Wedding Weekend

Well Kami found her one and only, her true love, her other half. And they decided to get married on October 12, so I drove to Utah with the kids to spend a few days with family and go to the wedding. My mom watched my kids a lot for me (and I am so grateful) because there were a lot of fun things going on! Kami had a bachelorette party on the night I arrived. It was at Classic Skating which is where I spent a fair amount of my childhood. What a blast from the past to be on that skating rink again. I hadn't skated in YEARS, and the skates felt like blocks of cement. It took me awhile to warm up, but it was SO fun.

I just love Kami's sisters. They have always been so good to me, and they are so fun to be around.

I'm not sure how we got a picture with an empty rink behind us. It was actually really busy that night. Lots of fun watching the teenagers flirt and wondering about the older gentleman who was there by himself enjoying a night on his skates.

Amy and I are a deadly combination. We get going and can't stop with the jokes and poses.

After skating we went to Kami's sister's house and played Bunco. Each time someone got a bunco, Kami had to pull something out of a bag and tell how she was going to use it. *blush*

The Bunco gang

Moving on to Thursday night...shower with my best friends from high school. Other people are always so amazed that we have stayed in contact. How could we not!? I love these girls. We had the shower at Janelle's house, and her mom came and did games and dinner with us. She used to throw Halloween parties for us, so this was reminiscent of our high school days.

We even did our favorite game, The Penny Toss. I just grin thinking about a bunch of 30+ year olds doing stuff like this...and loving it.

We had a delicious spaghetti dinner and played Bingo.

And now for the big day. I drove to Salt Lake with these girls and cherished every minute we got to talk and catch up.

The temple sealing was wonderful. I guess age and experience have caused me to be pretty emotional and I also really felt the Spirit being in the temple. The luncheon was at the Lion House, and we ate till we thought we might burst. Amy and I had joked with Kami that we might burst into song when she gave her little "speech." Well, we didn't do that exactly, but something came over me and suddenly during one quiet moment, I started snapping my fingers and making weird be-bop noises. My friends joined in, and we had about 6 seconds of glory...which turned into embarrassment. I don't regret it though. :)

The reception that night was at a place called Castle Park Events Center in Lindon. It was beautiful, and so fun to chat and mingle with great friends and people from my past. Kami looked stunning and her dress was incredible.

These are all girls I lived with at the Riviera in Provo. We sent Jason and Kami off with sparklers...and they are spending their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. 

Nate had to work and also was interviewing in California, so he couldn't make it. That was a bummer, but the kids were great, and the drive to and from Utah actually went really well.

Date Night

Date nights are actually fairly stressful to me. The kids don't love having a sitter, it gets expensive, and I have to clean the house so we don't look like nasty dirty people to the babysitter! BUT, it's so worth it, and I love knowing that being together and having dinner or whatever is exactly what we should be doing at that moment. It's time well spent.

We met up with the Nelsons and had delicious Thai food first. The BYU/USU game was on, so our husbands were a little distracted for part of the night. :)

Next up, miniature golf. We were all pretty awesome. And I proved to be extra brilliant by wearing wedges...to play a sport...in the dark...on terrain that included small hills, rocks, and sand.

We had so much fun with these guys.

Hole in one, baby!

Gilcrease Orchard and Stuff

Why are tunnels so stinking fun? (On a sidenote, I had moment there where I couldn't remember if the word tunnel had one "l" or two. I first tried two and was horrified when Blogger underlined it in red. Things like this scare me. Like I'm getting dumber with age.) Anyway, tunnels and tricycles are where it's at.

I don't know what I would do without smoothies. Throw some spinach in there and PHEW, I've done my motherly duty for the day in the vegetable department.

All I can say is I hope to see more of this in her future. People that do things like this are fun to be with. 

Thanks to an invite from a great friend, we took a Saturday morning and went to Gilcrease Orchard. No crisp fall air, that's for sure...but so much fun.

Dad was indispensable when it came to finding a great pumpkin. Natalie is always such a trooper on these types of trips. 

It's important to have a few pictures with me in them right? Emmy was tired (thus cranky and clingy) that day. She never left my arms.

We ended up picking a BIG zucchini, some eggplant, sweet potatoes, a few radishes, and some apples. I picked up a couple pears and pear and apple cider at the checkout. We made a zucchini and eggplant lasagna a couple days later and it was really good!

But what I can't get out of mind...the apple cider donuts with frosting. Incredibly yummy. 

My wonderful friend Danielle was in town for the weekend, and she stopped by my house that afternoon. It was so good to chat with her and catch up. I'm so sad I forgot to get a picture of us! 

The Glasses

The be completely honest, it took us a couple weeks after getting Natalie's prescription to get to an optical center. I was doing a little research before taking her in, but for the most part, time just got away from us. We ended up getting a Hello Kitty pair. We figure if it makes Natalie more excited and comfortable about wearing them, it's worth passing up the cheapest frames.

Her glasses came in very quickly after we ordered them. I had expected to wait probably a week longer than we did. I dragged the three kids to go pick them up, and Emmy kept herself entertained by putting stickers all over herself.

And so we begin this new phase of life. She is supposed to wear them all the time, but that's hard for her to do right now. We are easing into things. I have to remind her to put them on a lot, but I don't insist that she wear them every second. Thankfully, she has never refused to put them on or acted really embarrassed about them.

