EASTER 2016

       Easter with this little bunny was so much fun. We were in Sunny St George the Saturday before Easter and we knew we would be in California on Easter Sunday so the Easter bunny came and we did our egg hunting Saturday morning. We started with Breakfast and the neighborhood egg hunt up the street. Baylie said she was too old to do the hunt, but its a good thing she had Nola to take around haha. What are nieces for, anyways? Nola was lazy with the actual picking up the egg part, she liked everyone else to do that for her, it was funny she would point and wait for us to pick them up and drop them in the basket. Once she figured out the eggs doubled as maracas though, she was all in.  

Nola's easter basket was full of fun goodies! Play dough, a GIANT coloring book, crayons, a sunhat, her new Jellycat- Esther Bonnie the Easter bunny, which I wasn't sure she would like, but turns out she loves her almost as much as Harold the hippo... almost. She got a book, called Someday (it makes me cry every time I  read it) yogurt puffs, Saltwater sandals and her cute NorthFace wind breaker. She was definately spoiled! Zach surprised me with some leggings from the NorthFace too cause he's super cute like that and I love them. Nola saw her basket and went straight for the yogurt puffs, pulled them out and exclaimed "O YAY!" haha she wasn't as thrilled about the other items, but I think they've grown on her.

This is her "say CHEESE face"

 meeting Esther, she wasn't so sure at first...

but turns out she loves her.

 I filled 126 eggs for our family egg hunt, which was probably going a little overboard, but i was on a roll!  The neighborhood kids went at it, as soon as mom and dad were done hiding them.haha we went outside and they were stealing the candy out of our eggs. Smart kids, right there.I can't get over Nola toting around her basket, that is half her size, and Kasen with his tiny basket!  

 Overall it was a really fun morning! We missed Brayden, I miss him a lot these days. Its just not the same without him, we all wish he'd come around more. But we had a blast holding our little baskets and walking around searching for easter eggs. Zach and I reaped the benefits of extra candy, from Nola's eggs too which wasn't too shabby. Perks of having a kid, right there. I was glad we got to do some of these fun easter traditions, but it did feel odd that we spent Easter Sunday on the Beach, and not at Church. I tried to remember Our Savior Jesus Christ and his atonement, and Nola and I had a chat about this special day, about our big brother Jesus and all he's done for us. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have, I know I can be forgiven of my sins, and return to live with my father in Heaven one day. I hope my children grow up knowing their savior and developing a love for him, and I want them to know that I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only way for everlasting, true happiness. 

NOLA'S FIRST BIRTHDAY

       ONE year old is a big deal for a little one, but i think its even a bigger deal for the parents! ONE year keeping a tiny human alive!! Sometimes I think this day is almost more of a celebration for us mom's and dad's than it is for the baby themselves. It makes sense though, parenting is hard stuff, we should definitely celebrate this little person that we created and nurtured for the past 12 months. Nola's first birthday was a good one. I tried to keep it low key, but at the same time make it special. Just a few decorations, a cake, and a little adventure.

       

       The night before her big day, I held Nola and told her all about the day she was born, how she was almost named ruby, how I was happier than i'd been in months when the nurse said, "its go time!" I told her about how anxious I was to meet her, and that unbelievable moment when they finally laid her on my chest. She didn't seem to care much about what I was saying, but telling her made me remember what a wonderful day it was. The best day of my life. I tucked her in and tried to accept that it would be my last time kissing my 11 month old baby goodnight.

      My mom makes the best cakes. She doesn't make them from scratch or anything, but she's got these secrets, that make those cakes fluff up to absolute perfection! Unfortunately, I didn't get her talent...  For Nola's b-day cake I choose a simple betty crocker, white cake mix.  "What could go wrong i thought?" apparently everything. I threw it in the oven and then Zach and I proceeded to watch our movie. At the buzzer I got it out of the oven and resumed the show. I headed over to turn out the lights and lock up and I caught a glimpse of the cake.... or (giant doughnut)i'd created. The entire middle was gone. It had sunk and was all goopy and gross. I even did the tooth pick trick?!  I wish I had a picture to show you the lovely thing! I frantically searched the kitchen over for something round that could work to replace the hole. I ended up using the lid of my parmesan cheese shaker, rinsed it out and it worked perfectly! I may have not gotten the cake making gene, but I sure can improvise! (thanks modern dance)

       We filled Nolie's room with balloons and woke her up a bit earlier than usual that morning. We had a snow shoeing adventure planned for that morning. I had this great idea that we would hike up to the top of some awesome peak and let Nola release ONE single balloon into the sky. It felt so symbolic and like a fun tradition, plus it would make for an epic photo! We drove all the way up big cottonwood, and it was windy and stormy, but we decided to give it a try anyways. The second we opened the door, out flew the balloon. It was such an anti climatic moment...  I was pretty bummed, but what can you do?  We found a nice spot halfway down the mountain and enjoyed the nicer weather traipsing around in the snow. Nola is always so happy in her hiking backpack, so I felt like it was a perfect activity for her birthday!

