Thanks Gram & Pa for "New Dolly"

Can I just say Cute?

I think she is the cutest thing ever, even if she won't look at the camera anymore and let me take a picture of the dress I so painstakingly made for her! I loves you Miss Abi!

Secrets

Just because someone thinks a secret is stupid, they are not justified in telling anyone else. It is still a secret!

Plug for Great Services

2 companies I VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND:

Capital Assets Utah Valley
Sam Partridge
801-370-9877
Sam is so open and honest. We have used him to fix our mortgage problems and we are now sitting well with less than a 5% interest rate. If you buy a home or want to refinance--give him a call.

Ackerson Eye Care
John Ackerson
736 W 100 SHeber City, UT 84032-3739(435) 657-1212
So it is a drive up to Heber but so worth it. He is so knowledgeable and he remembers my eyes (i guess I have peculiar eyes) and he helps me find the best comfort/fit contacts every time. Definitely worth the drive.

Please Spread the Word

So Richard's company is doing something really cool and I would love you forever if you spread the word. They do translations now through ancestry.com - meaning if you have an old diary from some great grandparent in a foreign language, they can translate it for you. I don't have any prizes to give away but if you post something about it on your blog, I'll love you forever. You can direct others to wstranslation.com

Thanks!

Funny things

Last week Abi was asking for treats and I said "not now." She then said "Papa's House." She knows where the treats are at.

We have one of those new gospel art picture books and at the end there is a page with all the Prophets. We've shown that to Abi and she knows they are Prophets so at church on Sunday Abi pointed to the older gentleman behind us and yelled out "Prophet!"

He Did it!

This is how Richard feels about finally getting his diploma:

Hooray! Happy Day! We are so proud of Daddy for his accomplishments at school and at work. He is awesome in our book and if you don't think so too then you are just soooo missing out.

Give me all yer Roll Recipes...

Anyone have a fabulous roll recipe? I want rolls and I don't have any tried and true recipes. Give me all yer recipes and no one gets hurt. :)

I need Ideas. . .

So, does anyone have any great ideas that helped transition the first child to the addition of the second??? Everyone has said get her a baby doll but she already has one and she LOVES it and i think getting a new one would be confusing. Anything special I should pack in her away bag while we are in the hospital???

Unattentive, Ignorant, and Integrity Lacking Parents!

Ahhhhh! So we went to Thanksgiving Points Dinosaur Museum (everything on Tuesdays was $2.00 a person in August) last night and at the Erosion Table (a big sand and water play area) some 3ish year old boy grabbed a big ball of sand and hit Abi smack in the face. Of course, there were no parents around to notice. Me and my big belly had to climb into the kiddy area and rescue the screaming Abi (did i mention the sand/water mix has chlorine in it?) Ok, so I'm overprotective on a regular basis but I'm feeling huge and sooooooo pregnant and you just don't mess with my kid. I know accidents happen but it soooo wasn't an accident and the most frustrating part is where is his parents???
Ok, and my other raving is when we had our yard sale a few weeks back, I remember hearing some commotion by our mailbox and I looked up to see a mother and daughter looking at me really funny like. Later I realized the little girl had broken off the part of our mailbox that tells the postperson to pick up the mail and the funny look they were giving me was a "I hope she didn't just see that" look. Come on? Where is your integrity? Just tell me. Geez. So now I get to buy a new mailbox--so even though I made some money on the yard sale, I'll have to use half of it to get a stinking new mailbox when I would so rather spend it on other things. Either that or never mail anything. Hmmm..maybe none of you will get Christmas cards...
Hmmm....hopefully after the baby my hormone levels will be more normal so things like this won't bother me quite as much...

Looking for a sweet cake designer?

Richard's way talented cousins are doing wedding cakes and they are soooo gorgeous. If you're looking for a special occasion cake, take advantage of the coupon above! Visit their website at http://jenezecakedesign.blogspot.com/

What we (mostly I) have been up to lately

So I have been in sewing mode lately, making dresses for the girls. Unfortunately I only had an adult sized hanger downstairs and it wasn't worth going upstairs to get a kids one so some of the dresses look a little funny. Thanks to my Mother-in-law, Nancy for teaching me to sew on a machine and for my neighbors for the free fabric and patterns (my Mother-in-Law also shared fabric and patterns with me too).

Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! I've realized that I can actually sew something decent and I love it!

The dress below is for Abi's Birthday and was the first one I made.

