I Remember...

What an event it was to visit the September 11th Memorial at Tempe Town Lakes this past Saturday. I got choked up as we walked over the hill and took in the patriotic site. Each flag represented a fallen citizen from that day. And further symbolism hit me as I noticed that each flag waved individually from the other, just as each person who gave their life that day had a unique story to tell. Joe sat down with Ethan and recounted the events from that day. Planes flew over us every minute or so. Taps was played a couple of times each hour. And the tears just kept streaming down my face. (I'm so glad I wore those sunglasses to cover the evidence.) The world has seemed to go back to it's 'I don't care about anything' mentality. BUT for this moment I was able to stop, and hit the rewind button, and remember...

What's Up This month?

Well, it seems the closest thing to me that's a camera these days is my phone, so I snap shots from there more often than my higher resolution camera, but at least it's something right?

  I just got a new calling as young women secretary and it seems to be perfect for me! Look at these crazy miamaids! They performed a Mormon rap and it was hilarious! I so remember those days of being fancy free!

This is Ethan's way of finding things to do around the house. He loves to get creative with the baby contraptions that litter our floor.

  We sat outside and watched the rain storm last week. It was so nice to smell the damp and feel the cool breeze! I would have stayed out all evening if we didn't start getting soaked!

First day of preschool! I took more photos that I'll be uploading soon! Ethan was such a big boy walking into class this year! much different than last year. He's becoming such a big boy! Daddy gave him a sweet blessing the night before and he felt so important!!!

 Look at this little princess! This is the dress she wore to church last Sunday and it was precious on her. She kept tripping on it though because it's so long. All of the young women argue over who gets to hold her and Ivy is so good when she sits on their laps. I LOVE this little lady!

Happy Bday Celebrations

This month is always one of my favorites because it's Aimee and Mom's Bdays. And to our surprise, last weekend was a BIG party! Friday night, Aimee planned a BASH for my mom and all the girls went to see 'Annie get your gun' at Hale Theater. The show was so cute and I LOVED the music. After that we went for ice cream and chatted about shaving our legs. :) Nothing Better!

 Then, we got a 'secret' invitation in the mail from Ray (Aimee's hubby) about a surprise party for her. The invite was SO sweet, and we were all to meet at Dave and Busters on Saturday night and rock the night away. Well OF COURSE Aimee found out about it early, but the event was still a HUGE hit! There was shuffle ball, pool, and games till the morning light! Ray did a fabulous job and we had such a great time!

 Happy B-day ladies!! Love you!

Random iPhone Cuteness

 We love this little expression on Ivy's face!

Ethan looks so naturally happy here. So sweet!

Daddy and his brood in St. George. He is so proud of them!

Upside down boy!!

Mommy is getting a little better with the piggy tails. :)

Ivy is crawling!!

This rudamentary post is from my iPhone but I wanted mark this last couple of days with Ivy officially crawling! My little girl looks so cute/funny making her way around the floor to get something she wants. I can attribute it to never laying her on the couch or any other contained space. Just on the floor. That's where I feel safest letting her explore. :) yay!

Seven.

Wow, looking at this photo makes me remember that crisp cool perfect day in Sedona with my new hubby when all there was to think about was....us.

 There's so much to love about Joe and about and about us. It's funny, the thing that attracted me the most about Joe when I met him is still the same thing that attracts me today. To sum it up in just a few words might confuse an outsider but it means everything to me...he's just Joe! Seven years later, he's got his degree, father of two children, works at a great job, but he's still  just Joe.

He came into my life at the perfect time.

 Happy seven years!!!

Dear Ethan

Dear Ethan,

I just read you a story, said a prayer with you, and kissed you goodnight. You are such a treasure to me. Each day I see you grow and change a little bit. I love how you say things like 'wented' and 'jumpded'. I just giggle inside. I love all the creative things you come up with. Today you walked around the house 'mopping' and holding my old cell phone up to your ear 'talking' to Grandma about the days events. Thank you for letting me enter your world just for a moment. I can say my cup is filled with joy every day because of you. You are my little buddy and such a great big brother to Ivy. You learned how all by yourself and I feel happy knowing that she has you to grow up with. She's a lucky girl.

