The Slaughs

Matilda Jane Time!!

2012-01-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

Save the date!

Come check out their amazing spring line for little girls, teens, and women. It will be so much fun!

Friday, February 3rd, 6 - 8 p.m.

My house

(message if you want my address)

Bring your moms, sisters, friends, aunts, and of course kids are welcome!

Also, Cozette Couture will be here to sell all of her little lovelies!

snow

2012-01-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

It FINALLY snowed, and we were able to test out our sled I bought, I think, in November. The girls looooved it.

Merry Christmas 2011

2012-01-01T19:17:00.001-08:00

i'm sitting here listening to zoe defy our new plans...we moved her to a big girl bed. in lily's room. lots of changes coming that little one's way. i figure while i wait for her to fall asleep i may as well update the good old blog. here's our happenings for christmas morning:

the annual anticipation on the stairs picture

posing in front of their santa spoils. all lily asked for was a sailboat for the bathtub. that santa really delivered! and zoe is all about babies, and pretty much hasn't put hers down since!

buz and i got zoe a few accessories for her baby, in the hopes that fights over the stroller, etc., would be thwarted. yeah right!

lily got lots of new games. she's in heaven.

after our family (and aunt sarah!) opened presents, the rest of my family came over for our traditional aebelskivers. a very yummy breakfast! (santa brought the girls their own table this year too!)

thompson, sarah, my aunt carla, and christian. my mom, other aunt maren, and ashlee and baby cole were also there, but apparently i didn't take that picture.

hope you all had a merry christmas and a happy new year!

it's a.....

2011-12-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

boy!!!

looks like it's time to mix things up around here and start evening the scores. just a few more months and he'll be here!!!

Fall Getaway

2011-11-29T13:24:00.001-08:00

We spent the last part of October in warm and sunny Southern California again. We're really going to miss this vacation when Lily is really in school. Maybe one more year, right?!

LaBrea Tar Pits

Our first day, unprepared, at the beach.

Our second day at the beach. Although the marine layer didn't burn off like we thought it would, we still had lots of fun.

Eating at Ruby's on the pier.

Palm Springs

We may have eaten a couple of times at Tyler's. You would too if you knew how amazing it is.

And we were back just in time for Halloween! Poor Zoe threw up in the car right after we took this pic, so she missed out. She still partook of the goodies!

Dentist, etc.

2011-09-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

I finally took Lily to the dentist. She's a little overdue, but I was pretty sure she had a pretty healthy mouth. No cavities! She was sooo brave! However, the dentist did comment that her baby teeth are so tight (no surprise there!) that we should probably start saving for braces now! Yikes!

Sweet little munchkin.

Buz and I got to go to a gala for his work, it was fun to dress up (and go shopping in Hailey's closet!) and have a fancy night out!

LOTOJA

2011-09-21T11:53:00.001-07:00

Ok, so Buz didn't actually participate in LOTOJA officially, but he did ride the last 60ish miles with his dad and our sister-in-law's dad. We passed them up Snake River Canyon and met them at the finish line.

Buz is in the Utes jersey.

Lee. He officially rode this same leg last year and it's been killing Buz that he's never ridden it.

Craig has the bright yellow shoes on.

Our sister-in-law's brother, Teal, did ride. The WHOLE thing. And he took 4th in his cat. And he's only 19. He's amazing. Congrats Teal! He's on the far left in the white.

My mom was kind enough to open her home in Wyoming for us all to crash at, and it's a fun little weekend trip to get in the spirit. If you've ever been to a bike/run/tri/whatever race, you know the spirit. Thanks again mom!

Utes and the Zoo

2011-09-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo Saturday morning, the first time Buz has gone with us on the pass. It was so much fun to hang out as our little family. All in red, of course, because the game was that night. Which Buz got to go to. And not me. But I'm ok, really.

Zoo Pass

2011-08-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

Really excited. Really. A zoo pass is our year's entertainment, and I'm planning on using it rain, snow or shine. Who wants to go? I can get you in free.....

Preschool!!

2011-08-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

The morning of orientation, Lily was excited and ready to go. This is exactly the moment I woke her up to get ready.

She had to have a little photo shoot before we were off, even though it wasn't the "official" first day.

Oh that face. So sweet.

And that one too!

This is the actual first day, after class. She looks a little tired, and I think she actually napped that day!

The second day of school, Lily and her bestie Elsie.

Back to Louisiana

2011-08-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

What's the best way to celebrate you're sister's 30th?! Shopping, shopping, shopping! I was lucky enough to fly back to Louisiana, SANS KIDS, and spend the weekend with my sister, shopping and celebrating her day.

We were on the hunt for depression glass plates, because why not? Everyone needs a set or two!

Sarah introduced me to a Southern delight, beignets. YUM. Kind of like a scone. Double YUM.

Our spoils from our first day's trip: we drove from Shreveport to Monroe, then stopped in Rustin, Arcadia and Minden on our way back.

Opposites attract! Oops!

My flight left late Monday, so we decided to drive to Jefferson, Texas to see what else we could find. The drive did not disappoint.

We ate at a little cafe that made their sandwiches on cornbread. A little different, but really good.

Thanks for letting me share your birfday with you, can't wait to see you soon!

Babes

2011-08-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

So last night Lily tripped on the carpet and hit her head on the wall. Buz went to the rescue, kissed it better, then said:

"Hold me, Lily. Hold me!"

To which Lily replied:

"No Dad, I'm the one that's crying!"

I seem to forget the silly things Lily says, and she packs them in every day. I must document more.

One Huge Summer Post

2011-08-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have this one friend, (rachel),she's amazing. And her blog is always so put together, she is a great writer...I could go on and on. I'll always want my blog to be like hers, but that's just not going to happen. So here's my huge pictures with dorky captions!

Zoe's decided she wants to poop on the potty. Fine with me!

We spent the 4th of July weekend up at my parent's home in Star Valley, Wyoming.

Our friend Chloe had a birthday bash at the Canyons water feature at Liberty Park. Worth the visit for sure.

Lily tried out tumbling for a couple months. She loved it, we're debating whether to sign her up or not, considering she's about to start PRESCHOOL!

Lily and Paige took a session of swimming lessons together.

We spent the 4th of July weekend back up in Star Valley. Always a nice treat!

My mom had a word with the thistles.

Lily had her sharp eyes out with her "nocalers" watching for baby deer. Our first day there she spotted one that really looked like it was a day old.

Lily's also been working on her funny faces. She asks me all the time to capture her latest, then critiques herself. Always improving!

More swim lesson pics. The 4th fell in between our two weeks of lessons. On the last day they got to do this...we're so proud of our brave little chica!

We got to go to Flaming Gorge with Buz's dad's side of the family. The Hanni's are always so generous to have us all!

Poor Dave, he could only hack the 5 foot drop. He needs to work on his style and grace, don't you think!

The rafting group:

Random to be in the bathtub, but this is Lily's very first drawing of something looking like anything. Not to bad I might add!

We've had lots of Sunday naps.

My brother and his family, and my sister, came in town at the same time. It was so neat to have all of my siblings together to visit my dad's grave. We sat around and told the kids about their Grandpa Lee and about how we get to be forever families.

Last but not least, we spend a weekend in Bear Lake with Buz's mom's family.

Such a great summer, and I'm looking forward to a warm fall!

matilda jane time!!

2011-07-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

come on over!

friday, august 5th, 11-1

a little lunch, kids welcome!

(and be prepared...the women's is AMAZING!)

let me know if you can come!

a little bit sentimental

2011-07-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

so for us utahn's, our pride for our country and state is in full swing. last sunday while singing the patriotic songs, i broke down. i'm so overwhelmed by how amazing our soldiers are. they really sacrifice so much and leave so much behind to protect us. and it's so on my mind right now because of him...

my sweet brother in law who we love so much will be deployed right around the end of the month, for something like 4 - 6 months. you don't really know how long they're gone until they're on their way home. so thanks, will, for protecting our freedoms and our country. we really love you!

yaaaaayyyyyyy!

