Monday, December 29, 2008

Together at last




I made it to Korea.  I felt like I was in another world or a few days, from the culture shock and the jet lag.  Doing good now.  We had a good time up there.  We went to the Korean War Memorial, did some shopping and visited the Seoul Tower.  We are just glad to be together.  It has been a good time so far.  

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Merry Merry Christmas!!!


Dressing little girls is the best.  (not that I have a boy to compare it to).  Addi looked so cute in her Christmas outfit and she was so excited to wear it to church.  I must say that the shoes are the best part of the entire ensemble.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Merry Christmas to All



Well my favorite time of year has come and we have been so busy preparing and planning the many parties and presents.  It has been a good season.  I am anxiously awaiting the chance to see my husband on the 24th of this month.  It has been 7 and 1/2 months and I am sure it will be a joyous reunion and a wonderful two weeks.  Addi will have fun with Grandma and Grandpa while I am gone and I am sure her Christmas will be just as good.  I wish you all a wonderful holiday.  Our holiday cards will go out after the New Year so that we can have all of us on our card.  Love you all and have a wonderful season.  

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow




We received a big snow storm so we had to take advantage and build Addi's first snowmen.  It wasn't the best packing snow, but they turned out pretty cute.  She liked it for about 30 minutes and then the cold got to her and she was ready to come inside.  It was a good time though and now it is beginning to feel more like Christmas.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Happy Halloweeeeen!



What September?  We were gone for practically the whole month.  We had a fabulous time in Phoenix for three weeks.  I worked about 70 hours while I was there and we spent the rest of the time with the wonderful friends we love and miss so much.  It really was a fun trip, but it made me decide that I really didn't want to go twelve months without seeing my husband.  As a result, I am going to be spending Christmas and the New Year with Brandon.  It was pretty amazing how it all game together and I am looking forward to it.  No Addi is not going and she will be able to have Christmas with her Grandparents (don't worry, she will have enough presents to keep her busy she won't even miss me)
The real purpose of this post is to show you what happened when I went to the temple last Saturday morning and left Addi with her Grandma. She was so excited and mom said she sat completely still while they painted her nails.  They only stayed really pretty for a few hours so I had to take the pictures immediately.  

Friday, September 5, 2008

Proof that I need to lose weight.


So we took the kids to have their pictures taken and while they were all deciding which pictures and what sizes to order, Joel and I just sat and waited.  I decided since it was the only chair left in the vicinity of where we were sitting that the "child's" green chair would be perfect.  Bad idea.  When I turned to grab something a not so quiet crack came from underneath.  I looked at Joel and we both began to laugh.  At that point, I decided standing was a much better option.  This is proof of my story.  

The latest vacation!!


Addi and I just returned on Monday from a 10 day trip to Oregon to visit Brandon's family.  We had a really good time, these are a few of the things we did while we were there...

We went to Phantom of the Opera, it was amazing.  I hadn't seen it in thirteen years.  It was incredible and I loved it.  Thanks for taking me Kellie.
 
Addi had so much fun coloring with Aunt Nichole.  She was quite a pal to her along with uncle Cody whom Addi fell in love with the first day we were there and when he came around, no one else existed.  It was pretty cute!

Part of the reason we went was to celebrate my father in law's 50th birthday.  We planned a surprise party, John Deere theme and man was he surprised.  It was awesome!

This is proof that I can handle some outdoors in small doses.  One day we hiked to Susan Creek falls.  Addi played in the cold water and she loved every minute of it.  I do admit it was very beautiful.

We swam in the hot tub, or in Addi's case the "hot pool"  She loved playing with the jets and it was perfect height for her to walk around in it.  She loved it.

And last, but not least we went to the park to get all the wiggles out.  Thanks Uncle Joel for pushing her on the swing and taking her to throw rocks.  

We had a great time and it was a lot of fun to be with family.  Next time though, we will have Brandon with us and that will make it even better.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Success, it feels great


As you may notice from the pictures, my daughter is the owner of a princess dress.  I will let you know right now that I was not the purchaser of this dress.  About three weeks ago, Grandma McIntosh told Addi if she had no accidents for a week, she would get a princess dress.  As you may have assumed correctly, she didn't have any accidents and she is well on her way to no more pull ups at night.  She was so excited for the dress and I was ecstatic about the success.  When they went to go buy the dress she was debating between two others and then she spotted the Sleeping Beauty one.  That was the winner.  She commented to Grandma as she embraced her new outfit in the cart "Grandma, I am so proud of you for finding me this princess dress."  Needless to say, she has worn it any chance she can, not out of the house though.

Ate till we hurt, laughed till we cried!


