Lake Powell

This last month has been a long and short one all at the same time. I have been busy with work, photography sessions, and getting back into the swing of "being back to school". We did take a much needed vacation this last weekend. We went to Lake Powell. My dear, sweet husband has been itching to go fishing and it appeared that it was going to be the "perfect weekend"!

And it was just that... PERFECT!!

We left early Friday morning. The girls were so excited, although not as excited as their father, who couldn't sleep the whole night before. We made it there early and got our camp set up and set out to catch a whole bunch of fish.
We had a good day. We caught a few nice fish. The girls had a nap in the boat, we had lunch, and fished and fished some more.

We came back, made some dinner, the girls swam for a while, and we went back out to find some "Striper Boils".

(Emersons idea of swimming...laying in the sand and kicking her feet)

We sat by the fire, laughed a lot, listened to Aniston tell us what happens at school everyday, and then we went to bed. We woke up early, ready for more fishing.

Aniston fished a lot, Emerson and I ate a lot of snacks, and at the end of the day we had caught 26 fish. We got into the Striper boils and had 3 fish in our boat at one time. Emerson was terrified as they flopped around. We had the most fun that night. It was insane.

And then it was time to pack up and come home. We had to leave Ryans "favorite place on earth". We had so much fun, just the 4 of us.

A new 1st...

Last Wednesday I took my sweet little girl to her 1st day of dance class.

Every time I took Aniston last year, Emerson would cry. She was big enough to go too. And every day she didn't get to go her little heart would break. So there was no way she was not going to dance this year.

The 1st day of class arrived and she was so excited. She let me dress her in her new Leotard. She gathered her dance shoes in her new little dance bag, and she even let me put a matching black ribbon in her hair.

Now, she is my shy child. She never gets farther away from me than arms lenght. I wasn't sure that she was going to let me leave her there. At first it appeared that she wasn't, but I said I was going and she ran to me and puckered her lips and reached for a hug and that was that. 45 minutes later I picked her up and she didn't want to leave.

I love being the mommy of girls.

Is it possible...

that my baby is really 3 years old? It doesn't seem like three years has passed since she came into our lives.

This was the year that she "got it" about the birthday business. We kept asking her what she wanted and her reply was "a butterfly cake" and that was all...

The morning of her birthday, I was downstairs working and she was sleeping in our bed. She woke her dad up and said to him "I want to see my presents".

Grandma Tracy stopped by on her way to work to give her a present to open. She was so excited for her new little outfit.

The whole day we spent playing, bumming, and making a butterfly cake. Just as fast as I could ice the cake, she was eating the frosting.

She got her butterfly cake...

She wanted a scooter like Anistons and we found one with butterflies on it. She was so excited. She is so graceful and so coordinated. She hopped on the scooter and down the sidewalk she went.

I just love this girl. She is so full of it. She has the cutest little facial expressions. She is so animated. She loves to hug and kiss. She still loves her 2 bankies. She loves her big sister. She loves being outside with her dad. She loves to change her clothes at least 2 times a day. She loves coke. She loves treats. She loves her Grandma Tracy. She loves bedtime and every night says to me "mommy, me close my eyes?" She loves to ride her big bike. She loves the song Big Green Tractor and insists on hearing it everytime we get in the car. She loves the color purple. She loves to let her mommy kiss her soft little neck.

And her mommy loves her more than words can say!

2nd Grade...

How did it happen? How did my sweet little baby grow up to become a second grader? I am not "in love" with the idea of my baby walking into a big school and being gone all day, but she LOVES it, so I guess that I will at least pretend to love it too!

She was so excited to start school again. She had "butterflies in her tummy" the whole night before. I do love that she is that excited over school. She just may grow-up to be the Orthopedic Surgeon that her mother really wants her to become.

She didn't even need me to walk with her. I did, of course, walk her to her class, but I didn't go in with her. She is so independent and so confident. I just love her, I really, really do!

Can anyone say...

Slacker?

I feel like I have been so busy. We have had so much going on and I have neglected my blog. Which makes me sad because it is the only journal that we are going to have of our lives and our kiddies when I am old, because I am a horrible journal writer, I am a horrible scrapbooker, the only thing that I am good at is taking pictures. Pictures that don't ever get printed off. Wow!! I am a crappy mom these days!!

Anyways!

We have been camping for the past 2 weekends. We needed a little getaway and going camping, hiking, and fishing was just the medicine that we needed. This is why...

(dirty girls, don't you just love camping? An excuse for everyone to be dirty!! )

Emerson played in the power bait. Then when it was time to hike out of where we were, she rode on her daddys' shoulders and he got to smell the yummy power bait on her hands the whole way back... and he loved it!!

We had so much fun . . . just the 4 of us. I am convinced that we have a better time when it is just the 4 of us!

It really doesn't get much better than this!

It felt so good to sit back, relax, and enjoy the day!!

Better late than never...

right? I really don't know where this last month has gone...

My sweet little girl turned 7 last month. We had been talking birthday for months. She changed her mind about what she "really wanted" a million times and the week before her birthday she decided that she wanted a bigger bike. This is how it went...

Me: really you just got a bike last year!

Aniston: I know, but all my friends have a big bike with hand breaks!

Me: You are not going to get a new bike every year. I shared a little red Schwin with my sister for years. It was handed down to us from our cousins!

Aniston: I know, but all my friends have big bikes...

Me: Oh, Aniston.

Aniston: You are not going to talk me out of this mom!

I used to could talk this child out of anything. But I guess those days are over. What do you do? It was all that she wanted? So, guess what?

We gave in... She got the big bike. Now so help me if we have to buy a new bike for the next 4 to 5 years!!

We decided to hide the bike and send her on a scavanger hunt. We gave her clues and she had to read them to us and then find the next one.

Then we had the friend party. The dreaded friend party. 12 little girls, squealing and laughing= a crazied mother(me). My sister and my mom came to help me. They are awesome and I love them for coming to my rescue!!

We had a "Rockstar" themed party. I made little backstage passes for the invitations. They got to make a necklace, get their fingernails and toenails painted, and then sing on the Wii with all the best Disney shows songs.
We then had our family party. I decided to make Cafe' Rio Pork Salads for dinner. We played a little Guitar Hero in the back yard, and had some Guitar cake made by me.



(I am going to master cake decorating. It just may take me a few more years and a million more tries!)

I love being able to spend the day that my sweet girl was given to me, with all of our family!

It's a little hard to believe that she is 7! I don't want her to grow up anymore. I want her to stay my little baby forever!

I just love her. I love that she always has a song in her head and is always singing. I love that she can't wait for school to start. I love that when I am not watching she is so sweet with her sister. I love that she loves to still cuddle with me. I love that she wants to help me set the table everynight. I love that she loves to color and design stuff. I love that she is silly! I love it when she laughs.

I just love her so much, I really, really, do!

I have a lot to say...

but I am super busy...

and there is only one thing that I can say after the weekend that we had...

and that is that the only thing that I know for sure is that...

I am truly, madly, deeply, IN LOVE with this guy!!

Come on now, Check him out.

He is smokin' hot, and He is amazing, and He is mine!!

I am mesmerized by him and his strength.

He gives me hope for the future, he lets me cry about the past,

and he loves me endlessly.