2011-06-12T14:17:00.001-07:00

CAR FOUND!!!

in good condition, smells a little like smoke and everything cleared, sports equipment, cd's, garage door opener and valet key, looks like a little body damage to the front end undercarriage, but nothing lost or damaged that's irreplacable!

so, i guess in taylorsville, apartment complexes hire tow trucks to patrol their parking lots every night to tow non-permitted cars. that's where ours was! so the tow truck guy ran the plates, saw it was stolen, and let the cops know. thanks nice tow truck man!

big time vent

2011-06-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

seriously, who do people think they are? they just trompse into your life, very uninvited, and mess everything up. wanna know what happened? someone

STOLE BUZ'S CAR.

right out of the driveway. it's gone. what a nightmare. now i'm all freakish thinking about some loser out my kids' windows barging into our lives and now knows way too much about us. which isn't much. there was NOTHING interesting to be seen. but they still know where i live, our names, and i'm sure they can assume we're annoyed. bugged. violated. ugh.

wishful thinking:

please keep your eyes out:

2003 Red Jetta with roof rack, license 291 MNU

the big apple

2011-06-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

we went on vacation. a real vacation. sans kids. amazing.

we have a newly forming tradition...every other year we go somewhere fun for my birthday. two years ago was baltimore. this year, new york!

(ok, so this wasn't the reason we went, but it happened to fall on my birthday, so we went with it!)

our good friends invited us to spend a few days in new york with them, and we

jumped on the opportunity! thanks, lofgrens, for an unforgettable week!

our flight landed at about 6:00 a.m. ny time, which was about 4 am our time. but we didn't let that stop us. we got showered and ready, and hit the town. we started at katz deli, which is where the famous scene from "when harry met sally" was filmed. delicious pastrami sandwiches. we tried a potatoe knish too. interesting.

todd and jenn in the prada elevator.

first dinner - pizza @ lombardi's. the 1st pizzaria in the u.s. that was really good pizza.

after pizza we asked our waiter where to go for dessert. he sent us around the corner to cafe roma. again, did not disappoint. the sky had dumped buckets of rain on us all day and the hot chocolate hit the spot (and the canolli's too!)

day 2: lunch @ carnigie deli. more amazing food.

on our walk to our next destination, we came across a filming of EXTRA! jenn was bold and made her way into the crowd. anyone see her on tv?!

next on to the late show. we saw kelly rippa (yay!), jennifer lawrence (katniss everdeen in hunger games!) and a performance from "how to succeed in business without really trying" starring daniel radcliffe (that's right, harry potter)!! oh, and we got front row seats because we "had the energy they were looking for!" (or we were younger than a lot of the audience! no joke!)

after letterman we weren't sure what we wanted to do. we had checked earlier that day to see if wicked had any seats available, they didn't. we went over to the book of mormon theatre to see what that was all about, they were sold out too (we were right behind florence henderson buying her tickets to the book of mormon!) and there we discovered the secret to broadway plays: the cancellation line! so we decided to go back to wicked and see what we could get. well, after waiting in line for over an hour, we got AMAZING seats together and had a blast!

after the play we visited times square. so fun.

the view from our home away from home (more details on that later)

day 3: the shake shack. are you starting to notice a trend? we traveled to eat!

that night we had tickets to a yankees vs. mets game. what an eye opener. picture byu vs. utah but drunk. i liked to compare us to the hole of an f-bomb donut! our experience included beer in the girls' hair, people getting kicked out, a girl slapping a guy in the face...

day 4: we started off going to the temple, which was amazing to see, although there wasn't enough people for jenn and i to do anything. but the guys were able to serve.

we then met my cousin who lives in manhattan for brunch at the grey dog in soho. wow. the food was, again, amazing. it's not like we were always starving either. we just had great food.

this one was for the girls:)

had to try magnolia bakery. not as good as sprinkles, too bad that's on the other coast!

for lunch we tried to go to sweetiepie (a favorite of gwenyth paltrow) which was in greenwich village. unfortunately it was out of business, so we walked around to the corner bistro. if you look closely at the picture, there is a small plaque on the wall in the upper left hand corner. that's the menu. complete with probably 8 choices. burgers were fantastic.

we got down to see the statue of liberty and did a little bargain shopping in battery park!

(great bargaining runs through my blood. buz says i was dishonest, but i wasn't. i just talked the guy down from $55 to $20 on a purse!)

my birthday dinner! we ate at lure in soho. great seafood. i tried the daraude, a white fish that was smooth and really really delicious. the guys each got an oyster to try.

after dinner we headed up to the empire state building. such a great view at night. that's the chrysler building behind us.

after the empire state building he headed to serendipity to have the ever famous frozen hot chocolate. it did not disappoint at all, but we were chilly from the day. i imagine it more satisfying on a hot day.

our last day into the city. we loved the subway, thanks to todd's app that told us exactly how to get everywhere on the subway!

we rode bikes through central park, and had a personal guided tour from dagmar (see below)

our last meal in nyc: back to carnigie deli, where we had a chicken salad sandwich that was wonderful. from left to right: todd, dagmar, jenn, katherine, buz, randy.

let me just tell you how lucky buz and i are. jenn's uncle lives in brooklyn. they had visited him there a couple times in the past, and buz and i were secretly envious of the great connection they had to such an amazing city. then, one night, they asked if we wanted to go with them! randy graciously gave us his bed, and todd, jenn and randy sprawled out in the family room. randy was so kind and willing to do whatever we needed. we didn't get to meet dagmar, his girlfriend, until the last day, but we really enjoyed her company too. it's so nice to meet great people wherever you go. so thanks, to the lofgrens and randy, for an amazing trip!

so, when are we going back...?

Someone had a birthday!

2011-05-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

my baby. she's one. i can't believe how time flies, and i should know better considering she's not my first. but time really does fly right by.

i had to get an early start to the preparations. this party's theme:

a bedtime story!

our first attempt at a fondant cake. nothing too fancy. but it was darling. thanks to the help of my husband, of course!

lily liked to pretend the tent was a rapunzel tower and would lay on the table.

her invitation was a little booklet with a story inside telling about her upcoming birthday party.

the cheapest favors out there. thanks ikea and target dollar bin!

my little munchkin on her birthday!

all the kids came dressed in their jammies. i was planning on reading stories they brought but we ran out of time.

and on to the cake. no hesitation there. this girl has just as sweet of a tooth as her mommy!

thanks to all who came!

more cake, cause you can't with hold chocolate cake on your birthday.

please note: i have an obnoxious brother in law who had to show off his ripped abs for the pic. sorry if you're offended;)

happy birthday my zoester!

---stats---

weight: 17.2 lbs (2%)

height: 28.35 in (22%)

head: 16.75 in (4%)

zoe's little personality is really starting to develop and its so funny to watch. she's always been pretty calm and quiet. until now. she's still pretty calm, but if she wants something, she really lets you know. really. really loudly. it's pretty funny. and she's starting the tantrums. throwing herself on the floor, arching her back tantrums. hilarious. the hilarity will wear off soon, i'm sure. but why not enjoy it for now?

she sleeps 12 hours a night, usually 7 to 7.

she eats like a horse, usually out eating lily, which is hard to do anyway.

she naps twice a day, but i'm fearing that's going to be changing in the near future.

she says: "mama," "dada," bounces her whole body up and down to answer yes, and is starting to learn, "papa," and i swear just today she said, "hot dog," which she's pretty fond of.

no walking on her own, but she'll push a toy or hold on to your hands and go. any day now. maybe.

she's got two teeth on top and two on bottom. they're taking their sweet time which is quite unfortunate for her. a long and uncomfortable change.

her hair is starting to curl just like lily's did, which is really fun. i like it a lot.

lastly, she's happy, funny, and laughs at all my jokes. what mom doesn't like that?!