This will be the baby's Christmas dress

This will be Abi's Christmas dress

This is another fun dress I made. I love, love, love this pattern

Thanks Jenna for telling me how to make the carseat cover and for the fabric from my Mother-in-Law (which is also the fabric she used on the baby's quilt. I LOVE it! She did such a good job picking out all of the fabrics. I can't wait to see it.

Abi and her bike. We got this on KSL. She LOVES it. She is obsessed with bikes and you can't beat the price we got it for. Daddy spray-painted it so it looks a bit better now. She just needs some sweet accessories.

Good thing I wasn't in charge of taking pictures the day Richard's brother David came home because this is all I took. I guess I was just too excited at the airport to pull out the camera. (for those who know, doesn't Abi kind of look like my brother Kyle in this picture?)

Pigtails and Tutus. Our baby is no longer a baby but such a little girl. (I got the tutu and shoes at a yard sale for less than a dollar)

Daddy time-outs & toast

Daddy had to have a time out yesterday. For some reason he had the urge to throw sand while we were all playing in the sandbox last night. He said he didn't know why--he just had this crazy urge. Of course Abi saw and what else could I do but give Daddy a time out, which he laughed the whole way through so he had to have another one (i was trying not to laugh too of course).

As we were in the car yesterday, I looked back and saw Abi had put her piece of toast on her head and she was just waiting for me to see it. She is such a ham and is doing stuff just to get us to laugh. We love, love, love her!

Want to contribute to my yard sale?

So I am in full nesting mode and I'm organizing and cleaning out and getting rid of anything and everything that I don't use but I don't have enough stuff for a yard sale (I clean out like this often). Let me know if you have something you want to contribute (if you live nearby). If you want to help man it, you can earn some money too. Not sure when I'm doing it though. Anyway...I need my fabric I ordered to arrive. I'm running out of busy things to do and if I'm not constantly busy, I go crazy. I'll post pictures soon of all the dresses I've made.

I didn't know rocks reproduced...

...but according to Abi (who knows everything) they do. She showed me a baby rock and a Daddy rock today. Oh, and she does say mommy now--it just comes out as "Maddy."

Her Nose Pooped

So Abi has been sick all day yesterday and today. She sneezed out a bunch of stuff yesterday and pointed to her nose and said "poop" so I guess in her mind her nose pooped. I guess it makes sense. Silly thing.

A Day Off!!!!!

Yah, Richard got to take Friday off for the holiday!!! It was SOOOOOOO wonderful. He has been working so stinking hard and even had to travel back to DC a few weeks ago during which time we missed him terribly. Friday morning he played with Abi for a few hours while I got some much needed rest--shouldn't he have been resting??? Then we had a picnic up the canyon and went to bridal veil falls and waded in the water. Abi loved it. Then she fell asleep on the way home and after her nap we drove to salt lake, ate dinner, and then we finally got to go to the aquarium. She acted like a pro--she totally remembered the place and went to all the places she wanted to go. She squealed with glee again at some of the animals. I can't wait to take her to the zoo again--except for the idea of all that walking in the heat. Anyway, it was a great day and Abi was so happy to have her daddy home for the day.
The 4th was pretty fun too. Richard fixed some things around the house and we ran errands (neither of these sound fun but it was nice doing it all together) and then we went to our nephew Alec's birthday party. Abi didn't really get a nap until about 7:30 and she woke up right before the F16s flew right over head so that pretty much freaked her out (even though she loves planes). So the fireworks right after this were just about as scary and she cuddled up with grandma. How lucky to have gotten the coveted seat all night long! Richard and I both wanted to hold her, she just looked way too cute all cuddled up in grandmas arms. It was a nice weekend.

Anyway, since I'm writing a novel, I figured I'd send out a special thanks. Hopefully this individual reads this. I am so blessed with so many wonderful friends and this one friend in particular has been so sweet to me lately and always. When Richard was gone she had me over for dinner and her and her husband came and checked on us. She is constantly taking care of me and she always pampers me, which is certainly not required but she is so sweet to do it. I feel like she is always thinking of me and I just wanted to tell her how amazing I think she is. She has grown so much in her testimony and as a sweet young mother and she has such a wonderful heart. She is a crazy nutcase and I love her for it! Anyway, thanks for being you and thanks for still being my friend through another scatter-brained pregnancy! You are the best and I'm so lucky to have you as a friend!

