Pioneer Day 2011

On Pioneer day this year Brandon was lucky enough not to get any emegency calls so we were able to spend the day as a family. We had so much fun taking the kids to Trafalga even though it was unbearably hot (well, maybe just for this prego momma). We had never taken the kids there and were pleasantly surprised at how many things there are to do there. Besides all of the fun outdoor rides they offer a huge arcade, laser tag, bowling, mini golf, & rock wall for climbing (there might even be more that I missed). We spent the whole afternoon there and then took the kids to grandma's for a BBQ. It was a great day and I really enjoy it when we can spend time together as a family.

Brandon and the boys on the bumper boats

The airplane ride

This ride shoots you straight up and drops you down. Carter loved it...Linc not so much. It's hard to see his expression on here but Brandon and I couldn't help but laugh. He never cried, however, so we knew he was fine

Prego momma ready to head home after the boys started getting tired and were still soaked from the bumper boats an hr later

Lehi Foam Day!

The Lehi Fire Dept. puts on "Foam Day" every summer for the residents of Lehi. We have never taken our kids to this before, but after hearing how fun it is we decided to do this. The boys had a blast and as you can see I literally got hosed down by a fireman as well. They had so much foam in some spots that it actually covered my boys' heads and I had to pick them up (due to my crazy anxiety that I get that one of them might be trampled or suffocate, etc). There were a ton of kids and I insisted my boys hang on to my hands the whole time. After playing in the foam for a while we headed over to where they had the fire truck set up with it's tall ladder extended with a large fire hose spraying down like a shower to clean the kids off. This was a fun day and we will definitely go again (but next time Daddy will HAVE to wear his suit so he can help). Even though I'm 8 months prego it still was pretty fun and a nice way to cool down on a hot day.

Carter nad Linc after the foam

Carter coming out of the foam

Linc and I coming out

Going in for the 1st time (being sprayed down by a fire hose filled with foam)

Before the madness

St George Girls Weekend 2011

Every year my friends and I try to put together a kid-free, hubby free trip with just the girls. We went to St George and stayed in a very larger, beautiful 3 bedroom condo. We spent time laying out and swimming at the pool, shopping, and saw an amazing play (Grease) at the beautiful outdoor theater, Tuacahn. It was nice to get away and have some girl time. I was joking with Ashli while we were laying by the pool and said it was so nice not to have somebody running up to me every 2 minutes screaming, "mommy, mommy!" or having someone climb all over me. This was especially needed because at the time of the trip I had just turned 8 months prego and needed that away time before we have our baby in a few weeks.

Left to right: Me, Becca, Christy, Charise, Michele, Tina, Megan, and Ashli (3 of us are prego in this pic)

Charise at Texas Roadhouse riding the saddle. We told the waitress it was her birthday and she was a good sport and got on the saddle it even though it was not her birthday.

1st week of July

It is only 6 days into this month and we have already done so much! On the 4th we spent the morning finishing up some major projects we had going in the baby's room. Brandon took down the old light and we hung this beautiful "princess" chandelier (that's what Linc called it). It goes perfect in her room and looks adorable! We also hung a new shelf for her in there and put back together the changing table.

I also couldn't resist and hung this cute vnyl over her closet.

After working on the baby's room we went to grandma's & grandpa's for a BBQ & swimming. We then got the kids in their PJ's and went up to Cabela's and met our friends, the Hardings, for firework watching. It was a great spot to see not only Thanksgiving Point's fireworks, but fireworks all over the valley.

We took one of our weekly visits to Thanksgiving Point for ice cream and found they had put this fun water fountain/sculpture back out in the water tower plaza. My kids LOVED this last summer.

On the third my sweet little Lincoln turned three.

I am so jealous of his big blue eyes and beautiful curly blond hair!

