Waking Up Walker

2011-03-21T18:50:00.004-06:00

A lot has happened in the past year. While I promise to catch up, here are some photos of my new baby in the meantime, inbetween time.

2011-02-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

Antelope Hunting

2010-09-28T18:17:00.002-06:00

This is a before picture.
Paul was sick all night but went anyways and shot an old antelope.
Some of the horns are broken off. This guy had seen many fights in his days.
Not much room for hiding, but Paul laid on the ground and managed to keep quiet.

Dixie Roundup Rodeo

2010-09-21T14:36:00.004-06:00

She was so excited to see the BlackHawk helicopter, she spent 10 mins watching the rodeo.
Another view
I did make her watch the bull riding. She mostly liked the music because the rest was hard to see from behind the shoots. When they were done with the bull it would run right below us and that was exciting.
I don't have any pictures of the animals because I couldn't stop. The stink was sooooo bad, I had to run past all the livestock. Our friend Callie Rubio won the mutton bustin' and held on for the length of the field. Go Callie!

After the rodeo, we watched the chopper take off. It was so windy, the grass whips your skin. Grace and I hid behind a car under a blanket for the worst part of it. It was pretty amazing to watch.

Lunchtime

2010-09-16T18:48:00.002-06:00

I couldn't just pick one. Each one is different so I put them all.

They can't possibly both smile in the same picture. So once again, I had to put both.

Ouside time

2010-09-13T18:58:00.002-06:00

My brother and his daughter were staying with us.
A game she invented called "Fill up the tree basin with rocks".
Daredevils
Probably Grace dared her to go in the dog kennel that we used as a chicken coop temporarily.

Robots feeding the dogs

2010-09-13T18:53:00.002-06:00

They love to play robots.
She noticed that the car is parked right next to the dogs...
You can climb on the back of the car and be sooo much taller.
Hey, if we through rocks over the fence, the dogs eat them thinking they are treats.

Driving and dancing

2010-09-13T18:44:00.002-06:00

I got this barbie car at the D.I. It doesn't work, but they love to sit in it and steer. For 2 and 3 years olds, I think it's better that they don't have too much horse power.
Even if it's in the corner they will still hop in.
Big girls put on their own shoes.
A night at the sock hop.
They heard some music and just starting dancing. It's all fun and games til one cousin doesn't let go and squeezes too tight.

More Easter 2010

2010-09-07T20:15:00.001-06:00

Paul made an egg with her name on it.
The kit came with this special crayon.
She often poses with this sideways craziness.
Here comes the tongue!

Here is Grace and her egg-cellent adventure. Then the eggs sit in the fridge for a week and we through them out. We always do them after the hunt. So we use plastic ones filled with candy for the hunt. After all that, we color eggs. I know some people that roll them down a hill?? I still am concerned about the whole concept of bunnies that lay eggs for such a special occasion as the resurrection.

Easter 2010

2010-09-07T19:59:00.002-06:00

These are out of order, but we had fun with eggs. Usually I tell her to be soooo careful and then I spill. We used some brown eggs from our chickens. They turned out just a little darker but still great. I just now noticed that she has on a chicken shirt and was coloring eggs... get it?
We figured the pink and blue colors show up the best.
The color of the tablet isn't always the color it will turn the egg. The yellow tablet turned green.

I did the first few and then she helped lower them into the water. I don't know how people do this with multiple children on a nice table.

Easter 2010

2010-09-07T19:48:00.002-06:00

Grace, Great Grandma Marianne and Kaylani.
Jay.
Devon and Devri and Grace. They stopped by for a quick "Hi" Easter weekend.