What a fun getaway I had this weekend.  Ariane and I drove to Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday and spent time with her brother, Jeff.  He performs in a play there and we had a fabulous time.  We ate until we were absolutely sick and laughed until we cried.  It was so much fun.  The weather was beautiful and the company was fantastic.  Thanks for the fun weekend, Jeff and Ariane.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Drum roll please



After two months of indecisiveness, I am proud to say that Addi is potty trained.  It has been a week now and each day is better and better.  I tried everything, the potty chair, the potty seat, the book, the potty prizes, and the potty doll.  In the end, I think the thing that work was my persistence.  She knew last Tuesday that it was all over and time.  Can I just say what a sigh of relief?  Hooray for no more diapers.  
SHE DID IT!!

Weekend with Friends

This past weekend Addi and I spent time with some great friends from Phoenix.  Maryann, Carolyn and Andrea Lindsay were here and we got to take entertain them for a few days.  It was so much fun to see them.  Addi loved all the attention.


We went up to Park City, the tourist town of Utah right?  We went shopping at the outlet mall and rode the Alpine Slide.  Addi loved every minute of it.  I was very glad to get off of the ski lift and onto the slide though.  Addi was a little to wiggly for my liking.  Andrea was nervous right
 along with me. 
  
We strolled down main street and just before the rain began to pour down, we found a place to eat dinner.  Thank you to my friends for the wonderful weekend.  We miss all our Phoenix friends and look forward to coming to see all of you in September.

Monday, July 21, 2008

She's not only cute, but clever







Look how smart she is.  I have to brag at how clever my child can be.  As you can see, she has taken two cans and used them as a stool to reach the candy on the third shelf.  I was going to tell her not to do it, but before I did I needed to get a picture of it.  












Sometimes I like to refer to her as the "walking tornado."  It feels like I am constantly picking up after her.



















But most of the time she is really cute. We had a few minutes to spare so we spent it doing one of her favorite things, blowing bubbles. I don't know what it is about them, but she loves it.  


Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A Weekend Escape


I took 24 hours off of mom duty and went with my friend Jo to Vernal Utah.  Now you may say, Why Vernal?  I must be honest, it is one of my favorite places to escape everyday life and relax.  Of course, the Dinosaur Round Up Rodeo was a perk to the get away.  We had a fabulous time at the rodeo.  
We also took a ride on the ATV.  I think it has been at least twenty years since I have been on one of those.  Needless to say, I was not a very experienced driver.  It was fun until Jo took us up this large hill and we had a little trouble getting back down.  It was something to look bak on and laugh about.  At least we lived to tell about it, right?

Happy Late Fourth of July!!


It may be two weeks after the fact, but I had to put proof of the fun July 4th we had.  We went with The Kremin's to the Bees game.  It was quite a change from the Diamondbacks stadium we are used to, but it was a fun time for all.  Addi is happy to have her kettle corn and we all know how much I love baseball, not.  It was a good time with great company.  The fireworks were the best part of the night.  It was cool to be that close.  Addi loved it and didn't move.  I don't know if she was a little nervous with the loud music or if she was so tired that she couldn't move.  She loved her glow paraphernalia and we thought she looked pretty cute in it.  

Saturday, July 5, 2008

We finally made the leap!

For all of you who have been asking about "our blog," here it is.  No promises on how fancy this will become, but it will give us the chance to stay in touch with all our family and friends.  We are doing well.  Adjusting to our families latest changes.  
It was hard to leave Phoenix and all the wonderful friends we made there.  I must be honest though, because each night I watch the news and see the weather, I don't miss Phoenix at all.  We will see how I feel about that in December.  Brandon however, is missing the lake and the heat.  I think he's crazy.  We have made it two months being separated and have only ten more to go.  Can't really say that time has flown by, but it continues to move forward and we like that.  Brandon has settled into his life in Korea and Addison and I are enjoying our time with Grandpa and Grandma while he is gone.  The stay at home mom life has been a pretty easy transition for me and I find myself thinking at the end of the day "what did I accomplish 
today?"  We keep busy.  Brandon is loving the weather in Korea right now, NOT, the humidity is killing him along with his twenty or so mosquito bites.  I think he is enjoying the bachelor life a little more than he lets on.  I know he misses us a ton, but sleeping in on the weekends and off diaper duty for twelve months can't be too bad.  Speaking of diaper duty, that is my latest challenge.  Addi has absolutely no interest in the potty.  We have bribed her with toys, candy and even let her pick out her own potty, but still she says, "I don't want to be a big girl."  Therefore, I am patiently waiting for that miraculous morning she wakes up and says that she wants to go in the potty.  We'll see, my wish hasn't come true yet.
Other than that, life is good.  Same stuff, different day.