Vacation Recap-Part 2

I wasn't finished with our vacation recap, but the blogger wouldn't let me add any more pictures, so hopefully with part-2 I can tell you the rest of our stories (sorry if you aren't looking forward to another lengthy post!) and share the rest of the pics too! So...let's see where was I...

Brinley had her first birthday while we were there-yes another birthday! So on Monday we had a birthday party for her too! I am sad that the pictures didn't turn out to great, but am glad that I at least have some pictures of her special day. She doesn't show too much expression, but when she opened the puppy from her Great Aunt Val & Uncle Bud she had the cutest little smile on her face & she pressed it against her chubby little cheek. I made a cake for her B-Day too & wasn't as happy with it as I thought I would be, but everyone said it tasted great & Brinley didn't complain! Strawberry cake with vanilla pudding in the middle-yummy!

We were able to see our friends & I was so happy that Ryan, Christina, & Avrie were able to come to the birthday party. I am so happy that we have been able to keep in touch with them for so long. I never thought that when we met them 5 1/2 years ago that we would become such good friends!

On Tuesday we got the OK from Shanny & Jared to come and see new baby Ethan. I was so excited & still feel so lucky that he was born in time for us to meet him on our short trip to Utah. He is such a handsome little man & has the cutest but chin & round cheeks. He and Brinley share the same B-Day so I will never forget just when little Ethan was born!

All of the family came to Grandma & Grandpa's house on Tuesday night so that we could do some last minute pumpkin carving. Not too many people were very enthusiastic about getting started (I think all the activities were starting to bog us down a little) so Matt finally started cutting the tops off & gutting all the pumpkins. He had Caleb as his trusty side kick & I heard Matt every few minutes say, "OK buddy-step back a little bit". They gutted all of the pumpkins & the rest of us got to come take our pick & carve without much mess-thanks Matt!

Only five pumpkins ended up getting carved, but we had fun together all the same. Sierra and Kellie decided to draw on their pumpkins, but I think they got taken home before I had a chance to snap a picture of the final product. Trinity is sitting next to the pumpkin I carved & she asked, "Is this me?".

Wednesday I got to go and visit Danica which was so much fun. I was finally able to meet Isabell & she is just as cute in person as I expected she would be. Danica taught me a little more about Adobe (I still need a lot of work) and we had fun just spending some time together. She even came back to my parents house with me & had pizza. I am really glad that we have been able to remain friends for such a long time! (I am so sad because these pics didn't turn out well either!)

That night was Halloween & to find out about all of those adventures you can check out the post titled Halloween. The next morning we had to get everything packed up & ready to leave for the airport. The time went by so fast & it was sad to think that it was already time to go back home again. I think the only thing that kept Trinity from being too sad about it was the fact that we were going to be riding on another airplane. We took some fun pictures out on the patio with my parents & Kim, Sierra, & Brienna stopped by to bring Brinley a B-Day gift. We snapped a few pics of all the girl cousins & then we were off.I wanted to get a few pictures of the girls at the airport and on the plane, but things were all happening so fast that I only took a few pictures and...yes you guessed it, they didn't turn out well. I am going to post them anyway because although they didn't turn out the best they still bring back the same fun memories of our trip. Thanks to all of you for making it so great, we hope to see you at Christmas!!

Vacation Recap-Part 1

While we were on our little vacation to Utah we got to do so many different things which was good in some ways & bad in others. I was so happy that we were able to see so many people, but there were so many things going on all the time that it felt like the week just flew by. I guess that is probably always the way it goes when you are enjoying a nice vacation. We were lucky enough to be able to fly instead of driving & it was both of the girls first times on an airplane. We almost missed our flight, which is another long story, and consequently were not able to sit all on the same row. Trinity and I sat together by some overly friendly man, and Matt was holding Brinley in the seat right in front of me. Trinity did so well & loved all the excitement of going fast & then being high up in the sky with the clouds and the birds. Brinley also did very well & it helped that the flight is only about an hour and a half long. Once we got into Salt Lake we borrowed a car from my parents and we were off to Cedar City. We only got to spend the weekend, but it was packed with activities.We made our usual trip to Wal-Mart & the girls got their pictures by Ronald McDonald. Then when we were finished their cousin Makenna took them on a ride on the ponies in the little play area. I wish my camera would have gotten better pictures because they were SO excited. I guess I need to invest .50 worth of entertainment more often!