2010-06-01T13:46:00.001-06:00

Duckie Drop

2010-05-31T16:03:00.003-06:00

The Washington City Community Center has the funnest event every Easter.
They drop rubber duckies into the bucket and then they dump the bucket and splash.
Each child gets a duckie with a number on it.
She got so dumped on that all her hair went to one side. It turned into a cute style.
Our number corresponded with the red scooter. I'm not sure, but I think that's the grand prize. We were so thrilled to win the scooter. Grace was more excited about the candy. She still hasn't braved learning how to ride.
We stopped and watch the duckie drop again. It wowed her to see what she had just been a part of. We hit the pool a few times a year, but she is not a water baby for sure.

Random fun photos

2010-05-29T14:45:00.002-06:00

We painted the entire townhouse to entice renters. Notice Grace and I have matching red painting hoodies. She learns so quickly.
Here she is painting the rest of the wall.
Uncle Morgan and his precious daughter Raine came to visit.
Great Grandma Marianne, Grandma Kim and Grace back at Easter time.

Old McDonald Had a Farm...

2010-05-29T14:41:00.002-06:00

Sooo pretty (until they grow up)
Catch me if you can!
Balancing act. She has the chick on her toes.
Loves.
Makes your heart melt, til they poop on you.

More Bug Birthday Pictures

2010-05-29T14:33:00.002-06:00

Party People!!
We gave Grace some very nice books and they dug in right away.
We played bubbles and find the bugs. Paul hid some plastic insects around the yard.
More bubbles
Another neighbor boy came over at the end and they had sooo much fun playing a made up game with a chair, balloons and the tree.

More Party Bugs

2010-05-27T13:53:00.003-06:00

We had a bug party with costumes. It was perfect for 3 yr olds.
We glued bugs on paper. Some did random placement and others had perfect symmetry. Gracii goes 3-D with her art projects and puts bugs on top of bugs on top of bugs (macaroni, crayon colors...)I love the look of concentration. Hers was perfectly spaced and well thought out.

Grace was very hungry for cake, look at the tongue. It's soooooo cute, I love it.

March 15th, 2010 Grace's 3rd Birthday

2010-05-27T13:34:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Gracii Girl!
Once again our friend Pam came through with a cake and only 1 day notice.
Grace is showing her friends how to hold a chicken.
Then she lets Graeci have a turn. She loves to share toys and animals.
Bethany was next. Grace has to let everyone have a turn when she is in charge. Everyday she tells me it's her birthday again. And that is ready for her party and friends to come over.

Catch up

2010-05-27T13:32:00.003-06:00

O.K. I'm so far behind and I want to catch up, so I'm going to be doing a few posts a day. Hopefully no one misses out because they don't want to read so much in one day. I love my blog and my full life. It's great to document it in pictures and share it with friends and family.

I love baby chicks

2010-05-21T15:04:00.001-06:00

More Grand Opening Pictures

2010-05-03T14:42:00.002-06:00

First customer! Thanks Julie!
Mummies? No, they are steaming their faces and getting massages.

Side view of my flowers. I'm so proud, can you tell?

Grand Opening Bliss

2010-05-03T14:21:00.004-06:00

I am so very proud of the hard work we've put into our new training center called "The Pretty Place". It's huge, it's got fresh paint and carpet, and it's ready to beautify Dixie!
I had to add my personal touch with a pot of flowers in MK pink and Mary Kay Ash's favorite color yellow.
I even switched out my light switches in my facial room. Details, details!
Nobody got shocked this time (Still so sorry, Paul).
We had a crew of at least 15 friends and family coming and going at different times to help out with everything. 2,000 (8 rooms and 3 bathrooms) of updating that took us several weeks/few hours a day. Out of everybody, I only have a picture of Carrie. I went many days with paint in my hair, that I didn't find until I got home! At least it was good weather, but I would have done ANYTHING to be out of the hotel into a permanent location.

Silly Goose

2010-04-30T14:57:00.003-06:00

She loves to do silly things and be called a silly goose. It's fun until she tries to get her arms out and realizes she's stuck! I've never tried this, but it looks fun. Maybe I will tonight. Maybe Grace can take a picture of me.

