I know I know

I've been slacking a little but no need to fret! I'll bring you right up to date. We've been living in Henderson NV since the beginning of May, and honestly there hasn't been a dull moment! We miss being close to my family and friends, and the mountains, but I LOVE the heat and the ward is great! We're making lots of new friends and Devyn finally has more kids her own age to play with! I'm not one who LOVES change but this change has definitely been a good one!

Fam came in and we went to Mandalay Bay Aquarium. Just the beginning of our summer of Zoos and Aquariums and Family fun!

We got to go to San Diego with my fam. Went to Sea world, and the Beach, and the Zoo, and Had a BLAST!! I liked Sea World so much more than I thought I would because Dev liked it! She was amazed by all of the animals and really liked the shows! Mike had to work which was sad.. but don't worry not TOO sad =)

Alright this is where it gets good.. We went camping with the Powells for the 4th of July!! Yes. I know. Me. Camping. But actually it was so much fun! We went up to Mt. Ranier in Washington, where Mike is from, and it was beautiful. Devyn got as dirty as you can get in 2 nights and 2 1/2 days-with her binki constantly dragging in the dirt, and I got to surprise everyone with my mean S'more makin skeelz.

Yes you're seeing it right.. that's me setting up our tent. Our tent was probably set up the best over all.

S'more what?!?

We are IN a fallen tree!!
This was actually really cool... the trees at Mt. Ranier were Huge.

All the cousins!

Then for the 24th, Mike parents, Don and Becky came down to UT and we drove up and Mark flew up. We went to the Odgen Rodeo and the Parade and picked apricots the whole next day!! Yes! It was as fun as it all sounds!!
Nothing makes me feel more patriotic than a good Rodeo and a Churro.

And finally, in August we got to go to Lagoon!! (but really we DO live in vegas. ha) Our family and another fam on my moms side came! It was close enough to a family reunion so we HAD to go! Anyway, I know its a little old school.. but I loved it. Now Devyn on the other hand.. not so much. But- restassured, "she WILL go on the dragon ride and she WILL like it!" I was determined to have her ride at least one ride. After I finally convinced mike that this was a good one. We got on and it was a lot faster than it looked! She got pretty mad, but I just know she'll thank me one day. ha ha.

finally!

Yes I know it's about time! This is our home! well our living room anyway. We're so excited to have 2 floors! We still live in a town home community but we have our own little yard and everything! We really like our ward so far and to be honest things are going a lot better than I thought they would! (especially for only being here about a month!)

The girls in our ward all go to some sort of park or pool pretty much EVERYDAY! Its so fun! Devyn and I have been really lucky to make friends in such a short time being here, everyone has been so nice and inviting, it really makes us feel right at home.And heaven forbid we're away from home for too long. We came back up to Utah for memorial day weekend! Just played with family and friend and Mike got to golf 45 holes total over the entire weekend! Yes his dream come true. He couldn't have been happier. This is us at the petting zoo at Thanksgiving Point. It was a little too cold to swim so Grandpa and Grandma took Devyn and Ada (and the rest of us got to come to) and they LOVED the animals! Thanks again guys! Love you!

Vegas Baby

Ok so no pictures yet, but here's a the story.

We had our place up for rent for a few weeks as you know, and on the 19th a couple drove by, saw our sign, and called. They were in the neighborhood so they wanted to come right then! the house barely liveable at this point (in the middle of spring cleaning) but they came and left and 15 minutes later they handed us a deposit check... and asked if we could be out by the 26th. ONE WEEK! We said ok! and found a place we could move into by May 1st. In Henderson Nevada. thats right, Vegas Baby. So we packed up, my gracious parents let us put ALL of our stuff in there garage. (With the help of the ercanbracks, the Nelsons, and the rest of the Fam! thanks guys!) and we stayed there till Saturday, the 2nd. As mike was getting into the Uhaul saturday morning to drive down he got a call that the place we were going to move into - Fell through. We have to get the Uhaul back by tuesday... Yes we were in a bind. And to make it worse, my parents were all packed and prepared to drive down with us to take cars and help move in and stuff. They heard the news and still wanted to come, I was so relieved! Thanks again guys! So, we blindly drove down and decided we would find a place to rent and move in by Tuesday. I know right... what is this, some sick joke? ha. NO. this is very real.
Saturday night we got there and turned the classified inside out looking for places. There were quite a few luckily, and by around midnight we had about 10 place we would check out the next day. We left the next morning at 9 am (yes that's the best I could do. ha.) and started our quest, place after place just wasn't quite right, by the afternoon I was exhausted. Around 3 we came upon a community on the outskirts of town, and when I say that we're talking 13 more miles and we'd be at Hoover Dam, and it just had a really good feel. I suddenly perked up just at the site of it. Then we came to the place that was for rent and I got even MORE excited! We walked in and it was over. It almost made me grateful that the other place fell through. It just fit! And after feeling so frustrated, like we were just going to have to settle, it was literally an answer to our prayers! Sorry we don't have pictures yet (we can't find our camera - yeah not good) but I will post some asap! After all of the worry and anxiety I have been feeling it made me feel like things are going to be good! I'll keep you updated!

