4th of July!!

Ella and Maddie

We started of the week celebrating Mindy's birthday. It was soo nice to swim and be in the sunshine. Then we headed out for a weekend on Mt. Trumble. I love the reunion dirt and all. Ok maybe there could be a little less dirt. Seriously it just sticks to ya! There were races, four wheeler rides, dances, and water melon.We had so much fun and can't wait to see everyone again! Happy 4th!

On the move

On our way to swimming lessons

Some of her first steps



Alice started swimming lessons two weeks ago and she absolutely LOVES it. Her teacher is great. It is fun to watch her learning each week. Then on May 26th Ella took her first steps. She will walk from couch to couch or to anyone who is a short distance away. It is so cute.

Crazy climber!

On Alice's chair peeking out the window

Eating toilet paper

At the top of the first flight of stairs

Ella turned 10 months old on the 17th. She has discovered that she can climb, so that its what she does. She LOVES climbing the stairs, getting up on Alice's stool, and chair. She is still really petite. She weights 16 lbs and wears 3-6 month clothes. She is so happy all the time. Some of the things she loves are, to explore, bananas, her big sister, and when dad gets home from work. She stands on her own with out realizing it, and loves to hold on to my finger and walk around. I love this little squisher!

The night before mothers day I was laying in bed thinking how lucky I am to be a mother. I feel so blessed to get to raise these two beautiful girls!

Disneyland

Meeting the princesses was the highlight of Disneyland for Alice.

Belle was the first princess she met. She was a little star struck!

Look at how she raises her shoulder...what a princess.

Kaden wasn't sure about meeting the princesses at first, but by the

time we saw Jasmine he walked right up and grabbed her hand.

John had to try one of these giant turkey legs

Waiting to watch the bugs life 3D show

..... you gotta get the ear hats! Alice chose this one herself

My little princess.


My brother-in-law Richard had never been to Disneyland. So with the give a day, get a day promo going on we decided to go. It was SO much fun and WAY to short. We started off the first day with a little rain. John and I thought it would be unfair to keep all the rain to ourselves, so we brought it with us to Cali. No it really only rained for the first half hour or so. Then it was a beautiful day. It was nice because it wasn't to busy. The next day was awesome weather and we went to California adventure. The lines were short and we had a great day. We got to see Johns fam for a couple hours and stay the night with my mom before flying home. It was so good to see everyone. I love and miss you all! Oh and the one downer we had was on the last day my purse/diaper bag got stolen. Sad. A little extra security to go through at the airport but wasn't to bad. We made it home and I am now counting down the weeks till I see you all again!!

Easter in Washington

Gods sacrifice means so much more during the Easter season now that I have kids. I am truly grateful for Heavenly Father and for the gift of the atonement. I am grateful for my beautiful children who make life so special. We had a nice Easter. Alice loved dying the eggs and of course the Easter egg hunt. We made breakfast and enjoyed listening to conference. It is different here than in Utah. Its not broadcast on TV so we had to download it on the Internet. That about sums it up for our first Easter in Washington.

teething and crawling

Ella had 3 teeth break through in eight days. Poor little thing. She has been such a trooper. She has been doing a bum twist thing to get where she wants to go for a while, but this week she started to really crawl. And that means making messes. She is also pulling herself up on everything. She is growing up so fast. I love my little Ella Bella!

Grandpa came to visit!

John's dad was in town and stayed with us for a couple days. Alice painted this picture for him.

She really wanted to make sure he took it home. Dan took it out to get a picture with her and then when he tried to find it, it was gone. Alice had put it back in his briefcase. So cute. We really enjoyed getting to spend some time with grandpa!

The party!

She wanted her nails painted

We had lunch at Mcdonalds with some friends

Then dinner at her favorite place Red Robin

She LOVED this princess cake

She got a pink kitchen and these cookies to bake

Bell and the Beast

So sad her party is over, but happy to be three!