Happy Birthday

2010-04-30T14:48:00.002-06:00

You would never know it was my birthday. Paul only took pictures of my cake and my daughter. That is my hand, lighting my own candles. My Mom and brother were there too. Promise. I love ice cream cake. It was the most delicious ever.
Pipa. I found these at the Health Nut and it reminded me of Costa Rica. These things tasted better as a starving missionary. I'm surprised how many people don't know these are coconuts. They are green on the outside and beige on the inside and brown with age. It's what they drink on survivor too.

Too much Little Einsteins!

2010-04-19T20:11:00.003-06:00

The other day I heard this sound coming from the spare room and I peeked in and saw my Gracii leading the music with a "baton" and singing loudly.
Of course when she saw me, she posed.
Her dress looks like it's from the peanuts cartoon, so here is my cartoon close up.
Then it just got obnoxious, but you learn that the only way to have her stop is to "be mean/serious" so I tickled her to death!

So much fun with socks

2010-04-16T12:53:00.004-06:00

First she learns to put on her own socks.Then moves on to my white socks. The fun is just beginning.

I turn around and she has on my duckie socks and is having a ball.
She runs away, but is laughing to hard to get far.
All I have to do is say "pose pretty for the camera" and she stops and poses.
I love the hand on the hip. She is too cool to always look at the camera and had to do a wardrobe change. I love this one. She gets creative and comes up with all the poses. I love that she thought to put her arm on the bed and put her leg up. This one's going on the fridge.
I hear this little "help" coming from my bedroom. She somehow got herself in between the bed and the frame.
As punishment she had to wait until I got the camera and took several pictures from several viewpoints. I'm such a mean mom!

Daddy's Girl

2010-04-15T15:49:00.002-06:00

Grace is totally a Daddy's girl. If he is home, she is around him. She's learning that he is a pushover and he is wrapped around her finger. You know what I mean, but that is a funny saying to me.

She is sooooo silly. High-kick! She busts out the random dance moves, just to prove that she's her mama's girl too. Paul thought I was zoomed in on her, oops.
Tickle me Grace.

Baby's 4th Christmas

2010-04-13T21:17:00.003-06:00

She got a camera and takes pictures of everything.
I got Wii fit plus and she loves the games. She will beg to play and then I'll finish playing. Great motivation plan.
Obstacle course.Chef Grace. She got lots of food for her kitchen. It has velcro on it so you can "cut" the food.
Don't disturb the master chef.

More cousins

2010-04-07T16:45:00.002-06:00

We went to Logan to visit Paul's brother's family. This is the only picture of the entire Thanksgiving trip. Grace with Daddy's new Aggie beanie outside in the cold, with apparently a donut or crepe face. They came to visit us later and these are the only pictures I have of that visit. I swear there are grown ups everywhere, they just don't make it into the photos. Grace did not want to look at the camera. Her cousins are tres photogenic. 2nd try. More hiding.If you can't pose, then get out of the picture. They are so cute.

Cuz it's fun to hang with cousins

2010-04-03T10:43:00.003-06:00

We had a blast hanging out with the cousins at Christmas. She never wants to leave.
These boys are 4 years apart and 4 inches apart in height.

My Idol

2010-03-31T17:01:00.002-06:00

Best day of my life! I love Vegas, especially when Regis and Kelly are in town.
We had 2nd row tickets. I could see every tattoo and hair out of place on Kelly. She is so wonderful. One of the highlights was seeing Regis and Joy perform one of their songs.
She joked about their budget and how this is her fan machine. Shully and a cue card. We took some cue cards with us as mementos.

She has the cutest dimples.

It was so much fun, that I scored more tickets and went back with my Mom. We saw the Thanksgiving special with the local chefs cooking from leftovers.

Jubilee of Trees

2010-03-30T21:08:00.003-06:00

She's a binky addict!
We went to the Jubilee of Trees with my friend Megan and her kids. They loved the helicopter and Grace cried everytime we left it.