The South

2011-05-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

the last week of march was a busy time in our lives. buz worked A LOT. so i worked up my courage, packed up myself and my girls, prayed to successfully fly standby. we did it! we made it to louisiana after only being denied one flight. it was a long overdue visit to my most favorite sister in the whole entire world. and will too. we like him a lot too.

did you ever ride on car jacks as a kid? i did!

this makes me laugh out loud! a somewhat familiar look for sarah (she has sensitive eyes, ok?) but it looks like it's in the genes!!!!

i know she's mine. lots. of. frosting.

not your average slow cooker

my housewarming gift (to be continued when sarah pulls back out all the crap to finish set 2)

before:

after:

thanks for letting us take up your spring break! and thanks for being patient with two little demanding pipsqueaks. we miss you lots! now its your turn to visit us!

oh and p.s. i know this post is a little heavy on the lily pics. but someone had a birthday, we'll make up for it when i get time to post again. at the rate i'm going, who knows when that will be.

and on to march

2011-04-26T15:13:00.001-07:00

my daddy's birthday was in march. i crammed the kids into the back of my car and we were off on an adventure. it was fun talking to the kids about their grandpa who i know loves them very much. lily, however, was a little confused since she has grandpa thomspon, and papa lee, along with my dad, grandpa lee. quite the confusing combo!

and p.s. zoe's hair is starting to curl. yay!

february recap

2011-04-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

lily got to build her first snowman of the year! it took this long to get a good sticky snow and a daddy home at the right time! she was in heaven!

mid-february zoe finally decided she wanted to try out crawling!

cute girlies playing a little game of candyland. please stay friends forever;)

lily's outfit for valentine's day. at least she got the idea of pink and love. such a fashoinista!

three big ones

2011-04-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

ok, here it goes. deep breath in, deep breath out. time to update the blog.

my baby turned three. i can't believe it. my little teeny tiny five pound baby is now a not so huge, little girl. she'll talk your ear off for hours, she's got gazillions of imaginary friends who keep her going all day. she loves her little sister, loves her daddy, and lucky for me, loves her mommy too! i'm so lucky i get to be her mommy and watch her grow every day. love you lou!

we spent lily's birthday at classic fun center. yep, the place we all went in elementary school anticipating the "snowball" in hopes that we got to hold a boy's hand! the kids got to spend some time in the bounce zone then stuffed their guts with pizza. this is the only pic we got of the occasion. too much fun!

the stats:

weight: 26.68 lbs (1%)

height: 36.42 in (36%)

nothing's really changed in her stats. she's a bean pole.

lily loves to tell her daddy "i love you really really much, dad!"

she has one imaginary friend named bud. he's not such a good kid. i keep trying to convince her she would benefit from a more obedient friend! he's always getting her into trouble!

lily loves a hangumer from mcdonald's, and still can out eat me just about any meal of the day.

happy 3 baby.

its coming...

2011-04-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

here's my excuse for the loooooong hiatus on my blog: my husband is a c.p.a. and tax season is in full swing. that means from before sun up to after sundown, it's just me and my girls. i really can't imagine how you amazing single moms do it! no time for blogging (ok, right now they're both asleep after a rough night and a long ride home from jerry's) but i've been trying to keep up on picture taking.

so, it's coming. a lot of updating.

don't forget...taxes are due april 18th!

9 months

2011-01-28T10:34:00.000-08:00

my baby is so close to a year i can almost taste it. it makes me really sad. i love my babies to be babies. but its exciting to anticipate the next stages that are so fun. here's the stats:

...

weight: 15 lbs 1 oz - 3%

height: 26 inches - 10%

head: 16 inches - 1%

...

we've slowed down in the growth charts, to no one's surprise. as the doc put it, "its just the way your family does it!"

...

how she's doing:

...

she's getting interested crawling, its so exciting but i'm not sure if i'm ready to be vacuuming the floor every day!

she eats and eats and eats like her sister. she's eating yogurt, eggs, cheese, turkey, bread, pancakes, or whatever we're eating, and i've started her on a little whole milk with her formula. that's in addition to the baby food she downs!

she says hi and waves to her big sister who she's finally deciding is pretty fun to be around.

she babbles "dada" "nana" sometimes "mama" and an occasional "yayayaya"

she's sleeping like a champ, 7:00 to 7:00 and if i'm home she'll do a shorter morning nap and a longer afternoon nap.

we are so lucky to have this little baby, what a treat to get to be her parents!

love ya zo!

i don't believe it

2011-01-24T16:03:00.000-08:00

i'm just going to tell a little story. some of you are familiar with the jist of it. i'll start at the beginning.

a long time ago buz worked with his dad. they would go on walks every day just to get out of the house. one afternoon i got a picture text with a little bench that needed some serious tlc. they had come across it in the neighborhood dump your crap and the city will pick it up day. so we adopted it.

fast forward A LONG time (that's because once it was adopted it wasn't addressed for quite some time) probably like a year. our neighborhood was having a joint yard sale. i wandered to erin's house because who wouldn't? we all know she's got some serious goods coming out of the woodwork. i found the most adorable bench cushion and i was inspired. not only because it was only $2, but because it was adorable!

i took the entire cushion with me to lowes and got paint to match, and gave that bench a good sanding and paint job (not without the help of my loving husband). she was glorious. she can be seen here, but without the cushion and pillow as it goes inside for the winter.

fast forward another nine months. we went out of town for labor day weekend. when we returned monday, bench and cushion were anxiously awaiting our bums to relax out on the porch. next morning, however, the cushion and pillow were no where to be seen.

what? really? someone steals a bench cushion?

that's what i'm telling you. someone stole my bench cushion. which is totally understandable considering its majesty. and i was pissed. there was NO WAY i could find something that great, not to mention the amazing price i paid. so i went the rest of the fall sitting on an uncomfortable plain green bench.

fast forward another five months, which takes us to this past saturday. i open my blinds after getting ready, and what do i behold in the backyard but this...!

do you know what that is? my bench cushion!!!! really really random, but i'm greateful its back and only in need of a soak in some oxy clean. whoever brought it back, thank you!!!

new years getaway

2011-01-05T15:26:00.000-08:00

we weren't planning on going anywhere for new years. we had used up all of buz's vacation time. then, his office gave everyone an extra day off for the weekend, and buz was feeling "under the weather" so off we went! my parents have spoiled us rotten up there. we went sledding, and were graciously driven back up the hill on the snowmobile. we tried to build snowmen but the snow was way too powdery. we watched football at my aunt's cabin and ate LOTS of food. did i mention the stomach flu also came to visit? and of the 14 people there i was the only one to miraculously avoid it.

the get up. snagged at kid-to-kid, my secret shopping destination!

i just think this is cute. our ride home was uneventful, lily was happy entertaining herself and zoe slept.

christmas time has come and gone

2010-12-27T15:36:00.000-08:00

this year was our first shot at a charlie brown tree. we're sold. not that we're against full trees, but everyone should try it. they're so sparkly.

lily really got in to the decorating. good thing my ornaments are plastic.

we got to see santa at a family friend's home. lily was so enthralled by it all. mrs. clause told us if we wore our hats we would magically know the words to every song. here's lily waiting for the revelation.

zoe did pretty well on santa's lap. she asked for new binki's.

lily of course wouldn't sit on his lap, she would only stand by him. and not without mom. she asked for a hippopotamus pillow pet.

good morning! the traditional stair picture.

there's no need to try for a decent picture. it's early, they're excited. let's get the show on the road mom!

santa brought the girls this great kitchen that both girls have loved. ok, zoe really loves sucking on the various food and dishes, but that counts!

zoe sat screaming on the couch all morning!

oh, so cute;)

the one

2010-12-09T22:31:00.001-08:00

Merry And Bright Christmas Card

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fly for free

2010-12-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

ok, not an airline deal, but shutterfly is offering 50 free christmas cards!

every year as the holidays approach i wonder what i can do for christmas cards. i mean what i can afford for christmas cards. it's no secret that the economy is down, we're young moms trying to figure out finances for an ever growing family with ever growing needs (and appetites!). so, who wouldn't want to jump on the chance to share their family's smiling faces through shutterfly's gorgeous card designs?!!

this year i'm looking forward to their selection of good old christmas cards. some years i choose a "happy holidays" or "seasons greetings," (http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards) but not this year. i don't really know why, but i guess i just want people to know i celebrate christmas. i celebrate christ, his birth, and all he's done for me.

shutterfly has a great selection in the christmas specific department, (http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards) which, amazingly enough, is harder and harder to find each year. so thanks, shutterfly, for giving me just what i wanted this year. merry christmas!!!

p.s., still wondering what to get your parents? who wouldn't love this idea to remind you where you're at in the yearly grind?!

http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

halloween

2010-11-09T13:47:00.001-08:00

i got gutsy this year and made peacock costumes for the girls. i am in love with them, what can i say? too bad it was absolutely freezing and we only made it to the end of the street and back. actually, we stopped as lily grabbed a piece of candy from the neighbor and i prodded her with "what do you say?"

