heart. To all the Mother's whose lives have been and will be eternally changed, I say: Happy Mother's Day!

Family Time

We took a wonderful trip to St. George and Zion National Park last weekend and we had a blast! It was so wonderful to be together as a family.
We did some great hikes together. The photo below pretty much sums up what most of the time was like. My wonderful husband carried David and helped Lucy navigate the trails.

Oh, how I LOVE the views in Zion. I could move there tomorrow.

Marc is so great to always turn everything into a teaching moment. He is such an incredible father.

The whole family in a photo actually looking towards the camera! That deserves a spot on the blog.

Lucy hiked at least a mile all by herself. She was such a trooper. When she got tired, I would give her a lift.
Lucy found this toy skunk in the gift store and was showing it to this sweet couple. She was telling them that its name was Lilly and that she just loved it. Before we knew it, the lady bought her the skunk. Marc and I couldn't believe it.
We went down so Marc could help with the IronMan. He got to give out the medals at the finish line-pretty sweet eh.
While Marc helped at the race, the rest of us visited my Great Aunt Loretta. She is always so great to be around.
The next day we did a little more exploring. Is this baby the cutest thing you'd ever want to lug around or what.
Here we are at weeping rock. Lucy didn't like that the water was falling on her, but once we put her hat on, she got over it.

And then we were ready for home. Such a great time to be had by all.

Marc's Dad challenged us last year to take time to have family vacations together (meaning OUR little family). We have taken this to heart and it has been a real blessing for us.