Here she is, gearing up for a fight, refusing to leave. She is already holding on for dear life. What you don't see is that 1. She "butt" in line to get in 2. There is a long line waiting for her to get out.

It really made her so happy. We kept going back and getting in line again. Oddly enough, I have no pictures of trees or Santa from the Jubilee of Trees. Santa was taken with their camera and just given to us. I'll have to learn how to scan and find it.

Grease Monkey

2010-03-27T12:57:00.002-06:00

Paul had to fix his brakes. Good thing he had Grace to do it for him. These pictures are hilarious. She just knew exactly what to do with the tools. She and I fix a lot of things around the house and she catches on quickly. I love the one of her with the lugnut.

Monkey jumping on the bed!

2010-03-26T11:48:00.002-06:00

My pretty girl.
She loves to wriggle around and pose.
Pirouette

and land. I know you're not supposed to jump on the bed, but it's soo much fun and we do it everyday. No falls, yet.
I won tickets to see Regis and Kelly in Vegas. It was a dream come true. More about that later.

Silly, patriotic and helpful.

2010-03-24T15:02:00.003-06:00

One day it will freeze like that.
Veteran's Day in Washington City.

She was so helpful during basket season. She unrolled the entire spool of 5 Christmas ribbons. I was laughing too hard to stop her.
She had a good laugh too.

Corn Maze Craziness

2010-03-24T14:13:00.004-06:00

She had so much fun on top of Daddy's shoulders. They didn't have the children's maze this year so we did the grown up maze. It was fun until we couldn't get out!

Goat Head and zen fingers.

Anytime she hears something she puts her hand to her ear like this. She concentrates and her little tongue curls. It's almost sign language.

Too much maze for Mama!

Love was in the air. Aren't they cute, all snuggly?

More of my cute pumpkin

2010-01-10T09:08:00.002-07:00

You see the candy? The problem with getting candy early is you just eat it all and have to buy more the day of Halloween!

My little pumpkin's pumpkin

2010-01-07T16:03:00.002-07:00

She looks precious with her flower in her hair. She loved to carve pumpkins.
She got messy, but in a very neat way. She would touch the insides and then wipe everything down.
We got these children safe knives from the pampered chef and they work great. She can feel like she is participating and mama doesn't have a heart attack.

Library

2010-01-04T21:24:00.003-07:00

Thirsty Grace and I go to the library every week for toddler time. They sing songs, read books and color pictures. Gloria the librarian is so fun and has a beautiful voice. She also has perfect skin now and I'm so proud.

It looks like she is contemplating life.

The largest grass lawn in St. George (without sandtraps) is the new town square. I love small towns. Even though many in this town think it is huge. We are the largest town in all of Southern Utah. But it is so fun to live here. Town square has art festivals, movies, clever water features to swim in, concerts, library, tabernacle and lots more, including oxygen!

Firetruck at the Library

2009-12-30T20:57:00.002-07:00

Grace and I love to visit fun happenings around town. Like the day the firetruck came to the library. She was so excited and I love the little tongue curl!
Here is another one of her just squealing away.
Paul actually came with us, since it was a pm activity. He is taking the pictures and she was pointing to him, don't remember why.
More excitement when she got to touch the seats. They didn't have them put on any helmets or gear or hear the sirens. But she really enjoys seeing new things. They had the side tool boxes open and even I enjoyed seeing all the different supplies they have.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-28T17:09:00.002-07:00

Here is our family portrait. Act surprised if you get one in the mail. They might end up being Happy Valentines Day cards though. We had a fun time playing in the leaves at Nisson's park in Washington City, UT.

Grace the Gardener

2009-12-17T08:45:00.003-07:00

She absolutely loves to plant flowers. She loves to dig the hole, put the bulb in and cover it up. She could do it for hours. She has to wear the gloves and give us our assignments too.
Sometimes we stop by and see Da-da at work and she will take over planting. Her holes aren't deep enough so he usually has to do some redo-ing.