This is exactly what he requested for his birthday. He wanted chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles and a toy Lightning McQueen on top. He cracks me up. He's so detail oriented and is so fun to watch put things together because he's so particular. We are so lucky to have such a sweet boy in our family. He is our cuddle bug and loves to give kisses and hugs to everyone. He pulls my shirt up at least once a day and kisses my belly and says, "I'm kissing baby sister". He got a bubble lawn mower, a McQueen sleeping bag, pool toys, bubbles, and lots of McQueen cars for his birthday. His brother is very jealous and keeps stealing the toys. The day before his birthday we took the boys to see Cars 2 and then to Pirate Island for dinner, so overall he had a very fun and spoiled birthday.

Makeup

This last weekend I got the opportunity for the 2nd time in the last month to do my sister's wedding makeup. This is a fun hobby of mine I developed while managing the Estee Lauder counter at Nordstrom before I had children and still dabble in it here and there. These are the before and after pics that were taken pre-reception and at the reception in Utah. My sis looked beautiful at the reception in Utah as well as on her wedding day in So Cal. Such an awesome person to work on!

Two of my three sisters and I. Rebekah, Rachael, & I

Rodeo Time!

Last week was Lehi's Roundup celebration complete with a 3 night PRCA Rodeo. Brandon and I used to attend the rodeo every year before we had kids, but when we had the kids we quit going. This year Brandon surprised all of us by taking us all to the rodeo on family night. We had so much fun and I totally forgot my camera, so here is a pic of the boys entranced by the intermission show of dirtbikes and their awesome stunts that I took on my phone. The boys were a lot more interested in the rodeo than we thought they would be and loved the bull riding, roping, etc. We will definitely have to take them again next year.

Our California Trip!

We spent the last week in May in Southern California for our vacation and my sister Rachael's wedding. We had so much fun and it's been really hard for me to come back to Utah. I get so homesick everytime I go back and wish I could move back.

Carter and Lincoln at the fountain in Downtown Disney

The doors to the Lego Store in Downtown Disney. We spent almost an hour in this store. My boys LOVE Legos so much even though they are not even old enough to build much on their own yet. They both ended up choosing to spend their spending money in here.

A quick pic Carter decided to shoot while Brandon was changing to go to the beach. He cracks me up that he chooses moments like this to photograph

Carter and Daddy on the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disneyland. They had to shoot at Zurg and his evil robots

My boys outside of Mr Toad's Wild Ride. They LOVED this ride!

Meeting Lightning McQueen. They were so excited to meet him and then when we got up to the front of the line they got so shy all of a sudden.

Linc and I waiting for Carter and Daddy on Grizzly River Rapids. Carter was quite the daredevil and wanted to ride all the scarey stuff. Luckily he was tall enough. Linc was very sad he couldn't ride it too, but he and I hung out together since we were both in the same boat on this.

Daddy and Carter after the large drop on Grizzly River Rapids (in California Adventure). They are on the bottom with their backs to us. It was a hard pic to get since they were moving so fast!

Huntington Beach, CA. This is the beach I grew up going to as a kid. It is SO nice and SO family friendly and a short drive from our hotel in Anaheim.

The boys couldn't get enough of playing in the sand. I wish we lived closer to a beach. This absolutely kills me!

Brandon decided it would be fun to get a pic of his prego wife at the beach. We ended up taking the kids over to the restaurant on the end of the pier for dinner that evening. It was awesome to eat over the ocean and the boys had a blast watching the fisherman on the end of the pier. The weather was perfect and absolutely beautiful!

The real reason for our trip...my sister Rachael's wedding. She was a beautiful bride and pulled off the most amazing vintage themed wedding. I didn't get a ton of pics of her wedding due to the fact that I was a bridesmaid and was busy standing in lines and taking pics with her photographer. She had all of us bridesmaids wear vintage-looking black dresses and really cute vintage hats with netting over the front. It was so fun! I also got the chance to do her makeup for her wedding and I had so much fun with this! I miss working in the cosmetic industry so this was fun for me, especially being my sister.

Rachael and her now hubby Nolan. They are the cutest couple and are perfect together! They were married in the beautiful Redlands Temple on my birthday. It was an awesome day and I was so glad to share it with them!