"i need to pee!"

i think the neighbor knew she was thankful.

so home we went!

lily and carter

lily and her slaugh cousins. what a trick or treating bunch!

6 mo

2010-11-05T09:24:00.001-07:00

my baby is officially closer to one than birth. that freaks me out. the day we left on our forever long car ride, she had her appointment. here's where she's at:

weight: 13 lb 12 oz, that's 12%

height: 25", that's 23%

head: 15 1/2", that's 1%

so basically, no surprise, i have another little nugget. she's a little heavier and shorter than her sissy, and she's obviously got a little bit of a pinhead. oooooo i just love her. lately she's been:

-babbling "dadadadadadada"

-sitting up pretty much on her own. definitely not to the point i can just sit her down and walk away

-sleeping around 11 hours at night. thank goodness!

-eating her fruits in the a.m. and veggies in the p.m. i need to be better about those green veggies, but they just smell awful!

-crying when i leave the room. which really doesn't bother me, i love to be wanted!

-giggling and giggling and giggling. she's soo ticklish and thinks i'm funny. i love that too!

-making raspberry sounds with her lips. it's pretty cute.

thank goodness for little kids, they're just hilarious and such a blessing, even when they don't want to sleep, eat, cooperate, listen (maybe that refers more to lily, but anyway)...

on the road again

2010-11-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

warning: LOTS of pictures to follow

we were lucky enough to spend the last part of october in southern cali. after waaaaay too long in the car, we beheld this lovely sight:

my grandma's house in sunny, warm, plam springs!

lily was so good going to sleep that night, she needed to brush her teeth, "i do it myself!"

we went out to the living desert, the local zoo which amazingly enough i have never been to. where have i been the last 26 years?!

lily and jerry are quite the independent duo!

our first weekend there we got to drive up to long beach and spend some time with aunt becky and uncle david. thankfully the girls rode like this:

our first night we walked out on the pier and had a burger at ruby's.

the next morning the older girls got to have mani/pedi's. this was lily's first experience. she went for just a pedi, and when the lady came at her feet with the clippers, she yanked back her foot and said "no!" so really her pedi turned into just paint. and stickers of pumpkins and spiders, but they were picked off in no time!

that afternoon we headed to the elementary school nearby and played.

i snuck a pic of becky enjoying herself. now we all know what she does in her spare time;)

the next day we went down to seal beach again so lily could play there. how fun to have a playground in the sand.

zoe's first visit to the beach, of course we had to dip her tootsies. she didn't hate it...

and of course we had to leave with a seashell necklace to remember our time.

zoe pulled this face on our way home.

so lily and i did too!

grandma jerry and zoe

back in palm springs, we came across the witch from snow white at the mac store, and lily really wanted her picture taken. she said, "we have that!"

our good friends drove down from yucaipa and we went miniature golfing with them. of course my camera died as we started, so this is my only proof!

zoe and macy

on our way out of town we stopped to spend a night with my uncle richard and aunt bonnie. due to some unforeseen circumstances, their guest bedroom was occupied, so the put us up...

at the four seasons! talk about spoiled! i didn't take any pics prior to the bed being jumped upon.

they had a nice crib for zoe all set up, complete with diapers, wipes, and a johnson's travel set with all the necessities.

and this little tent set up for lily to sleep in. talk about star treatment!

thanks everyone for an amazing vacation!

punkins

2010-11-03T19:59:00.001-07:00

we headed to engh gardens to check out their pumpkin patch. lily was a little more into it than last year, but we didn't walk away with any pumpkins since we were headed out of town.

later that evening zoe decided she needed a sugar shock to her system!

p.s. you probably didn't notice, but every saturday our family is decked out in red, cause daddy gets the girls dressed!

Dance Class

2010-10-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

Lily started dance class again!!

And just a couple cute ones of my 5 month old!!

A Reunion in Midway

2010-09-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

We were so lucky to get to spend Labor Day Weekend up in Midway at the Homestead. My Grandma hosted my entire extended family, and we had about 50 people come. We were only missing a cousin, my brother and his family, and another cousin's daughters who ended up sick. Pretty good turn out. And it was so fun to see so many people I haven't seen in a while.

Lily and Ewan. These two were inseparable, and Ewan was pretty territorial of Lily! So fun to watch these two play.

Sunday we all went over to Park City and rode the Alpine Slide. I think my sister has a pic of me and Lily coming down the slide, I need to get that from her! Lily loved the airplane too!

Cute Leroy

Lily and Me

Ashlee and Julia

Max and Mary

Blake, Claudia and Zoe

Will, Bonnie and Buz

Danny, Rob, Richard and John

Steven and Kelly

Ann-recreating an image of a cruise we once went on. Need to scan that in...

Richard, Cecily and Glenn

David and Becky

Jerry, Nancy, Thompson, Sarah

Christena and Kate

Most of the great grandkids there

Mitch, Lily, Carter, Wes, Leroy, James, Kate

Leroy's got a serious talent!

Me and Zoe

Our last night we spent just playing games. Max, Mary, Wes and Bonnie tried their hand at a little Sorry!!

Intense--Becky and John at Backgammon.

Sorry I didn't take more pictures. Our second night we played Minute to Win It and had a blast. I'm sure someone else took pictures, but I don't know who! Thanks everyone for coming, see you all in a couple of years!

bear lake

2010-08-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

we spent last weekend up at the buchi's cabin in bear lake (thanks craig!). when i say we spent the weekend, i mean we drove up friday afternoon and drove back saturday afternoon. i'll admit i was a little stressed considering we ran out of clothes for lily due to countless "accidents." but it was still nice to get out and do something as our little fam.

saturday morning buz's dad, sister, and brother-in-law did a relay at the bear lake tri. this is how zoe hung out. what a trooper.

and lily collected rocks by the side of the road. hey, look at that, collecting rocks in mismatched stripes!! side note for taryn: that was not staged. it's meant to be, simple as that.

leigh coming in from the ride.

and a stellar jeanne. of course. sorry dave, no pictures of the swim since we're cheap and didn't want to pay the $3 to get in. seriously, who charges spectators at a tri?

then the rain started to trickle. good thing we had an empty trunk. it's not often we come across that!

down at the beach, little beckett who i just love.

look ma, no hands! don't mind the lean against her dad!

there's that smile again. but she loved her tour on the kayak.

and thought she'd practice rowing too.

thanks for the fun times!

hold on tight

2010-08-23T15:34:00.001-07:00

the bird

2010-08-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

buz's work treated us to an afternoon up at snowbird.

first time on a chairlift, lily was in heaven

and coming down the slide, with her arms up yelling "woooooooo"

she of course loved the inflatable slide and bounce house the best.

i love her sweaty face, fluffy hair, just bounced like crazy look.

sun in your eyes? nope, that's just her smile of choice. nice.

zoe wouldn't sleep the entire ride up. but the walk at the top rocked her into la la land.

lily and chloe wrestling. a pretty even match since they're both miniatures. i think chloe won. of course this happened while the mommys were playing and the daddys were watching the girls!

i love how both of their hands are in the momentum building position.

candy!!!

(that's what we say instead of cheese. you get a better smile that way, promise.)

chloe in front, lily in back, thrillseeking with their daddys.

and who can't resist a good ride on a mechanical bull? thanks for the pic honey!

not much

2010-08-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

that's what we've been up to. not much at all. but just in case you all were wondering what it's like to be overwhelmed by the fact that your baby's almost 4 months and is definitely not a newborn anymore, here you go....

oh how i love her.

well…i’m back, again…

2010-08-06T13:58:00.001-07:00

she's happy

and she's happy

and i'm happy

that’s right, we decided enough is enough. the internet is back taking up too much of my time!!!