We love our house, our grass, our flowers, our little girl... but I don't love my car. Side window won't go up again. Time for that free Mary Kay car to drive into my life!

More of my cute Holland friends.

2009-12-16T13:38:00.002-07:00

All the gals when to zumba and then made some chocolate chip cookies. My life has balance!
Papa-papa-papparazzi! It looks like Margie is screaming at me to get away. Good thing they drive on the same side of the street in Holland or Margie would be yelling at Miranda.

The best people live in Holland

2009-12-14T14:32:00.002-07:00

Here are my dear friends, Miranda and Ruud and their little boy Sven. They came and toured California for a month and stopped in St. George on their last weekend. We went to a Dixie football game. We were so busy chasing kids, I can't even remember if we won. But I know we had fun. Nothing like the 49'ners game they saw in San Fran.
This is the only picture all weekend of him smiling. The second you take his picture he turns his head and you get the profile. I think he knows what he is doing and it's his game. My Grace on the other hand, goes and gets the camera and demands you take a picture of her!
Grace and Ruud played for hours while the ladies when to Tuacahn to see Footloose. We dressed up and had a ball. It was so cute to see the toddlers play without speaking to each other. I found it tricky to play with him because I was always wanting to talk and be the boss. He didn't listen to a word I said. But at least he has an excuse. It only got scary one time. I told him to get down from a 2nd story railing and he kept climbing. I thought both moms were going to have heart attacks. I felt so bad (and still do, a little, sorry Miranda for the near heart attack)
Fumble!

Recovered by #1 and ran in for a touchdown!!

Mom in Training

2009-12-10T16:17:00.003-07:00

Grace loves to clean.
She also loves to check her temperature (or talk on the phone).

It's Time

2009-12-08T11:23:00.003-07:00

Hi everybody. It's time for a new post. Wow, two months with nothing. And I left with such a sad story. Well, it's happy time now and I'm going to be posting everyday to play catch up. I seem to start my new year resolutions early and have joined the ward choir, exercise, finish projects and read my scriptures. Another desperate need is my journal and despite what I know is the whole truth, I feel that blogging is the next best thing. So tomorrow, I jump back to Oct., but for today here are some recent pictures.

Almost There

2009-11-03T22:17:00.002-07:00

Hi ya'll. If there are any of ya'll left reading my blog. We have some new pictures, although the expensive camcorder is still broken. Now we no longer have internet to the mac computer with I-photo on it. So I have to figure out how to get the pictures on my pc or get internet to the mac in its new location. Wow, it's just one pickle after another over here at the Walkers.

Tragedy

2009-10-05T16:09:00.003-06:00

My friend Nicole's boy was run over with a lawnmower. He will lose 1/2 his right leg. She is coping well, but we cannot comprehend what is ahead of them. Here is her blog and please donate. www.karsenmery.blogspot.com

100% of my sales this week goes to that precious boy Karsen and his hundreds of thousands in hospital bills. My goal is $500. It's not much, but I am just one person.

Nicole is an inspiration and I love the support that our Mary Kay sisterhood offers each other. Her local friends have done so much to help her out already. Now it's our turn.

Playing Tourists

2009-09-30T13:46:00.002-06:00

Grace and I love to play tourists in our own town. So each week we hit a popular tourist attraction. Last week we went to the tabernacle. It was so beautiful and my step-great grandpa was the project manager and designed the groovy staircase.
She had a blast on the stairs. I think the sister missionary almost had a heart attack.
It was close to nap time and so she took a little break under the table.
Then it was more stairs.

We ate cupcakes at our favorite place, 25 Main. They are really moist and delish! Good memories and I can't wait to see where we go next. Grace broke our camera/camcorder!!! So no pictures for a while until Santa or the holiday armadillo can fix it.

