We're still here!

I haven't posted forever! We've been busy running around trying to keep up with work, church, and 2 little ones! Daniel is growing up so much. He is copy everything Josh, Lindsay and I say and do. His new favorite word is, "TA-DA!!!" said with just as much enthusiasm as Lindsay says it. Since he is left-handed (at least we think so, he eats and colors with his left hand), has blue eyes and poofy hair, we were joking that he didn't get any traits from me! His hair was SO poofy...it stood up about 1 1/2 inches from his head. So, conference weekend, we broke out the hair cutting kit and Josh cut it to 1/2 inch. It still shows every sign of being poofy again when it grows out. Lindsay is loving preschool. She is learning a lot and really enjoys it.
Sept 12 we got to go to Twin Falls for Jerome's birthday party. It was a lot of fun. Lindsay loves her cousins so much. Both kids played and played, and then slept all the way home!
Sept 20 was Chad's mission farewell. We went to Spud Day on Saturday morning, and then that evening went to the temple with Chad. It was wonderful. Sunday was his farewell and it was fun to see everyone.
I got Daniel's Halloween costume this week! He is a little pirate. He doesn't seem too impressed with it, but at least it's cute. I got Lindsay's princess costume off Ebay a while ago. I'm not in love with it, but it's cute. I think next time, I'll get one at the store. It's better if I can actually see them in person.
We are looking forward to Lindsay's birthday party in Idaho on the 24th, Halloween, and Lindsay's party here with all of her church friends. Two other girls in the ward are turning 4 around the same time, so we're having a big combined princess party.

Daniel with VERY poofy hair!

Daniel with not so poofy hair (after his haircut)
Lindsay on her first day of preschool (she has since got a haircut that looks much better! Her hair gets stringy when it's long)
Best friends forever! (I hope...)

We had a great month of July! We got to spend time with both of our families and had a great time. Here are some pictures.

Daniel and Lindsay, Temple Square. July 12, 2009

I love this pic of Daniel. It's just such his personality!

Daniel and my Grandpa

Cute Boy!

Our Cookie Monster!

Logan Canyon

The other day, it was really nice outside. Josh has been going into work early, and getting off in the early afternoon, so we decided to go to a picnic in Logan Canyon. Once we found a picnic area that didn't charge 7 or 8 dollars, we had a lot of fun. Lindsay loved walking around. She loves being outside. I came home with a huge goose egg on my forehead. No, I didn't fall or get hit in the head by anything- it was a mosquito bite. I HATE mosquitoes! I always get really bad reactions from their bites. Of course, I forgot the bug spray this time. We're going to be camping and outside a lot in July, and I'm stocking up! I wish I would have got a picture of the swelling. It was seriously huge!

Josh cooking dinner...yum yum!

Lindsay having fun!

Daniel being cute!

Best friends forever! They love their camping chairs.

Lindsay's talk

Lindsay gave her first talk in Sunbeams today. She was so cute. She said all the words so good, and when she was done, she jumped down to her chair and said, "I did it!" This was her talk:

Since today is Father's Day, my talk is about two important Fathers in my life. The first is my earthly father. I am grateful for him and all he does for our family. I am glad he holds the priesthood. The other father I want to talk about is our Heavenly Father. I am grateful for all the blessings he gives us. I am glad our Heavenly Father sent us a father here on earth to love us, provide for us and protect us. I love my Dad. I am glad he chooses to follow the commandments and the teachings of our Prophets. Through my Dad, I can feel my Heavenly Father's love.

Here is our cute little girl the day of her first talk. She is growing up too fast!

Las Vegas!

The first week of June, we took a vacation to Las Vegas with my parents. Josh was bowling in Nationals! My mom and Dad came Sunday night and slept at our house and we left early Monday morning. The kids did great on the drive. It seemed to go really fast, and we were in Las Vegas by about 1 pm (pacific time). We went and picked up my brother Brian (who Lindsay ADORES), and went to eat at PF Changs. I had never been there. Their chinese food was awesome! I had my usual, Sweet and Sour Chicken, and it was the best I've ever had. The kids weren't really fans, but I didn't like chinese either until I was in my late teens. That night, we went to Mandalay Bay and saw their exhibit "Shark Reef". It was awesome. I think the hardest thing about Vegas is that there is so much to do, it is hard to get everywhere. Finding things in this town was sure an adventure. Even once we got to the casinos, we had to walk a long ways to get wherever we were going. But it was a ton of fun and the kids were GREAT travelers. They hardly complained.