(if you're interested, i've updated a lot of posts...see below)

Helper Me!

2010-08-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

The next weekend we headed to Helper for a good old fashioned family reunion! Color coordinated t-shirts, field games, good food, waaaaay too long tour of the junior high, you name it, we did it!

We were able to tent out on the Junior High Football Field! Here’s the story short and sweet:

Buz’s grandpa grew up in Helper. He played football his whole life, ended up playing at

BYU (go cougars!) and then on to the 49er’s. So, the Junior High down there named the football field after his grandpa. It really was so fun and the perfect place for a reunion.

smudge on the camera, not on her face!

Thanks Nick for putting it together, you did a great job!

pioneers settled in wyoming too? no way!

2010-07-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

Over the 24th we headed to Wyoming for a little time out, and hung out at the festivities “in town” watching the local band Quiksand and touring the museums.

oh that face.

Big girl trying to figure out the more complicated things in life.

Buz had training in Phoenix - yep, Phoenix in July, there’s nothing better! - so off he went and we stayed to enjoy the rest of our time.

My aunt and uncle now have a place in the same area, so we went to feed their horses Quincy and Clancy one night. This is Quincy.

We hiked to Intermittent Springs, which isn’t so intermittent at this time of year. Of course Lily just threw rocks into the water!

Zoe Update

2010-07-20T10:42:00.001-07:00

Time seems to fly by so unbelievably fast she’s already three months! So, here’s the stats from her 2 months appointment:

Height: 22 inches – 35^th percentile

Weight: 9 lbs 14 oz – 26^th percentile

Head: 4^th percentile – she gets that from buz, poor thing:)

She’s a bit bigger than lily was, but that’s not saying much. She’s already sleeping 10-12 hours and night and has been for quite a while. She’s smiling and cooing and just lighting up our every day. Lily’s pretty nice to her, with just the occasional light love tap on the head to see how I’ll react. Oh well, that too shall pass.

Lily Update

2010-07-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

I just have to write down the cute things she says before I forget them. Her vocabulary is ever expanding and I laugh every day at the way she tests words to find out what they mean, and the pronunciation attempts are hilarious!

Libble dit: little bit

Pocolos: popsicles

She mixes up her f’s and s’s. My favorites are “slip slops” for flip flops and things like the “itsy bitsy fider”

She adds “all day” to just about every sentence

She started saying “Zoe Lou” a while ago and I think it’s stuck. I love little nicknames!

If I ask her a question it will undoubtedly start with either “well…” or “cause…”

Flaming Gorge

2010-07-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

We were so lucky to spend the weekend up in Flaming Gorge with Buz's family. We went to raft/float down the Green River, and had such a blast!

We tented in the "backyard" woodsy area behind the cabin. Zoe was such a champ.

Kennady and Dan. They look nice and all, but Dan can do some serious drenching with a 5 gallon bucket. Next time Dan, next time...

Buz's mom was so nice to stay behind and watch the little ones. Thanks Julie!

Our little 5 man raft. And in case you were wondering, that is 6 year old Sloane in the middle! This was her "best birthday ever!!"

The whole rafting group. We're all soaking wet, including the grannies - such good sports-, due to our never ending water fight.

Katie, Isabell, Sloane, Dani, and Kennady

How can you resist?

Lily took a ride on Shamu.

Then decided she'd do what she loves best-throwing rocks and...

covering herself in mud!

Thanks for the great weekend Hanni's, we loved it!!!

a visit from a friend

2010-07-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

Carsyn and Zoe

Thanks for coming! See you soon!

Silver Lake

2010-07-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

My brother is the outdoorsy type, and I wish I was more. There’s just something in me that doesn’t think of the mountains as my first form of entertainment when I’m looking for something to do. But, he suggested a walk around Silver Lake up at Brighton and it sounded great to me. Once again the kids loved throwing rocks in, and it was fun to just watch the cousins together.

4th of July

2010-07-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

We were able to FINALLY make it up to my parents “cabin in the woods” (its not really a cabin at all, but it looks like one from the outside, and due to location…anyway, we finally made it to Wyoming. My brother was in town from Portland and they were able to make it up for the weekend too.

If you didn’t know, lily loves corn. But love is an understatement. She absolutely, positively lives and dies for the stuff. Remember last year? Well, we had a repeat this year. She even tried to save some for later, and let it hang out between her two front teeth for the rest of her meal.

Couldn’t help but do a little toenail painting while we were hanging around.

Lily and my niece Kenna

All the kids were in their zone throwing rocks into the water, and lily refused to take her life jacket off!

The boys took the little girls out in the canoe, and I actually took a ride in it too. I’m a little bit of a wuss, but you have to understand how cold that water is and how wobbly the canoe is. But I did it.

Abigail and Zoe, two weeks apart.

spring has finally sprung

2010-06-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

Buz pulled out his old remote control helicoptor and showed it to Lily. He said he would let her chase after it until it died, then we could get rid of it. I think he forgot how much he likes it, because he was a little cautious with it and its still in working order.

After spending way too many days inside, I finally went crazy and bought the first outdoor toy I could find at Wal-Mart. So we came home with a mud mixing station, which Lily is in absolute heaven with.

Blessing Day

2010-06-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

We blessed Zoe in church today and Buz did such a great job. We had our extended families and some friends over to our house afterward for some good groceries. Zoe wore the same dress Lily did, I decided to keep things simple and inexpensive. Thanks to everyone that could come!

back in business

2010-06-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

***let me just say i'm posting on my mom's computer, when i compose the post everything's centered, but it's just not coming out right. sorry!*** ... we went to st. george for memorial day weekend. lily got a haircut! here's a wonderous pic of the before. sorry, i haven't taken an after pic yet. camera's out of batteries!

buz snapped this while the haircut was in progress. lily thinks its so exciting to have jeanne cut her hair! we decided to head to vegas on sunday. we visited the aquarium at the mandalay bay and then saw the lions at the mgm. it was something fun and different than what we usually do down south. ... so i've been totally out of comission for the past 6 weeks. that's one of the many perks of having a c-section! but, i've been cleared to drive, finally, and so now i've made my way to my mom's to borrow the interweb! lily has been a really cute sister to zoe, never really violent or nasty to her. just nasty toward me! i took this pic i think just a few days after we got home from the hospital.

we're taking a break from dance class for the summer. lily has been practicing her moves, and thought her tights made a great hat! we've been enjoying the park as much as possible whether or not the weather's nice outside! zoe and her great-grandma jerry. and another cute one of the girls just being cute together.

here she is

2010-04-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

introducing...

zoe ann slaugh

born april 20th, 2010, 7:59 a.m.

7 lbs 1 oz 20 inches long

...

don't mind the bright red nose, i had morphine in my spinal and one side effect is itching. lots and lots of itching.

...

lily is so cute with her little sister, she giggles whenever zoe makes any noise and she loves to kiss her.

zoe was jaundice like lily, but not as bad, so we got to have her in our room in the bili bed for the day. thankfully our hospital stay wasn't extended.

lily loves to "hole (hold) her" and right now thinks the whole thing is just silly!

hippity hoppity

2010-04-05T08:41:00.001-07:00

so far the internet man has forgotten to come and take away my ultimate time waster! so you get to have a look at our low key easter celebrations.