2nd verse, same as the first!

2009-09-24T14:31:00.003-06:00

Tahlia wanted pictures of the rodeo queens. It's hard to get them standing still.

Don't ask why I didn't zoom. I don't know why???
Oh my goshhhh. The wind picked up and it rained and it was so exciting. A lot of people left, so we had more leg room. Hats blew off. Blankets blew off. It was a hot wind if you were dry and a super cold wind if you were wet. It sure made the time fly by though.
Luckily we brought 3 blankets. One for our bums, one for over us and one for Gracie. She hates wind in her face...

But then saw how fun it could be and enjoyed it. **Deep thought coming alert** She always takes my reaction. If she is unsure how to react, she looks at me and mimics. Once something scared me at first and she was totally scared until I started laughing and then she laughed. That is such a lesson in life for me, I can make a difference because people follow me (o.k. one toddler). Also, Grace is looking to me to set the mood and I hope I always choose a good attitude. I still remember the people that my mom or dad didn't like and talked about them. It sometimes affected my opinion of them. I so will try to be really cautious, and only talk about people behind their back and Gracie's back, lol.

Yee-Haw

2009-09-23T17:47:00.002-06:00

We invited some friends to go to rodeo with us and they canceled, but we borrowed their kids anyways. Before they came over, we grilled some BBQ steaks and veggies from our garden. Don't you love our handmedown grill? Hey, for how often we BBQ, it's perfect. I used to use the little hibatchi type and have to sit on the floor!
It's actually pretty nice, with "tables" on each side.
Kaysen and Tahlia. They are the most perfect kids. I hope Grace is that well behaved when I'm not around. They wore their hats and both wanted to be cowboys/girls by the end of the night.
She had overalls on. But no hat.
Our first experience with cotton candy. Grace hated it and I thought it was too sticky. Kaysen loved it. They got snow cones, cotton candy and hot dogs. WOW. No, they couldn't finish everything, but they seemed to have a grand ole night.

Mad Hatteress

2009-09-22T13:12:00.002-06:00

She seriously put on the hat and gave me the gangster headnod, wuz up? I don't know where she learns these things.
Here's her striking another pose.
Good day, guvna!
This hat is off my strawberry shortcake doll from when I was little. She's my favorite. I have a few original relics from my youth.
Rebel has a girlfriend and her name is Tika. She lives across the street and is a houdini. Good thing those flowers will grow back next year.

Random pictures

2009-09-21T10:51:00.002-06:00

Honolulu Grill. Only they can pull off bright yellow walls.
Sand toys in the tub. We had to get our play time out of them and there are aren't many sandy beaches in Utah.
Paul set up a home spa for his girls. It was sooooo relaxing.
Gracii loves to play wii. Mario cart and wii fit are her favorites.

You can never have too many Vegas pictures!

2009-09-20T22:00:00.002-06:00

Here's my cutie posing for the camera.
Paul was holding her up and I'm sure she was ticklish.

Hydrangeas. Same as our wedding.

The bear vests were made completely from flowers.
My Gracii's dress was made up off completely fake flowers.

Pawn Stars

2009-09-18T21:42:00.002-06:00

There is this show call Pawn Stars and we went there. Of course, everything looks so much bigger on t.v. While we were in the parking lot, we heard car screeching and a I thought we were gonners. A man had dropped a tire down a staircase, and it rolled into the road and almost caused a crash. The man ran inside asap and never came out. I would have grabbed the free tire if I wasn't in a skirt and heels. Crazy Vegas.

Hey Baby, Let's go to Vegas!

2009-09-17T12:22:00.002-06:00

The Bellagio
In the sky!
WOW. Grace always stops to smell the flowers. She appreciates the little things in life.
This is how she grows so tall. We water her!
We looked into the crystal ball and saw that I will be a director soon.

