Cabin Palooza 2009

Justin and I took my family to the Dye family cabin in Scofield. 6 of the 8 siblings were there plus all their kids and my parents totalling 28 people. We had lots of fun and it was great to see my sisters from Arizona and New Mexico.

My neice Allison. She's about 6 weeks younger than Sarah but crawls like a champ!

My nephew Isaac from New Mexico. I decided he's the favorite cousin. Everyone was most excited to see Isaac.

Jake and Brooke. I think Jake looks like he could be in Sandlot type movie. So cute!

The gang down at Scofield Reservoir. Justin taught the kids how to fish. He spent most of the time putting new bait on poles since the kids got impatient just letting their line stay out in the water. They'd reel it in, get the hook caught on the weeds, lose their bait, need new bait and help casting. Justin was so patient! He says he now knows how his dad felt teaching him.

Christian "Mr. Fun", Kyle, Isaac and Jaana. Christian got his nickname at BYU's football camp last week. His counselor was struggling to pronoucne his first name, Fanueli, and decided "Mr. Fun" would do.

Jake caught the one and only fish out of the whole family. He was so excited.

My sister Rachel, her husband Kenny and her boys Zack and Tyler.

Little Jared. He's the funniest 2-year-old ever.

Allison, Brooke and Sarah. Three of the 4 baby girls born this year.

Halloween in June

Justin's mom sent Sarah this lion costume. We are going to score soooo much candy on Halloween. Heck, I bet I could score some off our neighbors right now.

Ball Skills

So she may not have any teeth and can only crawl backwards but this girl has mad ball skills.

Well, she's at least having fun.

No Shows and the Air Show

So our bishop challenged our ward to turn off the TV, stereo, and computer for an entire week just to prove how much free time we really do have and to encourage more face-to face contact with neighbors and friends. I didn't do the face-to-face stuff but I did get really bored. Here's a few things I did.

1. Made a carrot cake from scratch. Carrots go everywhere when you grate them.

2. Played solitaire with actual cards. (I'd cheat if I lost because I hated re-dealing.)

3. Spied on neighbors from my upstairs window. It's like a sniper's nest--I can see half the neighborhood from up there. My neighborhood is boring.

4. Found recipes in a cookbook, not a website.

5. Went on like 3 walks every day.

6. Finished the Conference Ensign.

7. Read a paper newspaper.

8. Dusted my bookcase and reorganized it a little bit.

9. Sat and stared at Sarah. She buzzed back.

10. Went to garage sales. I found 5 shirts for Sarah for $1 each. Keep your stimulus package Obama....we'll get by just fine, thanks.

Lesson learned: I didn't miss one TV show, especially daytime TV. But having the TV on does make the day go by faster. Not having a computer was tougher. I felt so cut-off from the world.

On to the air show. Hill Air Force Base hosts an airshow nearly every year but only every few years do the Thunderbirds come. It's always a good time but I don't know if I can handle the 1 1/2 drive plus the hour walk to the base (and then back) every year. Once every few years is good for me. Luckily, Sarah didn't get too scared by the loudness. The train behind our house doesn't phase her so I knew she could handle it. I covered her ears when it was loud and that seemed to confuse her more than the loud jet going by.

Sarah on some sort of missile. This is her anti-war protest I guess.

I don't know what kind of plane this is but you have to get your picture taken in front of a plane. It's a rule.

7 Months Old

Sarah's ability to sit up and the nice weather make for more interesting pictures.

Still no sign of teeth but that won't stop her from trying to eat everything. She loves pretty much everything we let her try and wants what what she can't have even more. She gets mad when we don't share. I was eating a bowl of cereal while she was playing on the floor and I had to hide the bowl behind me and take bites when she wasn't looking. And she whined the entire time I was eating a steak because I wouldn't share. I think she's going to be a chef when she grows up.

3 Years and Counting

Today is mine and Justin's third wedding anniversary. Feels like forever really, but that's a good thing.

What I've learned after 3 years of marriage.

1. It really doesn't matter which direction the silverware goes in the dishwasher. Our dishwasher isn't going to get them clean.
2. To someday buy or not to buy a mini-van may be our longest-running argument.
3. He said I never told him. Oh, I told him. I know I told him. I remember what he was doing, the shirt he was wearing, and what he said in reply when I told him. He doesn't remember. That's as good as not telling him.
4. Threats do work. "If you bring home an Xbox, I'll bring home a dog. And it will be a house dog."
5. Compromise also works. "Okay, you can get an Xbox if I can pick the games. And they will be lame."
6. It is what you say. And how you say it.
7. Justin can be eating cereal in his pajamas 20 minutes before church starts and still be ready before me.

Now please enjoy this trip down memory lane.

My parents were living in Alaska when Justin and I started dating. I emailed my mom this picture to tell her about him.

This is for Justin. He likes, nay, LOVES, this picture.

Just being helpful.

This is right after Justin proposed at Bridal Veil Falls. That's a pinata on the bench.

The bite Justin fed me was all frosting. It was so hard to swallow and I love frosting.

Leaving our reception. We drove around for awhile just for the attention. And because Justin loves motorcycles.

This is on our honeymoon in Las Vegas. But the real reason I post this is to point out those steaks. We still talk about how good they were.

Yay for marriage!

Squash, Beans, Slides and Swings

Sarah tried squash for the first time. She loved it.

Green beans...not so much.

And here's some park pictures. The swings are her favorite (what else can she do?). I took her down the slide even though according to the signs everywhere on the playground, I'm too old. And according to the small hole I had to go through to get on the slide, I'm also too big. But where there's a will, there's a way.

We were going so fast, we're just a blur.

Stay tuned for next week's adventure: Carrots!

The Many Faces of Sarah

Sarah just learned how to stick out her tongue which makes it the cool, new thing to do. Even her attempts make for some awesome faces.

Taking a break.....

Back to work....

Sitting-Up-ish and Other Fun Poses

We're making progress on the sitting-up thing. I think. And that's water on her shirt. She's not that slobbery.

What Happened to Our Photogenicness? Photogeneticism? Photogenetics? Photogeneticocity?

"Hey Justin, let's take picture of ourselves like we used to, when it was just us."

"Okay."

"Uh, next time don't lean forward. We look like an eclipse."

"Oh. Okay."

"Stop messing it up. Smile."

"So demanding."

"Now we're just getting squinty. Let's go to church."

The Swing and 6 Months Old

Sarah tried out a big swing by herself last week. If this is what her infant swing was like, maybe she would have stayed in it for longer than 2 seconds.

And she is now 6 months old. She slept through most of her check-up yesterday. The shots were a rude awakening. She is just 13 lbs 2 oz. That puts her in the 3rd percentile. I hope she doesn't try to pick any fights because the odds are not in her favor.

Sweet Little Lady

Here's Sarah with her very own Easter basket. Well the basket is hers; Justin and I ate the candy. Okay, it was mostly me.

I'm working on getting Sarah to sit up. See the progress we're making?

And some cute jumping shots. Note the drool on the chin.

And note the too cute grin and silly hat.