...

lily has a special talent of producing amazing morning hair!

it took a few minutes to discover her easter basket, and once she found it she focused on the three jelly beans that ended up on top of the toys!

oh look, there's something else in here...

ooo, i love these glasses! don't they just fit perfectly?!

thank you costco for these delicious cinnamon rolls that i just had to throw in the oven. made my morning sooo stress free.

dying the eggs. we did it a little late, i think most people dye them the day before easter, but we waited so daddy could help out too.

mixing the eggs, cause i guess that helps the dye set!

i just love the pure excitement on her face. so proud of her work.

taa daa!

then daddy tried to share one of the hard boiled eggs with lily. she's always up to try anything food wise, but i think the look on her face is priceless. she had a huge bite in her mouth, and didn't know what to do. swallowing would be disgusting, but if she spit it out she'd taste it coming out!

then for a little gc. she took a quick break from playing to lead the congregation in a hymn.

happy easter everyone!

so long for now

2010-03-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

i thought i'd get one last post in before the internet co. comes and takes my connection to the outside world away.

buz has been working and working. and working. in fact its 8:30 in the pm and he's finally on his way home. i guess that's what you get when you're married to the tax guy. so, not much has been going on around these parts. but i do have some randoms of my sweet little girl. and when i say sweet, i really mean it, even though she is two and determined to define it the best way possible.

here i am in all my glory. i tried smiling in a few pictures, but that was no use. just picture what i usually look like, but swollen. big nose, big lips, big double chin... so i'm 36 weeks along and had the joyous "in depth" appointment today. i'm already to a 2 1/2 and 80% effaced, which is way more than i could ever say with lily, so we'll see if this little one has a time table all her own!

am i ready? probably not. i'll find out in the next few weeks. but i did go a little out of control on the nursery, trying my hand at sketching/painting this massive tree onto the nursery wall. i think it turned out pretty cute. and just picture the frame sitting on the swing (that's what that hanging ribbon is supposed to be) with a darling picture of my two girls in it.

some of you may be confused. all along this baby's name has been betsy. but a couple of weeks ago, after i had already purchased a giant "b," buz informed me that wasn't her name. this is what he chose. and i like it, so now we're just waiting and waiting for little zoe to arrive!

...

on a different note, and not to be ignored, i just need to let everyone know that

buz passed his last CPA exam!!!!!!

he worked so hard and studied non stop since last july, and the work paid off. he passed all four on the first try. good job babe!

2010-03-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

i'm not too sappy of a person, but i just needed to mention one thing. nine years ago today buz and i went on our first date. i can't believe how fast time really has flown by, and it's been such a fun ride! here's what went down:

it was my junior prom, he was a senior. we were friends, and had known each other for four years already. i won't get too detailed, but i ended up insisting he take me to prom. so, that night, a knock on the door, a clever little riddle to solve, and the date was set! we had our first kiss that night (just a peck, i'm a lady!) and decided we really liked each other. now, i'm not gonna say that i didn't dump him once or maybe even twice, but i had to make sure. and i wrote while he was on his mission, when i wasn't busy dating. like i said. i had to be sure. but then he came home and things just worked out. thank goodness! i can't imagine my life without buz and all the extras that come with being married to him (like my cute little girl and the one about to arrive!)

i have pictures of our first date but i'll be honest, i'm too lazy at the moment to scan them in to my computer to post them. maybe i'll bet to it one day, but don't count on it.

on a side note, we've decided to get rid of the internet. so you probably won't see so many posts coming (not that i post a lot anyway) but i'll be sure to update you when the new little one comes and every now and then when we steal the internet from our parents.

a visit from a caterpillar

2010-03-02T08:31:00.001-08:00

some say i go a little overboard. i say it was to keep me from being overly bored! lily loves the very hungry caterpillar by eric carle, so that was the inspiration for her big birthday bash.

...

last year i made a "1" for lily's pictures and loved it so much i thought i'd do it again.

the party hat, an essential. one of lily's favorite books talks about a party hat, and she was so excited to have one of her own!

favors...i made coloring books and crayon holders for each of the kidlets.

for the cake i made a bundt cake, cut it in half, and cut one of the halves in half again. then out of a 6" round cake i cut the head and the last section on the end. buz and i had lots of fun experimenting with the frosting, it turned out a little interesting, but i loved it!

we started out with my mom, a 2nd grade teacher, reading the story to the kids. she did such a great job, thanks mom!

we did a bean bag toss and had a coloring table, but we forgot to take pictures of that. (thanks to tabitha for taking pictures, without her we wouldn't have any!) then lily opened presents and the kids were all so anxious to help open, of course! i think at one point i ended up under the table as they were inching closer and closer...

lily (buz) did such a good job blowing out her candles, and she actually liked wearing her party hat. success!!

my mom gets all the grandkids a rocking chair/horse for their 2nd birthdays. lily was in heaven, and loves to rock her babies and bunny in her chair. thanks!

we went to the doctor today, and lily weighs a whopping 22.8 lbs clothed. she's made it up into the 7th percentile, which is higher than she's ever been! she's also in the 12th percentile for her height, so the doctor is quite proud of how well proportioned she is. she's our little munchkin, as we've always known, but she's healthy and happy and we're so blessed to be her parents. happy birthday beans!

party day pics

2010-03-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

my baby is 2. really? 2? it's too big too soon. but she's just so dang cute that it's ok. we took her out the morning of her birthday party to snap some shots in her party dress that i'm in love with.

i just love how she's clinging onto buz's hand so tight.

build a bunny

2010-03-02T08:07:00.000-08:00

friday morning lily got to go to build-a-bear with grammy for her 2nd birthday! i got to tag along to take pictures, but i was not in charge!!! lily got to saunter down the mall all by herself.

she picked out this shirt to wear for the day. she knows what it means too!

it took her quite a long time to choose an animal, and grammy actually ended up choosing the bunny for her. she helped add the stuffing.

testing out the stuffing-just floppy enough to love.

she finally got into the process when it was time to put in the heart(s). this bunny probably has 7 or 8 hearts inside.

she gave her a bath

but wouldn't decide on any clothes. we escaped with a pair of slippers and a make-up kit she uses for herself! she insisted on carrying the box all the way out.

i guess she was a little tired by the time we got to the doors, but she did drag it through the parking lot all the way to the restaurant.

thanks for a great day grammy! we had lots of fun!

trains and cookies

2010-02-11T12:06:00.001-08:00

last friday buz took trax to work. lily and i dropped him off, and lily cried for probably 10 minutes about the train. i told her we'd have a field trip to visit daddy at work. so this past tuesday we boarded the train to go see daddy "dow-town" and have lunch with him. she was in heaven.

after naptime we had chocolate chip cookies. just because they're good, no other reason.

My Latest

2010-02-05T08:09:00.000-08:00

obsession that is. designer sample sales. for kids too. new ones every day. insane deals. like i just bought lily two new swimsuits for the summer that were 60% off. that's right. a $72 swimsuit (what?! really?!!) for under $30! and a few weeks ago i found her a baby nay dress for her birthday party that was originally $90 (again, what?!!), i paid $40. they've got things for men, women, and the home too. just about anything you can think of. i had to share, it's almost too good to be true. but it's not, i know from experience.

...

Hautelook

(click here)

fresh air

2010-01-21T12:53:00.000-08:00

naptimes have been a bit of a struggle around our house these days. at her request, we say naptime prayers, and lily herself asks for help to stay in her "big bed." i guess she forgets what she's asked for.

i don't know what all you moms do out there with your kids when it's so cold out. give me some tips! i was hoping a little fresh air would help her, and already she's down for her nap. it only took her 20 minutes instead of the usual hour. thank goodness!

i love this with her tongue out. she has lots of little mannerisms like this that are just like her daddy!

Betty Davis Eyes

2010-01-20T06:28:00.000-08:00

We haven't been up to anything blog worthy lately, but thanks to Taryn I have this cute picture to share. (and thanks to Rachel for the tip on bigger pictures!)

Soles 4 Souls

2010-01-15T19:20:00.001-08:00

So I sometimes, well usually, feel like when a major disaster strikes somewhere in the world, there's not much I can really do to help. I just got word about a charity called Soles 4 Souls that is gathering shoes for the people in Haiti. They're taking new or gently used shoes for the people there, and it's really important since there's so much rubble and glass, not to mention disease, etc. everywhere right now.

I've looked into it, and the shoes can be dropped off at the New Balance store in Salt Lake, as they are a participant for Soles 4 Souls. I know I have a few pair of Lily's shoes that are worn and scratched on the toes, but the soles are still sturdy, so I'm going to gather them up and take them down.

If any of you are interested in donating, my goal is to get them down to the store mid-week next week. All you need to do is rubber band the pair together.

Let me know if you're interested and I'll come pick them up from you either this weekend or early next week. It's really the least we can do. Thanks!