Swing, batter batter batter

2009-09-16T10:21:00.002-06:00

Last month we went to a Roadrunners baseball game. We had so much fun, but I can't even remember if we won. It was just cool enough and we snuck in enough snacks to keep us happy.
Grace makes friends where ever she goes. She is not shy at all.
Since they were posing for the picture, she chose the same pose as the roadrunner.

She is so thrilled, can you tell?

Fun pictures of my favorite girl!

2009-09-15T08:51:00.002-06:00

I came in to her eating her binky with a total straight face. She couldn't keep the straight face for long and we both were laughing so hard. It reminds me of when she was really little and I would try to pop her binky back in her mouth without turning on the light. It would be heading for an eye or in her ear. She learned to guide me pretty early on or open her mouth really wide and reach for it. Then she learned to put it back in herself.
Excellent helper
She might even be a rockstar.
She slept under her bed so much we put a mattress down there for her.
Grace at the Bellagio conservatory.

Camping and more puppies of course

2009-09-14T10:38:00.002-06:00

Grace was trying to tell us to go that way so she could be alone with her puppy. I'd get her a puppy, but since they don't stay that way, we'll just rent them.

Kisses for her new best friend.

She loved being on the 4-wheeler, it just doesn't show in her face.
She really enjoyed it, I promise. We have a picture of her last year on the 4-wheeler. It would be fun to compare.
Jamie and I. She is a mega fit star. I challenge anyone to a race (against her of course).

We went up to the top of the opposite mountain and spied on our campsite. You can kinda see our blue tent and all the trailers.

More camping.

2009-09-13T15:56:00.002-06:00

Home sweet away from home.
Smores, yum.
Isn't a fire mesmerizing?
I'm so glad our camera has night shot capabilities. Everyone looks so different.
I put up the divider and thought she would have enough privacy to nap, wrong. She just pulled it down and startled the bajeebies out of me.

Scary but fun

2009-09-11T13:27:00.002-06:00

What is it?! Everyone knew but me and I took Grace down a path for an innocent walk and this is what we saw. I freaked out, grabbed her and ran back to camp. Everyone acted like nothing happened and told me it was a bear. I was confused they would let me take Grace anywhere near wildlife.
Beautiful views away from the wildlife.
4 wheel ride. I think Paul looks like Jon from Jon and Kate plus 8. He hasn't worn his hat like that since.
Grace spent every second loving those puppies. It makes me melt how she snuggles them. We had baby puppies and a 2 month old baby boy on this trip. Baby Nathan broke Graces record of going camping on lake powell at 3 months. She slept in the open air/canopy and Nathan slept in a trailer, but he was a premie too. It's too bad they weren't young at the same time.
AAAHHHHH. It was just a bull. We still all took off when he started coming closer.

Camping in Salina Canyon

2009-09-08T09:49:00.003-06:00

I was looking through all of our vacations this summer and realized that I missed part of the first vacation. We spend Pioneer day weekend at Accord Lake with the Thorntons. As always, it was filled with nature, 4 wheeling, rain and more food than we eat in a week. This year they also had trailers so some got to take showers, you know who you are!
Grace loved to be in charge of the lantern and the remote control. We had so much fun playing in the tent. I hope she remembers these fun times and if not-we have pictures.
My sassy girl in her only long sleeve shirt. I'm glad I found that out before winter comes.
Please no pictures.
Oh, the puppies. She spent every second of their waking lives holding, kissing, petting, squeezing and loving them half to death. More about the puppies later.

Swimming in a mud hole

2009-09-07T15:48:00.004-06:00

We had fun playing in the Virgin River in Bloomington. Here are Grace and Braxton with their feet "hidden" in the sand.
She coudn't stop looking at her reflection in the water.
She doesn't even look bright in pictures. Well, she starts behavior classes on Sat so we'll see if there is any potential there. This was her first time on a leash and then off a leash in public and swimming. By the end of it, she was having a blast running in the water and jumping on Rebel.
My Grace gives me hugs all day everyday! I'm the luckiest Mom ever.
Here is our other dog Rebel. He is going to love classes and show off for sure. Grace loves to call her dogs "Abo and Loo-loos".