We Finally Pulled the Trigger

For those of you who don't know, Mike and I have been talking about moving for about a year now. We just haven't been able to actually do it. The main reason being reluctance to change, commitment issues, etc. BUT we've taken our first step! ..kind of a big deal.
We are trying to rent out our town home in Pleasant Grove! Exciting but holy crap it's scary. This whole "moving" thing might actually happen! We are most likely going to move down to Arizona and rent for a while, but Vegas has been tossed up in the air a couple of time as well. (apparently we are ready to move, ha ha. But I think we need 'the fear' so when we have to leave we will HAVE to find a place to go! it makes sense in my head I guess) So wish us luck... or not. We will be so sad to move away from our friends and especially my family, but change is good, not to mention, it probably won't snow in April there. Change is what we are looking for and where ever we go will definitely be different.

The latest

So we're a little behind but this was our Valentines Day! We went up to ogden and did a Sky Diving simulator! It was one of the coolest things we've done.

And these are a few pictures we just thought were cute. We were so excited it was warm this week so we could play outside! We went to the park almost everyday this last week, and when we weren't out at the park dev wanted to play out on the balcony! Hopefully it gets warm and STAYS warm soon!

Also this video is from when Devyn just started walking which was the end of January so its a little dated but still pretty cute.

Devyns 1st Birthday!

Ok, I know its long over due. . . But Devyn turned 1 on January 14th! We had too much cake and WAY too many presents! And lets be honest she couldn't care less, but with that said, I'm so grateful for the pictures. Thanks mom for everthing! (especially the motivation to have a party=) )

Also, not to be overlooked -and equally important- Mike's Birthday is on the 12th! He turned 27 so at the bottom there are a few pics of us on his birthday! We went down to vegas and saw Phantom of the Opera! It was incredible!

I love them both so so much it's seems ridiculous to try to describe. But they are my life and my joy and I can't imagine life or life after this without them.

Our wonderful Holiday

Devs all bundled up for a cold winter day.

Our trip to Temple Square with Mal and Dan. So fun so cold!
Christmas morning! Dev got a new hat from her aunt Jani! thanks she LOVES it!

(despite the look on her face)
She got way too many presents, as I'm sure they all do.


She was so intrigued by her cousin Ada's dancing elmo toy. she just sat and watched him, no laughing, no dancing with him, just sat and stared. I just know in her head she's thinking, "what. the. heck. is. this?" It was so funny.
And don't worry we had our fun too. My parents got us rock band 2! and lets be honest, life just hasn't been the same since.

Dad and Devyn at the end of the day. Ready for a good nights sleep.

Going Private

Please send me your email Addresses. Mike says the world isn't safe enough to have a non-protected blog. I love you all!

Thanksgiving Cruise!!!

My Grandparents took all of my mom's side of the family on a 6 day cruise to Mexico! It was Great! Our family reunion constisted of 73 people! We all ate in the same area every evening, and ate way too much. We stopped in Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada. We went to the beach in Cabo and ate authentic mexican food in ensenada. Thats right Noah, I finally stopped at a taco shop! Thank you so much to my Grandparents and rest of the fam for making this such a memorable experience!

If you're wondering about the single beds- the crib wouldn't fit in the room with a double so Mike and I got our own beds. As sad as it was to be apart both of us we actually ok with having our own beds for the 5 nights! =)

Dev Loved looking out of the windows of the ship

This was our "fancy dinner" where we got all dressed up! Dev got kinda sick this day but she still looked like a rockstar. ha ha.



