Summer Lovin'

Had us a blast!!  Ha ha, I couldn't help it :)

Maddie and I are definitely enjoying our summer!  We haven't gone swimming as much as I would like, but we'll fix that.  We have been spending a lot of time with friends though, and it's been fun!

We went to Stacia and Kevin's house this week to hang out and take some newbie pics of baby Jaxon!  These two can NOT go wrong when it comes to making babies!!  Caleb is the studliest of little men and he's got brains...the FULL package!  And little Jaxon is already a little prodigy!  He was holding his head up and held his own bottle for a second, and he's barely two weeks old!  Stacia and Kevin, congrats on two beautiful boys!  I can only imagine how adorable your family would be if you were to add a litte girl to the mix ;)

Maddie and Caleb really are best friends.  They get along so well!  I'll admit, they have their moments when they fight like brother and sister, BUT that's how I know they're best friends ;)   

I love how they want to play with each other, but don't like sharing.  I guess kids are funny like that :)  When the hose came out, it was very hard for them to take turns (mostly for Maddie).  But, I made her share so Caleb could have a turn.

And of course, Maddie had her turn too :)

This little girl amazes me more and more each day.  Sometimes I can't believe that I brought such beautiful life into this world.  And I don't mean beautiful as in her looks (although she IS drop dead gorgeous!).  I mean beautiful as in her personality and spirit.  She's so full of life and drinks everything in.  It just amazes me how incredibly perfect she is.  I don't mean to brag (except that I totally do), but she's all mine.  And when she walks down the street or through the mall, I get to say, "yeah, I made that."  :)

Now, we hadn't planned on getting wet or anything, so I was totally unprepared!  Maddie had no other set of clothes and no swim diapers!  So guess what we did?

:))

Gosh, Stacia.  You and I make some cute kids ;)

Thanks for letting us come over and destroy your house!  Can't wait to take the kiddos to see Toy Story 3!!! :)

Oh, and how can I not share a precious photo of Baby Jaxon??  I haven't finished all of them yet, but check my photo blog for new updates!

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A little Photoshop fun :)

I think I might have gotten a little carried away...it's so much fun!!

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Happy Place

It's amazing how bad weather can dramatically alter your mood.  The weather hasn't been all that great for the past couple of weeks, and neither has my attitude. 

I needed to get out of my rut and find a happy place. 

I've been wanting to take Maddison to Antelope Island for quite some time now and I thought to myself, "Just get off your butt and go!"  So we did.

I loaded her up in the car along with a bunch of snacks, stuffed animals, and wardrobe changes (I of course was bringing my camera and there was no way I was going to miss a photo shoot opportunity).

Then we were off.

It was about a 45 minute drive out there (stupid construction!).  Once we made it past the entrance gate, it was all open road baby! 

They had warned us about the biting gnats, but I had no idea there would be clouds of them!  And guess what mommy didn't bring? 

BUG SPRAY.

We drove around the island for about an hour, stopping occasionally to take pictures of the beautiful scenery and animals (can you believe we only saw 1 bison and 3 antelope?)  I really enjoyed the scenic drive (and apparently so did Maddie because she slept most of the time! ha ha) 

We ended at a nice little ranch where they have trails and horseback riding.  Maddie had woken up when we got there so we got out to explore.  There was a quaint little house (built a looooong time ago) which was Maddie's favorite part.

It was a great little ranch filled with culture and B-E-A-U-tiful flowers and it was a great place for her to burn off a little steam!

After a little while, we (I mean mommy) decided to head back because we were both getting tired and HUNGRY!  On our way back down the road, I saw the sign.  The sign that said, "Beach" with an arrow pointing left.  And you know that I made a sharp left and went down that road!

One outfit change, a meltdown (from both of us), and a loooong treacherous walk later, we were on the beach!

Normally I couldn't tolerate Maddie getting dirty without a clean pair of clothes and a tub in a 5 foot radius.  But, that day, I didn't care :)  She was splashing and playing in the mud, and mommy just cheered her on on the sidelines.  It was so peaceful and I didn't mind that she had just dunked her brand new dress in the salt water.  I didn't care that she had wiped the hair from her face with a muddy hand.  I was in a happy place where I didn't worry about ANYTHING.  It was bliss :)

When I was younger, I always said that when I grew up, I would move somewhere besides Utah.  At first it was New York, and then California.  Sometime after that it was Hawaii, Washington, and then ANYWHERE besides Utah!  But I've just begun to realize how beautiful this state really is.  I mean, I am so lucky to be living in such an amazing place.  I no longer feel the need to escape, because I have finally found my happy place :)

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Littles Day Out

Maddison and I made a trip out to the park to see our friends.  She got to play with Cadence, Caleb, and Caleb's new little brother, Jaxon!  And mommy got to play with Stacia and Heidi  :)  I love when we can all hang out with the kids! Us mommy's get to chat and catch up with all the new things our little ones are learning, and the littles get to run around and (hopefully!) burn off some energy :)  Thanks girls for a fun day at the park! 

This little girl is "go go go!"  She never stops to look at mommy and the camera (no matter how much mommy begs and does the monkey dance!)  I'm glad she has so much fun though! :)

These are Stacia's little boys :)   Caleb and baby Jaxon.  Caleb is Maddie's future husband (even though they don't get along all the time now, but that's just why they're perfect for each other!).  Jaxon is just the sweetest little guy!  I hear from Stacia that he's also very laid back :)  Stacia, you did such a great job on creating two sweet and handsome boys!

My little climber!  And. Oh. So. Proud.  :)

Cadence is Maddie's BFF.  They are only 5 days apart!  Cadence is sooo stinkin' cute!  AND smart!!  She also has a little baby brother who was born back in January.  That's right, all my friends have TWO!!!  That's ok, Maddie and I are happy with just us ;)

And I can't end this post without the CUTEST picture of baby Jaxon!

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