Fall Update

So..things have been busy and life has been crazy. We had a wonderful summer and are having a great fall. Olive thought growing, painting and carving pumpkins was awesome. I think she is a little morbid. Her favorite color is black. (Notice the painted pumpkin.) If black is ever an option, it is her first choice. She will even say her favorite color is black. Ah well, if I want a project to be colorful I just don't offer black as an option. She is also very creative. James carved her pumpkin with her on Halloween and she declared it the greatest puzzle ever. She played with it for hours punching the pieces out and then putting them back in. What a smart girl.

Jacob and Katie took us up the canyon one Saturday and we took some family pictures. They turned out alright and we had fun.

Here is one of strong Olive and James lifting a huge boulder. Are you impressed?

Olive might be an amazing baker/chef someday. Here she is making pumpkin/cream cheese cupcakes for Grandmas birthday. She also really likes to watch Rachel Ray (and the few other cooking shows we get) with me. Funny girl.

This is a while back, but we found Monarch Caterpillars in Aug/Sept and were able to watch them turn into butterflies. It was pretty cool. Olive really likes the idea of bugs, but close up they make her nervous. The butterfly was no exception. We hope to make this a yearly tradition.

Here are a few other random pictures of Olive and James hanging out. She sure loves her daddy.

Talk about local

Have I mentioned I have a garden? It is wonderful. The past few days lunch and dinner have included things that grew in my own backyard. The pepper garden bed is starting to get very colorful. It is very exciting to check everyday and see what is new. Maybe I will learn to can salsa this weekend. Exciting!

Summer Fun

We were lucky enough to spend time with James family for Ryan and Liz's wedding this summer. We were able to go to Washington State for the weekend of their wedding and then to Canada for their celebration there. It was beautiful and such a nice break from the Utah heat. It was a short trip, but we were able to spend time at Cobourg beach, which we love. Olive was very unsure about it at first, which surprised us because last year she loved it. She wanted us to carry her and I finally had to just set her in the sand and step away. She sat there whining "Dirty, mom, dirty". It took her about 10 min, but after that she couldn't get enough of the dirty sand.

We were also able to pick strawberries. Olive thought it was great until she was full of strawberries and then she thought it was more fun to put the straw that was around the berries in the boxes.

It was a wonderful trip. We are so happy to have Liz as a part of the family. We wish Ryan and Liz were sticking around Utah but are very happy that they found each other.

Olive had a blast with her Grandma and Bawpa and her cousins. We are very sad that we don't get to spend more time with them, but it just makes those memories all the more special. We miss you all very much!

Funny Faces

Okay...I seriously need to post more often. I think about what I want to post and then I start looking at the pictures I have since the last time I posted and I get overwhelmed and give up. Have you seen Olive and how cute she is? I can't choose which of the millions of pictures I take to share. They are all so cute.

So how about these pulling faces pictures that have nothing to do with anything, but they crack me up.

Spring

We are so happy that it is warm. Olive loves being outside and we are loving having a yard to play in. We also have a garden. Olive is not really one for getting dirty, but I am trying to show her it is wonderful to dig in the dirt and take care of our "cute baby plants" as she calls them. She is really getting into it. Now...I just need to teach her to weed.

Easter

I know it is a month late but...
Did you see the selection of plastic eggs in the store this year? I haven't really shopped for plastic Easter eggs in my life, so I don't really know when there got to be such a large selection, but I was amazed. We purchased the bug and dinosaur eggs, but that was just the beginning of the selection. There were eggs with a neon strip and a flashlight for night hunts, fish eggs, even an egg that was shaped like Elmo. I was mildly disappointed at the candy inside. (Yes I bought the pre-stuffed eggs.) Luckily, Olive was so excited about the eggs that she didn't even care about the candy inside.
We had a blast on Easter. We had 3 different egg hunts, plus kite flying, park playing, and Andy IA over.

We grew grass in an Easter basket from the dollar store this year. It was a lot of fun. Olive loved planting the grass, watering it and she loved checking on it every day. She was really funny putting her eggs in the basket also. She had to have them evenly spaced in the grass. It was fine at our morning egg hunt with just her, but when she was competing against other kids it became a problem.

Olive likes climbing up the slides a lot better than she likes going down. She understands the fastest way to get down so she can climb up again is to slide down, but it makes her a little nervous. It is very funny.

So...I found this dress tutorial online and decided to try it for Olive's Easter dress. I tried to swipe a shirt from James' closet, but he caught me before I started cutting. Instead I found a shirt at DI. I really like how it turned out and it was so easy. If you have little girls you should try it.

April 29

I have had many happy days in my life, but one of the first happy days I remember is the day my sister was born. I had three stinky brothers (sorry guys) and was so excited when my mom got pregnant again. Finally...this one had to be a sister. We didn't find out the sex of the baby, but I just knew it would be a girl. My mom and I would get up every morning and go to the junior high to walk around the track. My mom told me this started our day off right with exercise, but it started my day off right with a little alone time with my mom. I remember from the minute she told me she was having a baby, our morning walk conversation was all about my baby sister.

When the day finally came my Grandma and Grandpa came and took us to McDonald's while my mom and dad went to the hospital. I remember getting home and waiting anxiously for the phone to ring. My dad finally called. He told me that it was a boy. This broke my heart, I couldn't believe him, this was my last chance for a little sister. He then told me he was kidding and that it was a girl. I was so furious that he would play such a mean joke. I didn't dare hope that it really was a girl. I had to see her for myself to believe it.

Since the first time I met her 18 years ago, I knew that I had found a new best friend. Melanie is the funnest girl I know. She is so smart, confident, funny and did I mention beautiful. I know that little sisters are supposed to look up to their big sisters, that's what I always planned on those walks with my mom, but the truth is...I look up to her. Mel... you are the best. I hope you had a wonderful birthday today. Keep being you!

Happy Birthday Week!

Happy Birthday Kyle and Luke! We miss you both very much and wish we could have been there this weekend to celebrate with you. Olive loves spending time with you and we wish we could see you more often.

Kyle...Uncle James is practicing so he can beat you at Mario Cart next time we see you. Uncle Ryan tells him that is not possible.

Long time...

Yes, I suck at blogging. I was checking blogs today and found myself wishing my friends that I don't see often would update more. I am a pretty big hypocrite. I don't think I can do a whole big update, but we have had some big changes since the last post.

I found a job where I can work a few hours a day and keep Olive with me. It was a bit of an adjustment working again, but we are very happy with the decision.

We moved back to Utah county. I haven't lived here for close to 7 years and we really liked the Salt Lake Valley, but we couldn't let this opportunity pass.

Olive is growing so fast and we have a blast watching her learn everyday. She is amazing and definitely keeps us on our toes. We moved next door to two great families that have boys that are just a few months older than Olive. She loves to play with them and from the minute she wakes up until she goes to sleep she wants to play with "my boys".

The picture is for you Will. I know it was a while ago, but Olive and I were supporting the Steelers. We wish we could have watched the game with you.