Mike thought you'd want to see a little Cabo landscape. It really was beautiful



Dev and Mike. And a little eye candy in the background for the rest of you ladies! Love you dad!


Our authentic Mexican Food Chef! Ensenada, Mexico


Gavin Dev and Hayden

My mom and dad helped us out so much during the trip, letting us go play while they watched Devyn. It was so nice of them to give up some of their trip to let us go out. Thanks again you guys! Love you!

You've gotta love that daddy daughter time!

I thought this was so funny. Dev climbed into the closet and by the time I got the camera she was on her way out. Its crazy how simple things like that can be so entertaining. (especially when its your own kid)


Oh and if you read my last post, this was the tire Mike Changed in Cedar City. We had to drive on the spare the rest of the way going about 65.. the whole way... on this puny tire. Doubled our driving time. Put all our lives in danger. It was not as funny at the time but definitely bloggable.

Thanksgiving Vacation (Disneyland)

Before we got on the boat my parents took all of us to disney land! It was a BLAST. I hadn't been there for about 10 years and mike hadn't for even longer! We went to both california adventure and DL and got every single ride in! (pretty much) Devyn even got to come on a few rides! She loved it. Thanks so so much to my parents for this awesome part of our trip and taking Dev so Mike and I could go on a few other rides!

Tag

Tag

The beautiful Melissa tagged me:

8 t.v. shows I enjoy watching:
1. the Office
2. Friends - the reruns are just as good as they were the 1st time
3. Dancing with the Stars - I'm with ya meliss
4. Biggest Loser. seriously if you haven't yet start watching it
5. Gossip Girl thanks mal :)
6. O.C. yeah I know
7. ELLEN of course
8. But above all the rest LOST.

8 things that happened yesterday:
1. Drove home from vegas
2. Went to In and Out- yeeah
3. Got a flat
4. watched mike change the tire (hey, he's the one who popped it)
5. unpacked and did too much laundry. ew
6. played with dev and put her to bed.
7. got really sick! i'm better now though
8. and caught up on a few shows!

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. LOST season 5!
2. Being a mom x 2 eventually =)
3. Having a house and yard of my own - I'll second that
4. Christmas!
5. seeing old friends
6. mikes parents coming into town this weekend
7. christmas parties
8. life!

8 things I LOVE about fall:
1. colors
2. smells
3. Thanksgiving
4. coats boots sweaters
5. great fall season shows
6. halloween
7. ice skating maybe?
8. hot chocolate

8 things on my wish list:
1. boots
2. clear play! its so cool look it up
3. another little getaway- i love em
4. a deep clean on my house
5. get my hair done
6. A robot to do all of my laundry, (and everything else!)
7. new makeup
8. win the gingerbread house making contest. we will prevail!

8 people I tag:
1. Mallory
2. Jada
3. Mom
4. noah and giselle
5. Nate and celeste
6. Autumn
7. Josh and Mcall
8. Aunt Wendy

10 Months old!

Yeah, so I know its been a long time.. ok a REALLY long time and I'm sorry. But here's some pics to try and Make up for it. On the 14th Devyn turned 10 months old. She gets where she wants to go and walks around! (holding onto furniture of course - don't get too excited) Its crazy how they just keep getting cuter.

New Sunday Dress Grandma Becky gave her. She finally fits into it.


She was a kitty for halloween and cute as she may look she hated every minute of it.


Had to throw this in there, yes Mike was a monkey. Not a bear, a monkey.


This is the preppy school girl outfit. Mike thinks its a little lame. But I couldn't resist.

Always Remeber 9-11

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children. “

"Our enemies have made the mistake that America’s enemies always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness. And now, they will see defeat."

“Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend–even a friend whose name it never knew. “
- George W. Bush

more pictures!

This was our last day at the pool. Sad. This is Me and Mal and Dev. And I decided I'm gonna wait till next year to do a gainer off the high dive. =)




I just thought these were cute!





This was so funny. I put a graham cracker down on her tray while I went to get something, I came back and she had taken a pretty good size bite out if it! She ended up demolishing it! Anyway, you might have had to be there.


And this is one of my favorite pictures. Her face is great. I'm pretty sure she got that expression from her dad.