We were lucky enough to get to see Logan play in his last football game of the season & Matt also got to play some football with all of the guys. Being able to play football when we go to Cedar City is one of the highlights for Matt. The only thing that tops that is getting doughnuts from the local grocery store.
For those of you who don't know Matt comes from a very large family. He has nine siblings and five half siblings, and it turns out that there are 5 birthdays in October. Debbie planned a get together to celebrate all the birthdays & the day of the party happened to be Emily's actual birthday. I offered to make a cake with my new "skills" & then we made another cake for Angela, Westley, Taylor, and Brinley to share. It took a lot more time than I thought it would, but it was really rewarding to see how happy Emily was when she saw the finished product.The rest of our time in Cedar was spent enjoying being with family & I even helped Debby start her own blog-yay!! It is so nice that the older cousins can help out with Trinity and Brinley & Trinity loved playing outside with them. Whether it was jumping on the tramp with Tyler, Chandler, and Emily or playing dolls with Makenna she loved playing with the big kids. Hopefully next time she won't be scared of Colton-sorry buddy! I had to laugh a little because from the minute we got there Cody was determined to make Brinley "love him". Although most of his attempts didn't turn out the way he hoped (they usually ended up with Brinley screaming) he didn't give up. By the end of the trip he got her to sleep & was so proud that there was finally some love! Good job Cody!

When Sunday morning rolled around we had to scoot out of there & head back to Pleasant Grove to see our newest niece be blessed. Jared did a GREAT job & Brienna Sue is the sweetest little thing. She sat in her dress so still while Kim and I took pictures & I just can't believe how much she looks like Kim.

After the blessing there was another birthday to celebrate-Sierra. I can't believe that she is already six! She is such a big helper to her mom & loves going to kindergarten.

Slacker

I usually sit down at my computer at least once a day to check my email & then I plan on posting something new to my blog. However, what actually happens is that I check my email, then look at all of my friends' and families' blogs & get so caught up in their new pictures & reading all about what they are up to that I don't leave time to do anything to my own blog. How do I stop this vicious cycle...I guess I will have to get some self discipline & only reward myself by looking at all of your blogs after I have posted something to mine. So, thanks for being such dedicated bloggers & wish me luck in my new "blogging program" hehehe

Halloween

We had so much fun on Halloween this year. Trinity was, as she would tell you, "a hopping kangaroo", Brinley was a ladybug, and Matt and I were Mario and Luigi. I had planned on sewing us some cartoonish looking overalls, but procrastinated too long & didn't get them finished. Lucky for us Danica offered some of her overalls & we were able to pull the costumes off. We stuffed our bellies to look more like the characters, and everyone from our old ward kept asking me if I was pregnant again! Oh well- (We went to the trunk-or-treat in our old ward and it is also my parent's current ward, so they were able to show off their grand kids).

After that we went and visited Matt's Aunt Val & Uncle Bud, the Ables, the Wellings, the Gandys, and of course Jared, Kim, and the cousins. They all had the cutest costumes!! I love Halloween & I especially love when adults get into the fun of dressing up too. It was so funny because no one recognized Matt at all & when I looked up at them they usually realized who we were.

Cobey was flash from Incredibles, Caleb was Buzz from Toy Story, Sierra was a cheer leader, Brienna was a bee, Aunt Kellie was also a bee, Richard a bee keeper, and Sennie a flower. so fun!When we were visiting with the Gandys I noticed that Matt was nowhere to be found & I went outside to find him going door to door in the neighborhood with Brinley on his hip! He was out to get as much candy as possible-my big kid!

Post Travel Rut

I think I must be in some sort of post-travel-rut. It has been a week since we were in Utah & I can't seem to get back into my normal routine. I got spoiled during my carefree week of visiting with friends and family, and having Matt with me everyday to help out with the girls. Trinity caught a cold while we were visiting & has been kind enough to spread it to Brinley and myself. My house is still in a semi-unpacked mess & I am hoping that I will rise above it by this weekend & get back to normal. I have a ton of pictures that I want to post, but I am a little disappointed that a lot of them didn't turn out so well. I have been trying to tweak them in Adobe, but if I get tired of trying to fix them I may just post them in their not so great original state. So wish me luck & check back for pics of our trip.