     

     When it came time to try some cake, she really wanted nothing to do with it. In fact she wanted as far away from the cake as possible. She loved when we sang to her, and when i went to blow out the candle she leaned in and made a tiny little blowing noise. Where did she learn that from!? It was the cutest thing ever. Once we finally convinced her to sit down by the cake again we had to trick her to touch the frosting by placing one of the yarn balls on top so she would grab it off and hopefully touch the cake. Wow talk about crazy parents!  I don't know why I was so persistent on her touching it? It just seemed like something that needed to happen. It ended up that we were the ones eating, and poking at the cake. When she did end up getting frosting on her hands, she waved them in the air so fast and wiped them on the table about 100 times. I think its safe to say she didn't enjoy the experience all that much.. The cake ended up tasting pretty nasty too so I don't blame her. Hopefully she'll enjoy her second birthday cake a little better. 

its my birthday i can cry if i want to.

       As you can see there were a lot of mixed emotions, and a lot of convincing on our part.  Zach was snapping some pictures towards the end, and would count down from 3, then she would give us the cheesiest smile/yelling face ever. It happened every time. We were cracking up! 

                  

               

         

             

Im dying over those two front teeth and that gap, well and everything about that face. hahaha

yumm.... yarn cake.

I wouldn't have changed our special little celebration with this girl. We had such fun just the three of us. We sure do love her. Our lives were forever changed on January 6, 2015. We are the luckiest that she's ours! 

IT'S A NEW YEAR

A month has already passed since we began 2016. Im still not used to the 2016 part, honestly I was just getting the hang of writing 2015. Where does the time go? I ask myself that question more and more lately. With time passing so quickly, I have been having an ache to really make the most of my time. I think a little bit of this comes with the new year, and making resolutions and such. I am always so excited to set new goals, but I'm not the best at following through with those goals.  I think one of my biggest problems is I set about 100 of them! I think to myself this is the year, I am going to become better at everything, in every aspect of my life! Im going to run a marathon(i hate running), become the next master chef, and learn to play the tuba. ha! Im exaggerating some, but sometimes my goals feel lofty. This year though I have made it a little simpler for myself:

1. Make a habit of reading my scriptures. ( I always make this a resolution, and I always seem to fail at it) But I feel proud to say that I have only missed one day since January 1st! I am still working on it ... but I have done thirty days of it in a row so I have developed a habit right?! I hear habits are sometimes hard to break. (crossing my fingers)  I do find that I get a little anxious if at the end of the day if I know I haven't read my scriptures. I want to feel like it is something I can not live without. I want to cultivate a true love for the word of the Lord.

2. Blog/journal. I am a nostalgic person. Reading, about or thinking back on things that have happened to me in the past, makes me feel grounded. I don't have that great of memory, therefore I tend to forget things, but I get super sad to think about forgetting all of the wonderful things that happen in my daily life. Especially now, as a mom, I want to remember every second of Nola's life. Seriously though, Nola has a bugger and I find myself thinking i need to write that down! So I want to be better at documenting our lives. Not just the exciting fun things we do, but our everyday adventures as well.

3. My third and final resolution, which I feel is the most important for me right now in my life, is to love myself. I don't have horrible self esteem, actually on most days I like who I am. I am a wife to a really really great man who loves me always, I am a mother to a sweet little girl who brings me so much happiness, I am a friend, a daughter, a sister, a wanna be cook, a picture taker, a dog lover, a dancer, an amateur rock climber, a great window shopper, and lots of other things. In todays world it is all too easy to compare ourselves to others, and at times I am definitely guilty of this. I feel the pressure, to wear super cute clothes, and own nice things, and to go on cool vacations with my family. I want to feel successful, and like I am contributing to our lives. Sometimes motherhood and staying home with Nola everyday doesn't make me feel that way. I miss dancing like you wouldn't believe, the performing, and the gratification of knowing you worked really hard for months on something. The rush of the curtain opening and its your time to shine to show everyone what you have worked for. I am so hard on myself, and I rarely pat myself on the back. I know I need to work on this I need to look at the big picture and realize that God has created me, and he loves me for who I am. As hard as it is for me to accept that, I am going to try my hardest to love the stage of life I'm in right now. This time as a young mother raising my child, and playing, and laughing and crying, is going to be something I cherish, and look back on feeling proud of myself, of the person that I am and the person I am trying to become.

Kinda long and cheesy, and I feel a bit vulnerable putting this all out there but I just want to be real about my goals this year. As cool as playing the Tuba would be, I just don't think its in the cards for me this year at least.... But I can be better at these few things. I want to truly love myself. I don't want Nola to hear me speak negatively about myself,  and I don't ever want her to speak or think poorly about herself. I just want to be happy and I am betting these things will help me become a happier person. So CHEERS to a new year, minus one month, cause its February?! Anyways, bring it on 2016 I'm ready for you!