Ok, i'm done for the night. If you actually read this all the way through, I think you're pretty cool. :)

woe is her

so we get 1/2 mile from the exit to go to the aquarium and I look back and Abi is throwing up and it was a ton. Of course i didn't have a super packed diaper bag. Thank goodness for some wipes and a jacket and blanket we found in the car. Poor thing. I think she ate too much and had too many sweets that day. Just to tell you how amazing she is though--i knew she didn't feel good the whole way home--what being naked and stinking and empty stomached and all-- but whenever she noticed I was looking at her (richard was driving of course), she smiled at me. What a trooper.

Daddy, WE LOVE YOU!

Daddy, I love you

I love it when you protect me:and take me to fun places:

I love to bake you cookies:

and show you my prettyand silly faces: (yes the water is green--what else do you do on a rainy day in June but go swimming in the bathtub while adding food coloring-try it!)

I love to look all cute for you when you come home from work:

Daddy, I love it when you read to me and make me feel like the most important person in the world:

I LOVE YOU DADDY!

It's a. . .

GIRL!!!!

We're super excited and can't wait!!!

Aquarium

Hey, anyone else have memberships to the Aquarium in SLC? We took Abi on Memorial Day and she loved it!!! She was screaming WOW! at the shark/sting ray tank and she stood in front of one of the amazon exhibits for like 15 minutes! We went ahead and bought the membership. If you go twice or more it pays for itself and it is inside! We are looking forward to visiting again and again this next year. If anyone ever wants to go up with me during the day, let me know!

Last Nights Dinner and our yard

Last night I made Vegetable Spinach Fettuccine w/chicken and Frozen Raspberry Lemonade to drink with garlic cheese bread (which would have been even better had I had french bread). Mmmm. it was good and oh so healthy.

So, here are some before and after shots of the backyard. The yard was AWFUL when we bought the house and we've been working so hard to fix it up. Sorry the pictures really aren't great. It really does look a lot better in person--and yes, I do have weeds still but they are being exterminated at a rapid rate. Someday I hope to be a master gardener like Richard's grandpa and have a yard worthy of wedding receptions.

Before:

Afters:

Fun Outings & FOOD

We went to Thanksgiving Point Farm Country a few weeks ago with some friends. We had soooo much fun! Abi loved it.

This baby cow was licking everything in site and Abi was trying to avoid its super long tongue!

Abigail loved feeding the goats.

So, now that morning sickness has run its course I've been enjoying food much, much more! The other day I was craving Mexican and in about an hour I made the following from scratch: chicken/veggie fajitas, flour tortillas, spanish rice, pico de gallo, and sopapillas for dessert. I've been thinking of starting a little restaurant in my backyard for just friends and family--just so I can justify cooking such yummy food. Anyone want to come? :)

Non-mothers??? WHAT!?!?!?!?

So, today someone at church said (in effect) happy mothers day to "non-mothers." I know he was trying to be nice but man is that an offensive way to put it.
I just wanted to say Happy Mothers Day to every woman I know because I FIRMLY believe that any woman who loves children--nieces, nephews, neighbors, their own children or just random children they meet--are mothers. The bearing of children does not make a woman a mother. It is the loving of children that makes a woman a mother. So, from someone whose worst day of the year for several years was Mothers Day from the rude comments and actions of untold people I say Happy Mothers Day to anyone who may have had a rough day.

Anyway, my day was great. Richard has just been treating me even more sweetly all week and yesterday he gave me a cd of Norah Jones--I love her music and HE HATES IT so that makes it even sweeter! This morning he let me sleep in and I got a shower alone! He gave Abi a bath while I made breakfast---and don't think this is a bad thing. I LOVED to be able to make what I wanted for breakfast and that I didn't have to give Abi a bath. It was wonderful. The poor guy didn't feel so well today and he took a cranky Abi home after sacrament. They were asleep when I got home so I got a lunch alone and a nap--which were both very nice! At dinner he watched the kids at grandmas so we could all relax. He was soooo exhausted afterward. Anyway, thanks hunny for a wonderful day. I really enjoyed the alone time and the card from Abi!

You know what that smell is....

So it's 2:45 a.m. and your sweet little darling is crying again after a miserably sick day and you open the door of your own room and almost pass out from the smell coming from her room. How many diarrhea diapers did we change last night and yesterday and today already? Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! is what I have to say to that. Our poor little darling.