 Last Friday you got hit by a golf ball in our back yard. I feel so grateful that you were not hit in the head. What a terrible thing that would have been! You were such a brave boy!

You've already lived so much life in your short 3 1/2 years on this earth. You've made me such a proud mommy so many times over. I count you as one of my greatest blessings every day!


I love you so much!


Mommy

St. George!

We went to St. George this month. We always love our getaways to St. George because there are SO many people we LOVE so much waiting for us there! This time Steve (Joe's Dad) was gracious enough to rent a condo for Laura's Family, Sara's Family, and Our Family to stay in. How fun! It sure saved us some money! It was nice to be able to talk with them every morning and every evening. Joe also has some great friends from high school there who never fail to get together every time we come! So hilarious! I just get happy thinking about it! Here are a few photos that we took whilst we were there. Thank goodness Aunt Jill sent some to me...THANKS JILL!










 



A couple of other fun events were that Joe and I went to a beautiful session in the St. George temple, and we visited Grandma great's house. (She got hit in the nose by a ball) whilst the kids were playing around her and we all just felt terrible! Ethan called her his 'OLD OLD grandma'. Talk about a downer of a day for her! But she took it all really well! I'm just happy that my children get to meet some of their great grandparents !

This Morning

This morning Ivy decided to sleep in longer this morning which meant that Ethan woke up first. I took the opportunity to crawl into his bed with him and just talk. What a special morning it was to talk and snuggle with my happy, creative, silly three year old. We talked about the glowing stars on his ceiling, and about how toilets work. I wished I could hold onto that moment forever. :)

Glee Live!

Mom and I went to Glee Live 2010!

I've never had more fun at a concert before! I had watch the show all the way up to this point and so seeing the cast live onstage was surreal! Mom and I were rocking out to say the least! I was so pumped when they started the show out with 'don't stop believin' and then I loved 'defying grafity' as well as Lady Gaga's 'bad
romance.' The openers of the show were a dance group called Legion of Extaordinary Dancers (LXD) and they were FABULOUS!








Throughout the show I cried several times because I was just so happy to be there! Leah Michelle is my favorite singer right now:

I loved this season finale of glee. Jesse St. James did Somebody to love while quin had her baby and he did a fabulous job!





Wow! Maybe I'm a Gleek! But I can't wait for next season!

Facebook Update!!

June 3rd: Happy 6 months old to my little blondie ivy! She's got her first tooth and she's getting ready to crawl. It feels like yesterday that she was born!

 

June 1st: I cannot believe I actually made it through a trip to Walmart without seeing someone I know! Good thing! It was a gray tshirt on gray shorts day with no makeup...

May 31st: Wow...this 7 hour road trip with ivy is great...only a half hour more of screaming and thank goodness for that because I just might have to commit myself. On a side note, Joe peed in a cup.

May 28th: I'm always pleasantly surprised when i shop at the DressBARN considering the name of the store makes me think I'm hearing cows mooing and smelling dung. Isn't the stitching on these capris fabulous?

 

May 27th: World's most disgusting event. Ethan's grossest act ever. He dropped his gum near a gas station urinal and I'll let you guess what happened next...

May 24th: I was so proud of myself for not eating the krispy Kreme last night that I 'rewarded' myself with one this morning...what gives?!?

May 19th: Am I so redneck for seeing Tupperware and thinking 'makeshift swimming pool' ?

 

May 17th: I'm debating on whether or not to go outside and kick the person who kept turning on and off their trimmer and woke up my baby!!! Ahhhh!

May 7th: Me: "Ethan come down from there, the sign says NO CLIMBING." Ethan: "Signs don't talk!"