Today was her first day wearing them to school. They came home in one piece, so that's a start!

Fun Filled Weekend

Last Friday evening after Nate got home from work, I headed down to the Cashman Center for the first part of Time Out for Women. I had been telling Nate, this is not a girls' weekend, it's a work conference! I told him I would come back a better wife and mother. After Friday evening's presentation we headed to Caesar's Palace to have dessert at Max Brenner. I had some waffle fries that were so delicious I would have paid $6 for them. Oh wait, I think I did. 

Becca, Scovia, and I spent the night at the Flamingo. We got to the hotel after midnight, and of course there was a huge line to check in even at that time of night. This city seriously never sleeps. Here is our cool/weird hotel room.

In the morning we had the buffet at the hotel (I think of you often dear omelet). Saturday was awesome with inspiring, funny, touching, and memorable speakers and performers. I got choked up over and over but did a pretty good job of not being a total water works. Here are the girls I sat with sporting our Time Out for Women bags. I actually only know two of these ladies, but it's amazing how much fun any group of women can have together.

We love Mariama! Here's a little about her: Raised in war-torn Sierra Leone, Mariama Kallon saw many things as a young girl that might fill a person with fear and hatred. Soon after witnessing the violent murders of parents and siblings and spending her youth fleeing from rebels, she was introduced to the gospel of Jesus Christ and found hope in God and peace in a knowledge of eternal families

Pure luck! I was sitting right in front of some awesome women from my ward.

Well, the fun didn't stop after that. I made a pit stop at home for a couple hours and then went to dinner and shopping with these lovely ladies. Gosh, I have got to grow up. These photos were my idea. We ate at a gourmet burger place called Bachi Burger and shopped at some outlets. I laughed and laughed that night.

Just a reminder, I am 30 years old.

I was a little stressed (but not much) that night because I was giving a talk in church the next day. A 15-20 minute one about "being an example of righteousness." Luckily, I had pretty much finished it up before the fun filled weekend because I knew I would be exhausted Saturday night. Feels so nice to have that over with, but I really did appreciate the opportunity to study and read and learn a lot that week as I prepared.

This Child

Oh how I love this child. Her personality isn't something I can describe with words. She definitely has the whole family wrapped around her little pudgy finger. Jansen and Natalie are very good to her and love to be with her. She also turned 2 about a week ago! 

I started a playgroup with 2 other moms and their girls. We take turns having the kids come play at our houses and the other moms can have a break during that time. This is Emmy with her friend Grace. Emmy loves her little friends. When I tell her they are coming over she always tells me she will share her toys.

She is in that stage where she always wants to bring things with her in the car or into bed. Hmmmm, this is the 3rd picture in a row with that sippy cup. She does love it.

When we go pick Natalie up from school Emmy always runs and greets her with a big hug. She can finally say "Natalie" really well.

She loves to ride bikes and scooters. When we tell her we are going to go outside she usually throws both arms in the air, does a little dance, and say, "Ride bikes!"

She loves to color. She LOVES to watch Dora and Diego. She will sit without moving a muscle through whole episodes of those 2 shows, and that is priceless! (Jansen is offering up a prayer apparently in the background of this picture.)

There wasn't a lot of fanfare on her birthday, but she loved ending the day with presents, chocolate cake and  ice cream.

Emmy can scream with the best of them when she gets really upset, but she really doesn't throw a lot of tantrums yet. We've had some bumps in the road with her night time sleeping lately...she is getting in the habit of waking and then repeating over and over, "I...want...mommy." It's heartbreaking, and I have been going to her, but the last couple nights she has slept through the night. Yay!

She gets the words umbrella and rainbows mixed up, and I think it's so cute. When she wants me to sit by her she says, "Sit by us." She can say the names of all colors but doesn't know which ones are which. She loves to play in the sand box and build with Duplo blocks. 

We just love her to pieces and are cherishing this fun stage she is in.

Here and There

Here are some bits and pieces from life lately.

Both Emmy and Natalie have been coloring a lot. It's a great activity to keep Emmy occupied for a little bit, and we usually do it at the kitchen counter where Emmy is strapped in and can't wreak havoc on the house with a marker or crayon.

She is licking up the last of her ranch after "drinking" what she could from the cup. How about eating some of that food on your plate Emmy?

I caught this sweet picture of her feeding one of her babies. And so prepared for anything motherhood might throw at her with that backpack and all...

We're not completely sold on the idea of being a mother. Fighter pilot and princess are also options.

We hung out at a friend's house one Friday night and rocked out while doing Just Dance. 

I must get a photo of Chico on the blog. This little guy sits in a corner of our neighbor's yard, a bit of a cast off, and the kids love to go see him. 

Before going to the "real" park one afternoon, we slid around at a skate park. Ruined our pants but oh well!

This is the scene when Nate gets home from work. Hugs come first, but it doesn't take long for things to turn into loving "attacks."

Soccer started last night.

Jansen was upset that his team lost. I am helping coach this year. It's a juggling act if I have the girls, but if Nate has them, I have a blast being on the field with the little kids.

Emmy's true loves right now. Baby Jaguar and Strawberry Shortcake. There is a doll somewhere under all that scented hair.