Check out the charity here.

A Big Bed

2010-01-04T11:31:00.001-08:00

Over Christmas break we decided it was time to transition Lily to a big girl bed! I'm kind of a wierdo and want her completely used to sleeping in the bed way before the baby comes so she doesn't feel like her crib's being stolen or that there's too much change at once. So, here's where we've gotten so far.

I kept the "theme" the same, the pictures were on her wall before, the crib was just underneath them.

We got this cute book shelf that she loves to sit by (and sometimes takes naps here too!)

The Eiffel Tower was in her old set-up too.

The bed and hutch were mine growing up, so I's still on the hunt for a few more things to fill the space!

And we checked on her the other day during nap time, she was sleeping across her pillow, not touching the bed at all! Silly girl. She won't let us pull the sheet and duvet onto her either. Kind of particular, you think?!?

And I just thought these were funny and cute. Lily loves to take her socks off and on, off and on, and she let me snap some photos this morning while she was doing what she does best!

Merry Chriffas!

2009-12-27T09:50:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve we went to Buz's parent's house and opened presents there. It was a great and yummy way to kick off the Christmas hoopla!

Christmas morning. Can you tell Lily was sleeping, or more like tossing and turning, in our bed all night? We think she's finally getting over this nasty cold.

A little later, cleaned up and showing off her new sweater and skinny jeans!

And of course, her true love, the dancing Santa!

Merry Chriffas one and all!

Buz got me a Flip video camera, so I'm testing out this video post thing for the first time. Sorry if it doesn't work, I'll work on it!

December

2009-12-26T12:49:00.000-08:00

We were lucky enough to get to see Santa and Mrs. Clause at our brother-in-law's mother's house. Lily thought it was fun to shake her bells as we sang Christmas songs, but she wasn't so sure about sitting on Santa's lap. Mommy had to help. Don't mind the baby bump taking up half my lap!

We thought this was hilarious...Lily's cousin Beckett went in for a smooch, and Buz snapped the camera at the exact right (or maybe wrong!) moment!

Staring at Santa, still making up her mind.

We also got to play with Lily's friend London for a day. These two are so cute together, it was so fun to listen to them talk to each other all day! Thanks for playing!

Lay Off!!!

2009-12-22T09:08:00.000-08:00

we're sick. me and lily. stuffy and sneezing and fevers and no sleeping (the no sleeping is caused by lily. i would be sleeping fine otherwise!) we've done some fun things this last week, and we're soooo excited for christmas, but you've just got to give me some time to feel well enough to function and get some batteries for my camera (we've been borrowing the remote control batteries to take pictures-sad since wal-mart is a 5 minute walk away) so i can upload my pictures. sorry!

Our Deadly Catch

2009-12-08T13:08:00.000-08:00

Love this show

This fishing boat was on the show. So what, you ask?

Well, we went searching for a Christmas tree on Saturday. I had read about a Christmas tree farm down in Alpine where you can cut your own down. This is how we always did it growing up in the east/mid-west, so I begged Buz to go down with me. So we did. Basically, all the trees looked like this.

So, we headed home and stopped by the trusty corner lot. Now, the lot on 9000 S and State is no shabby lot. We got a tree there two years ago and really liked it. We started looking around, and got a feel for what they had to offer us. We finally found what we thought would fit best in our house. We went and got one of the guys to take it down for us, and we got to talking. Back to the first picture, turns out the guy who owns this tree lot also owns The Lucky Lady, which was on the first season of the Deadliest Catch! Apparently you have to be burley to fish and to sell Christmas trees! That's what the guy told us.

Here's the best part...they brought king crab legs and Alaskan halibut with them and are selling them at the lot too! We were going to pick some up last night but due to the weather we bailed. Hopefully Buz will stop by on his way home from work. YUM!

hi!

2009-12-02T07:18:00.001-08:00

we went to our 20 week ultrasound and got to say hi!......

to our new baby girl!!!!

while we were watching the screen, she waved at us a few times. it was so cute! now on with the great debate for a name, so far we both like totally different names!

usaf

2009-11-23T07:18:00.000-08:00

last weekend we got to go down to texas to see my brother-in-law graduate from pilot training. and not just any pilot training, but the 'euro-nato joint jet pilot training'. he's in the air force and was accepted to this elite training base. they've been there for 18 months and he's been working his butt off. and it was pretty amazing to see what he does. thanks for having us, and thanks julie for watching lily! (it was our first vacation away from her!)

sarah tried on the parachute (smaller of the two they wear). i wanted to try it but i was exempt due to my current condition!

thompson, my step-dad, is a retired pilot. he flew fighters in the air force then flew for delta. he was in his element when he heard he would be able to fly the simulators.

buz taking off on the runway. he made it up without crashing! he didn't try to land it.

my brother-in-law, will, sitting in the t-38. that's the last jet he trained in. can't you tell he loves what he does?

standing in front of the t-38. we also got to stand out in between the two runways and watch the planes take off and do touch and go's, and we watched them take off in formation too (that's two or more planes taking off right next to each other at the same time...scary!)

t-38's all lined up and ready to fly

this is the t-6, the first plane they fly at enjjpt. they fly this (and the t-38) solo and in formations. a little too intense for me!

sarah and will, after he's had his wings pinned on. thompson got to pin his wings on since he also received his wings in the air force.

my family (don't mind my sorry attempt at not looking too pregnant when really the skirt was hiked up to my boobs and i still couldn't zip it up!)

congrats will! i can't believe you actually get those machines up in the sky and do those crazy things! thanks for having us!

a sad look...

2009-11-23T07:15:00.001-08:00

at halloween. this is the only picture i captured of lily. we were having such a good time taking her around and watching her catch on to the idea, that i never thought to pull out the camera. she was a really cute kitty cat. she really enjoyed throwing the candy into her bag!

thanks to courtney for painting her face for us!

it's finally fall, and i think it's over

2009-10-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

i know it's been quite a while since i actually posted recent pictures of lily. but i think i have a pretty good excuse. you see, i've been a lot more sick (just nauseous really) with this pregnancy, so i haven't had the umph to get out my camera and take pictures of the nothingness that we do! but, i'm 14 weeks now, and feeling a little better every day, so i thought i'd share our nothingness...

every week we get to have carter over. they're just two days apart and have so much fun playing together (lily usually doesn't get out of her pj's those days. just too much to think about!)

the newest obsession...bubbles

we went up to my parent's home in wyoming over conference weekend. carter and lily found a hiding place and thought they were hilarious sneaking out and "scaring" us!

we've spent time at the park

and of course the season isn't complete without a visit to the pumpkin patch!

and p.s. just a little congrats to all my friends and family out there expecting too! you know who you are!

one year ago

2009-10-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

lily at 8 months. where has the time gone?

Taking a Poll

2009-10-14T13:49:00.001-07:00

i know, i know, pretty much the same shoe. that's why i'm stuck. which do you like better?

you see, last week lily had a growth spurt. i went to put on her size 3 shoes that have always had plenty of room, and couldn't even get her foot all the way in without scrunching her toes. then i put her tennis shoes on and she said, "mommy, toe. shoe off." so, here we are finding ourselves shopping for new shoes. i can't say i'm not having fun, but i need opinions!

Don't You Just Love Going To The Doctor?

2009-09-23T13:23:00.001-07:00

I do! Especially when you get to see this...

9 weeks down, 30 weeks to go...

Why Do They Do This To Me?

2009-09-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

Anyone been to Babinski's lately? Well, I was in there the other day and I saw a whole collection of these.

Different styles and colors too. And they range from sizes 1 to 6. Uh oh. Buz better hide my wallet come spring! (Not so practical for our upcoming snow!)

...

On a side note, I had Lily's 18 month pictures taken. These two are my favorites, but there's lots of good ones!

18 months

2009-09-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

So, we went to the doctor on Tuesday. Here's the latest:

-Height: 31.1 inches - 33%

-Weight: 20 lbs even!!!!! - 3%

Our doctor was thrilled that Lily is actually a little more on the charts than she ever has been!

.........

What she's up to

-She LOVES babies. She has a hard time keeping the clothes on them though. We'll work on that!