Tuesday morning, we ate Breakfast at the IHOP that is right by the Stratosphere, and then went to M&M World. It is awesome. 4 floors of M&M souvenirs! They also had a little 3D movie to watch. It was a lot of fun. We took Josh to the Cashman Center to go bowling, and then my parents, myself and the kids went swimming. The pool was FOREVER away from our room, and once we got to the pool, I forgot we didn't have sunscreen. 3 pm, in June, in Las Vegas is not a good time to go without sunscreen. So, I walked all the way back to the van, got the sunscreen, and walked back. The kids loved the pool. There was a huge step that was about a foot deep that we stayed on the whole time. Lindsay would have stayed there all day. Myself, I ended up getting the worst headache ever from the sun. That evening, we went to Rainforest Cafe in the MGM for dinner. It was really good, but kind of expensive (9.99 for a kids meal hot dog?) Brian joined us there and we went to the Solarium and Water Show at the Bellagio. It was way cool!

Wednesday morning, Josh had to bowl early, and Brian had to work. So, the rest of us went to Circus Circus to their amusement park, The Adventuredome. Once we found the rides, Lindsay had a wonderful time. She loves rides, and we could have stayed there much longer. If/When we go to Vegas again, I definitely want to take Josh to the Adventuredome and spend a day. They had some really cool rides. Then, we went to find the Circus. (After all, we were at Circus Circus). They claim it is the "Best Circus in the World". Well, I don't know if we just hit it at the wrong time, or what, but we thought it was kind of lame. They had one act, and it was one acrobat swinging on a bar. It was cool to watch, but not worth the time we had to take to find it!

That night, we went to Hoover Dam. We really enjoyed the dam, but the tours were $30 per adult! So, we decided against that and just took some pictures and walked across the dam. We also had a picnic that was fun. That night, Josh and I went to the top of the Stratosphere while my parents watched the kids. The view was AWESOME! I've been on top during the day, and at night it is so much better! The lights in every direction were so cool. We wanted to go on some of the roller coasters they have on the top, but they were all closed due to the wind.

So, there's the synopsis of our trip. We had a lot of fun and we're grateful to my parents for coming with us and driving. Lindsay had a great time and loved seeing Uncle Brian.

Lindsay on the "Frog Hopper" ride at the Adventuredome. She loved it!

Water show at the Bellagio. It was set to the "Pink Panther" music, and was really cool.

Lindsay swimming. She is a fish in the water!

Lindsay "sunbathing"

Daniel actually loved swimming more than his face shows here.

Our Family at M&M World

Grandma and Lindsay in front of M&M World





The whole gang in front of the Stratosphere (where we stayed)

We loved the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. They had a komodo dragon, jellyfish, octopus, sharks, giant tortoises, and almost every fish imaginable. It was awesome!

May

This weekend is our 5th Anniversary! I can't believe it's been that long. We've survived 2 kids, 3 different houses, several vacations, bought 2 cars, sold 2 cars, and hope for many more fun and exciting things to come ;-). Josh and I are staying at the Black Swan Inn on Friday night. We stayed there on our honeymoon and love it. I can't wait. It's going to be our first night ever away from Daniel. I know he'll be fine, but like Josh said, it's a mother's right to worry.
Then the next weekend, we are going camping with Josh's family. His parents reserved a cabin last fall for Christmas. Due to different stuff, it was on, then off, then on, then off, and they rescheduled it for Memorial Day. Well, they went up there to check out the cabin, and the road to get to it is washed out. So now, the cabin is off again. I guess its just not meant to be! So, we will just be camping. It'll be Daniel's first time camping. We are all excited. Lindsay loves camping so much and she has been looking forward to it for weeks!
Then, the next week after that, we are going to Las Vegas with my parents! Josh has a bowling tournament down there. We have been planning this for months (Josh got invited to the tournament the day Daniel was born, so 15 months!). We are excited. It is about 7 1/2 hours from our house. I hope the kids travel well.
Here are some pics of me and kids from Mother's Day. I think the kids look cute.

Capri Suns?

I was getting Lindsay dressed today, and told her she could wear capris. She put them on, and then a few minutes later said, "Mommy, why do I have to wear Capri Suns?"
I love how their minds work! She makes me smile every day!