Phoenix

We had such a good time in Phoenix for Spring Training. The weather was so perfect I truly thought about staying. We had a blast going to games and playing at the pool.


Eno was a good sport about taking Bean to the pool – thanks!

We went to a night game all together and loved it. The girls especially loved the cotton candy and the fireworks during the 7th inning stretch.

(The picture of Blakeslie yelling at the player is her heckling Coco Crisp!)

Chip got adventurous one night while Eno, Troy and I were out shopping. He took the girls to a night game on his own. Don’t you love how Dad’s don’t think about red slushies on pretty clothes? I got a text from him while we were out that said, “How much do you like the girls' clothes?” I love that he took a picture when he got home to show the damage – I have trained him well. (Amazingly, all the red came out.)

We celebrated St. Patrick’s day with a couple of visits from the leprechaun. Blakeslie was amazed with his sneakiness! Mayzie didn’t even seem to notice her green eggs and oatmeal - she just chomped away at her food.

In the evening the girls came home to a treasure hunt. Troy and Eno beat us home and Troy almost caught the Leprechaun. He was so close that he grabbed his pants, but the Leprechaun got away. (Does the idea of a half naked Leprechaun running around scare anyone else?) The girls had to follow the string all through the house. It ended in the freezer with gold and a few surprises. I love this holiday!

The running joke about going to Spring Training is Chip collecting souvenir cups. This is his collection and Blakeslie turned out to be the best helper. What are we doing with all these again?

Our final adventure of the trip was our drive home. We took highway 20 that crosses from Panguitch to Beaver. It started to snow as soon as we got on the 20. By the time we got to the top of the mountain the road had a couple of inches of snow on it. Long story short we got stuck behind 2 semis that jackknifed in the middle of the road, so we were stuck up on the mountain for over an hour. We finally got turned back around and stayed the night in Panguitch. The scariest/funniest part was watching Troy and Chip push cars out in shorts, t-shirts and crocks because they hadn’t planned for anything but Phoenix sun. The delay only added to the fun. We got a room, got the kids to bed and enjoyed another night of card games.

P.S. Thanks Moxie for Bean's B-day present!

Blakeslie the Rockstar!

Yes, this is Bean playing with none other than U2! We have been playing a little Rock Band since Christmas and Blakeslie loves to Jam! My awesome cousin made this picture for us- Thanks Lindsay!!! Blakes totally thinks she is famous!

Rock On!!!

My Baby is 5!!!

Blakeslie’s birthday was a week long event. It started with cupcakes for her preschool celebration, then on her actual birthday we went to the Discovery Museum, it ended with her High School Musical Fabulous Swimming Party! It was a great week, but Mom is glad it is over!

Last Winter Adventure - I hope!

I will not be sad to be rid of the snow and cold, but I am sad we did not discover this fun place until now. For Lynna’s birthday we went to Gorgoza Park in Park City to go sledding. It was awesome! The kids loved it- even the tiny ones who fell asleep in their twirling sleds.

Hawaii

Our Trip to Hawaii couldn’t have been more perfect. We played the entire time.

This is my most favorite moment of the entire trip.

We had talked about Hula Pie with Blakeslie for weeks before we got there. Obviously, we thoroughly enjoyed this one and many more. Blakeslie said, “This was worth the wait!” Mayzie didn’t say anything but, “More, more, more!” We had lunch at Leilani’s many afternoons and every time I said, “This is paradise…Hula pie, with my family and this view!”

This is Blakeslie’s Musical Début at Cheeseburger in Paradise. She bought her little Ukulele in the shops on Front Street right before dinner. She played from her seat the entire meal. She was so cute about wanting to play with the Musician. She said things like, “Mom, go tell him he can play awhile and then I’ll play awhile.” On our way out she finally went up and played with him. He was so cute with her and she was beaming. Afterward everyone was taking her picture and she got a standing ovation. She said, “I was so nervous when everyone starting taking my picture, but I just smiled.” What I wouldn’t give to make sure she had this confidence when she was in Junior High.

The slideshow doesn’t do the trip justice – thank goodness for the memories. We got there on Valentine’s Day so we got the girls red and white leis. There are pictures of our adventures at the blowhole, Hana, Sugar Cane Train, and the luau. The whale pictures are from our whale watching boat tour. February is the best time to go to Maui. There are approximately 12,000 whales in the Hawaiian Islands. The tour was great, but so is the show from the shore- AMAZING!

When Chip wasn’t leading the way on some crazy adventure we spent our time at the beach. We were all in heaven.

Distracted!

We just got home from our trip, and I was distracted with the piles of laundry and unpacking bags. The girls were playing downstairs and I was happy they were "entertaining" themselves while I worked. Then they came up so Blakeslie could show off her creation. Needless to say I was in shock, but couldn't help but laugh. How did this happen? What were they thinking? How did Mayzie hold still long enough to get it done? I actually wish I could have watched the whole thing transpire. Blakeslie's only explanation was she wanted Mayzie to look like a clown. Not a bad start, but I don't think we will be sending her to the circus anytime soon. Gotta love them!

Mayzie easily posed for the pictures - I think she thought she looked beautiful.