May 7th: Ethan spilled applesauce all over the carpet, but rather than freak out, I just yell for the built in dustbuster: "Barbie!" She sure keeps the carpets clean! Now I just need to teach her to scoop her own poop!

 

May 1st: It's beautiful days like today at 78 degrees in the shade that help me survive those boiling summer days to come. Love u az!

 

April 30th: U can't force creativity! But in my line of work sometimes u have to. Maybe a good night's sleep will do the trick.(with the occasional interruptions from my 5 month old...)

April 21st: This is it! So glad Ethan appreciates MJ's beats as much as his mommy.

 

Where are we now?

Well the last few weeks have been a tad crazy and stressful. I got one of those fun cold-sores that only surface when I don't wear SPF lip-gloss, or I'm stressed! And I never forget the lip-gloss anymore.

1. I hosted a baby shower at my house for my great and partner Becky. More fun than stressful!

2. I sang a solo at a Relief Society, which didn't use to freak me out, but now it does! My confidence must have went out the window when the children came!

3. I am working on updating my website, and simultaneously launching a new boutique which comes SO many other stresses I can't even begin!

4. I've had an influx of custom website designs which come with deadlines to be met.

5. One of the most crazy of all is making sure that the loves of my lives all get their needed attention throughout each day. I love that genuine alone time I can steal with each one of my children and my spouse and I'll drop just about anything to get it.

What have I done to unwind? Put the kids to bed at 5 and 7, then WORK, then watch MY SHOWS! For some reason I am now going to list the shows I have been watching and on which days:

Monday: Tori and Dean Home Sweet Hollywood - They're marriage is on the rocks right now because of dean's motorcycle racing so they are working on reconnecting again.

Tuesday: Glee - I'm so obssessed with the lead singers on that show that I Youtube them constantly!

Wednesday: America's Next Top Model - Season Finale last night was fabulous watching them stomp to the death on the Runway!! Love the hair and makeup! I secretly think I would be a very fierce runway model.

Reel Talk - I LOVE hearing movie critics review the movies coming to theatres. I still see the movies regardless of what they say, but I can't help but wonder what they think...

Thursday: Vampire Diaries - Elayna can't choose between Stephen and Damon (I think she should choose Damon) But there's a twist at the season Finale tonight where Catherine comes back pretending to be Elayna and kisses DAMON and then cuts off John's finger with the ring on it. VERY excited for next season!

Friday: Ghost Whisperer: Every week is a new thrill and chill!

Saturday: Dr. Who on BBC - This is a fabulous sci fi thriller comedy that is quickly becoming one of my favs. The Dr flies around in a phone booth to crazy worlds saving them from freaky things!! Very cool!

And everyday I still watch Oprah who I hear has had lower ratings than Judge Judy lately! I find it funny! I know her political and life view differ than mine but I watch it anyway and sometimes I learn stuff and have "Oh!" moments...

Shows I don't watch anymore because they're over rated: American Idol, Dancing With the Stars...

(Wow! Reading that list through over again makes me realize how nerdy I am!)

Okay so the newest with the kiddoes:

Ethan has preschool Graduation coming up next Thursday and he has a special part in the program. He gets to recite "little Miss Muffett" so we've been practicing several times a day and he's learned it! His imagination grows bigger everyday I just love to asking him questions to probe him to say something interesting!

Ivy is doing so many new things: rolling over both ways, holding her own bottle, and pulling up into crawl position where she smiles and wrinkles up her nose because she just so proud! She is such a peanut!

Joe is so awesome! He's my hubby so I feel proud to say that! He works so hard! Lately he's been making sure we do family scriptures every morning which I think is fabulous! Love him!

This little piggy (tail)

Ivy had her first piggy tail the other day thanks to Jacque Ferguson. :) I was afraid to do it. She sure looked like a little peanut!

Last weekend the fam went to dinner and a movie. What a funny night it was. It really was one of the funnest nights I've had in a long time. :)