-She's talking up a storm, tells me all the time "Daddy verk (work)" "nigh-nigh" "I lova too" "Mommy shair?" (wants me to sit next to her). She says help when she needs it, says hello and bye bye and waves, blows some serious kisses, asks for specific books, and tonight for the first time she told me what was going on in a specific page of a book. A genius I tell ya!

-When she gives kisses she says "muah!"

-She is on the move! I can't keep up! She's constantly asking to dance, and she's particular as to the music. That can make it interesting!

-She thinks I'm hilarious! I love it!

-Since Buz has gone back to work she's waking up with him. Not something I'm so fond of. Hopefully she'll adjust soon. She's also deciding that an hour and a half is sufficient for nap time. SLEEP, KID!!! I liked the 2 1/2 to 3 hours of napping I used to get!

found!

2009-09-03T19:16:00.001-07:00

We really haven't been up to much, but we've been around town a little.

This is Lily and her Great Grandma Jerry. At Grandma's house there's a little red chair with a blue and white gingham cushion that has always been in her kitchen as long as I can remember. Lily likes to sit in it, and she tells Grandma "shair" (how she says chair) and makes her sit next to her. It's so cute!

We took advantage of $2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point a couple of times. We visited the dinosaur museum that ended up being more of a reason to get out of the house than entertainment for the kids. Oh well!

We are now members of Discovery Gateway! Here we have Dr. Slaugh and Capt. Hansen ready to go rescue someone in the helicopter! If you haven't been to the children's museum, you should check it out, and I'll go with you!

A week after Buz started work (yay!) his company took us to the zoo. It was a little hot, but really fun. Lily liked the ice cream best, I think she's still a little young to really enjoy the zoo. However, the ice cream was probably my favorite part too!

Who doesn't love a good bath time pic?

Lily's ready for winter! We searched and found a pair of snow boots just her size! Well, they're a 4, so that's still a size too big, but thick socks should do the trick! We found her some great show pants at Kid to Kid too, so she's ready to go sledding!

She loves to get into her toy box.

This is what happens when Daddy works late. We eat mac n cheese for dinner! Lily's really into feeding herself. Whatever...

Last but not least, this is what I get when I ask for a smile!

small side note-we're growing her bangs out, sorry for all the hair in the face.

camera???

2009-09-01T12:22:00.001-07:00

I had every intention of updating my blog today, and I can't seem to find my camera. Sorry, but I'm looking hard!

messy faces

2009-07-24T07:58:00.001-07:00

We've been going swimming with our friends Fallon and London this summer. We have lots of fun! Lily and London decided powdered sugar is good for more than just a sweet treat!

Lily LOVES chocolate!

i'm trying

2009-07-24T07:38:00.001-07:00

i'm really behind on my posting. sorry. but i'm not a scrapbooker at this point in my life, so this is how i'm keeping track.

...

we spent the 4th of july weekend up in star valley, wyoming at my parents' cabin. we missed fireworks, but the thunder and lightening was more entertaining to us all! we played lots of cards, worked on some serious crafting projects (quiet books if you're wondering) and just relaxed!

...

lily went on her first official 4 wheeler ride with grandma and grandpa. she really did enjoy it, she just wouldn't smile for the camera.

...

this is what happened when grandpa set her on the ground. told you she liked it. the only way to appease her was to let her sit on the 4 wheeler again!

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the get-up. last year my mom and i came across these little boots at a store "in town." (that's the big exciting thing to do in wyoming--go "in town"!!)

...

seriously, what can i say??? (and it's a hand me down-gotta love 'em!)

...

we discovered a new passion lily has for corn on the cob. really, what kid gets this excited over corn?

...

blowing bubbles with her cousin kenna (i was 12 when kenna was born, and kenna was 12 when lily was born...time flies!!!)

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she loves the swing! thanks for playing kenna!

We Really Do Live In Utah

2009-07-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to spend the last two weeks of

June hanging out in Southern California. We drove to St. George and spent the night, then got up early the next morning to head to L.A. We didn't take into consideration the time change and just how quick the drive it would be. We ended up hitting Rancho Cucamonga around 9:45 and weren't planning on getting to L.A. until 2 or 3! (They're only an hour or so away!) So we stopped at Victoria Gardens, a wonderful shopping plaza, and Lily got to work! She LOVES fountains! We also got to see Lindsey and Macy who don't live too far away. We ate lunch and shopped around for a little bit, and then were on our way.

While in L.A., my aunt suggested that we visit the Getty. We both enjoy museums, and the architecture was AMAZING!!! They had an impressionist exhibit, and I got to see another of Monet's Water Lily collection. That's a big deal to me! We didn't stay long, Lily doesn't really love walking around in quiet places with nothing interesting (to her) to look at!

Then we drove down the coast and walked along the boardwalk at Venice Beach! CULTURE SHOCK!!! I know I live in this little bubble between the mountains, but I don't think anyone can be quite thoroughly prepared for the interesting sights there. We were trying to find something to eat that looked somewhat sanitary, and we came upon this little dive. It's called Whalers. YUM!!! We sat in the bottom level, but were were open to the beach. All the walls had large windows, but the glass was taken out, so the breeze just came in.

We had to be a little touristy, neither of us had ever really done this fun stuff.

Have you heard of this place? Sprinkles........take me there! Apparently it's the rage in L.A. Just this tiny little cupcake shop right on Santa Monica Blvd. and Rodeo Dr. Each cupcake was $3.50 and worth EVERY PENNY!!! I've heard they're starting to sell the mix at Williams Sonoma. I haven't looked into it, but if they do, I highly recommend!

Our anniversary happened to be the second night we were there. My aunt and uncle took us to Duke's right on the beach in Malibu. We had to die for fish (how can you not...you're on the coast?) and the view was amazing. The waves would hit the rocks and splash onto the windows. It was great. Thanks!!!

The next day we drove to Long Beach where another aunt and uncle live. We were treated to the Long Beach Aquarium, and Lily was soo brave. She practically wanted to jump right in to touch the rays.

They have a little bird exhibit and the birds will just hop right onto your hands and climb on you. This is my cousin Glenn showing off his bird likability.

And Buz. I graciously offered to take pictures, as much as I really wanted to touch the birds!! (ok, not really)

That night my aunt and uncle offered to stay home with Lily and we went out on the Pier. We walked to the very end to Ruby's diner and had shakes and fries. Then we got a little goofy. Glenn and I danced on the pier. (Buz and Bron were too embarassed...I say they're wusses.)

Then, before we headed out from there, my uncle (in blue) took Lily and Buz for a ride in his Triumph. Lily liked it a lot, and thought she'd take it for a spin too!

Then we were off to a week long stay in Solana Beach (just north of San Diego) with Buz's family. We had lots of much needed beach time. Lily loved both the sand and the waves.

We visited Balboa Park, and Lily went on her first carni rides. She had lots of fun on the train with her Daddy.

And she loved the carousal. She wanted to be strapped to the small one, and wouldn't let me hold on to her. It was a faster than normal ride, so she was a little woozy by the end, and sat on my lap for the last few turns.

We took lots of morning walks on the beach. That's the best!

And she had her first go at boogie boarding. Of course she loved it. She's our little thrill seeker!

The two little girlies, just hanging out.

Better Late...

2009-07-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

...or maybe I just feel bad that I skipped over this VERY important thing that happened in our family. Buz graduated at the end of May with a Masters in Accounting from the University of Utah!!! He has worked sooo hard, and we're definitely enjoying our break between school and work and CPA study courses.

Love you!

15 months baby

2009-06-06T08:38:00.001-07:00

my little baby seems to be quickly turning into a toddler. she's talking, running around, and really wants to be part of the big kids when she's with all her cousins. her current stats are: weight: 17 lbs 14 oz - 1% - that's right, on the charts two appointments in a row! height: 30 inches - 35% head: 20% - i can never remember that measurement sorry i don't have any recent pictures. we've been having lots of fun, but i've never been the one with the camera. i need to steal some pics from a few of you! p.s. i tried to center the words and put spaces in between some of the lines, but for some reason it's not working. sorry!