Draper Temple Open House

We had the opportunity to see the Draper Temple open house. It was so fun to take Blakeslie. It was neat to show her and talk about what a special place it is. She especially loved the bride room and the sealing room mirrors. When we talked about the baptismal font and the 12 oxen she said, “Oh, just like the 12 Dancing Princesses.” It is a gorgeous temple – anyone who has the chance should take the opportunity to go.

Little funny – So for Christmas Mayzie got a little microphone that records your voice. One day Blakeslie was playing with it and I wasn’t paying much attention until I realized she was practicing her testimony. When she played it back she had said, “I would like to bare my testimonies, I know this house is true, I know my parents love me, I know I am very funny, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.” I couldn’t help but laugh – she really is so stinkin’ funny! We had a great discussion about what it really means to say, “I know this Church is true.” I found it so interesting that her little brain had associated it with where she was physically. What a nut – I love her so much!

Snow Ball Fight Party

So anybody that has been around Beaner since about September knows she has been planning a Snowball Fight Party. She has made invitations over and over and once we came home from date night to find she had decorated the house with the babysitter. When you would ask who was invited to her party she would say, “All of Utah.” I decided that there was no way to not have this party because she had talked about it so much parents would ask if her birthday was coming up. I made her wait until after Christmas. The first big snow after the New Year we were ready. She planned everything from the treats to the activities to the favors. (For Christmas Chip asked what was her favorite thing to do with me and she said, “Make favors.” So they went to Partyland and bought sacks and some fun things to fill them with. It was really cute.) The party was a huge success with about 40 friends and neighbors. Blakeslie kept saying, “I worked so hard.” and she was very happy with the results.

December Highlights

Christmas Dance Recital

Blakeslie’s had a little Christmas dance recital at her studio. She was a star and loved performing for Santa.

Preschool Program

Blakeslie’s Christmas Program at preschool is my favorite thing all year. She was very excited about being a shepherd and she loved all the songs especially the ones with “instruments.”

Cookies with Santa

We had a great time going to Cookies with Santa. Blakeslie hopped on Santa’s lap and was very comfortable. Mayzie however wanted nothing to do with the big guy.

Christmas Party

We had a little Christmas Party for Bean and her friends. The highlights were Don’t Eat Pete and the treats. Mayzie especially liked the Jello which stained her entire body for a couple of days.

Nutcracker

We took Bean to the Nutcracker again this year. She loves it so much and is a huge fan of Miranda, our neighbor, who she calls “The Nutcracker Girl” all year long.

Polar Express

We went on the Polar Express in Heber and had a great time. They really did a cute job complete with cookies, hot chocolate, reading the story, singing and of course a visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
Gingerbread House
We had fun making our Gingerbread house with Mike and Lynna. Even Mayzie helped. Her system was eat 3 pieces….. put 1 on the house….. eat 4 pieces….. put 1 on the house… She definitely had a good time.

Christmas
Christmas Eve we spent up in Park City with Chip’s family. Lynna makes a beautiful dinner and we all had a great time with the nativity.

Christmas morning was wonderful. We spent it with my Mom and Dad in our new basement. The last guy to work on it came on Christmas Eve so we cut it pretty close. Santa actually moved our tree downstairs when he brought the toys. The girls were in awe and we had so much fun watching them.

Our Crazy Thanksgiving

Well we didn’t spend our Thanksgiving quite like we thought we would. Instead of going to my Aunt and Uncle’s with all my family we spent it more like this……

Both the girls got sick the day before and got worse on Thanksgiving Day.

Chip and I still decided to make the complete Thanksgiving diner just for the two of us. The girls were not really up for eating anything. (Note their PJs. I think it is a first for me to have pajamas at the Thanksgiving dinner table.) I thought it was pretty silly to make dinner for just the two of us. However, I realized Chip hadn’t listened to me the entire month while I shouted from my soap box that it isn’t about the Turkey dinner. It was really good and with just us there was no stress or time table.

We decided to go to Phoenix to see my parents the day after Thanksgiving - probably against our better judgment. Here is a pic of Mayzie from Chip’s phone. She was happy here, but a few miles outside of Kanab it was a different story. Let’s just say it is not fun changing clothes and cleaning out a car seat on the side of the road – what were we thinking! I really wish she had used that bowl for catching instead of as a hat.

We had a great time in Phoenix - even though we passed our plague to almost everyone.

We had another Thanksgiving dinner and note Troy and Papa are missing and by the end of the night Nana was sick and sometime in there Chip got it bad too. The only survivors of this dreadful sickness were Erin and I. So we took complete advantage and had a great time shopping. The highlight of our 2 days of power shopping was finding a shoe store that was going out of business. I bought 14 pairs of shoes for $65! No joke! The best deal was a pair of Steve Maddens for $1.25. We definitely had a good time!

Here are a few fun pics from before the sickness fiasco.

Blakeslie loved her vest and headband from preschool.

Blakeslie named the big Turkey Sally the Turkey and filled out a feather each day of something we were thankful for. It was pretty funny to hear some of the things Bean was thankful for. My personal favorite was P.J.s and popcorn. I had nothing to do with that one, but it is by far two of my most favorite things.