Fair Play with the cousins

2009-09-04T18:28:00.002-06:00

We went to the Wash co fair and I only took 2 pictures. What a waste of arm strength, carrying the camcorder around all day. My sisters kids were with us for almost a week and we had so much fun. They are great helpers.
That bear was scratching and really enjoying himself. We made it for the last trick of the bear show and that's all they could talk about. "Do you remember when the bear rode that scooter? That was awesome!"
Apparently, they had never been a hammock before because I think they even asked me what it was. They loved it and took turns all week. We spent hours describing the event and our best was "It's like heaven and you are on clouds". Here is Braxton.
Here is Hunter. They both are such good lookin kids. Even though by the time we went back outside for some more hammock time it was dark and Braxy's shot was with night vision.

Zoo-Part 2

2009-09-03T09:17:00.002-06:00

She was so cute, hanging out with the groundhogs. I wish I would have gone in, but I hear it was pretty hot and crowded. No thanks.
Aunt Joy passed out the duck food and all the kids went to town. I don't know how the ducks can eat that much.
Braxton and Hunter on the Carousel.
She was so excited to ride the buffalo. She holds on so well, I didn't even have to hold her. This one didn't even have seatbelts like Vegas.
I spy Paul with my little blue eyes.

Reverse order Hogle Zoo Pics

2009-09-02T13:05:00.002-06:00

This was Grace's first time to the zoo and she loved it. Her new best friends are the giraffes. This pictures is sweet to all the moms out there and probably misunderstood by the men. How nice if we could just sit/stand there and the baby feeds itself!
Grace right away was saying "mama giraffe so big, so tall". We were there the day before the elephant had her baby. It was Hunter's birthday activity also and then the elephant was born on his birthday. I thought that was pretty cool.
The first animal we saw was the rhino. Why couldn't we have started with the fuzzy koalas or something less intimidating.
I don't remember what we were looking at but it amazed and semi scared her.
Last picture of the day. My Gracii-lou-hoo was so tired we busted out the binky. She is used to 2 or 3 naps a day still and most days it was 1/2 hr in the car, tops. I sat in mud, but at least we have a picture with the zoo sign. So many times I never get a picture of us with the sign, so my new thing is sign pictures.

Last Park City, UT photos

2009-09-01T10:25:00.002-06:00

I love this door on main street. It doesn't look real because it is so narrow.
Gracii in the cowboy leather shop.
Paul in the cowboy shop.
It's like stepping back in time with all the old looking shops. I didn't know that Park City was a mining town for silver.
This was the view from our room. Grace could watch the deer for hours.

More Park City, UT Photos

2009-08-30T17:48:00.002-06:00

She loved to be the doorman and press the appropriate floor. Grace loves the floor with the star. We had to go in the elevator a million times a day and it was great to never have to wait. She would go a little ahead and already have the elevator on it's way.
We went to the zoo (pictures of that are coming) for the first time and she fell in love with the giraffe family. It was so precious we bought her a super soft stuffed giraffe.
I think she was trying to put her arm around the bear?
My Mom came to visit one day and they had a ball shopping together. Grace loves her Grandma Diane and they had a sleepover at her house in Heber. Grace loved it and it wasn't even her first sleepover. She is so grown up and very confident/independent.
Low five to the flora.

Spa Weekend

2009-08-27T13:00:00.003-06:00

You are here.
I won a trip to the spa in Vegas. Yippee! It was a gorgeous weekend, filled with shopping, relaxing (a wee bit) and eating and more shopping.

The gorgeous ladies of Mary Kay. Kristy, Me, Diane and May Dawn.
Mini beach. We didn't go in the sand of course. It would have messed up our pedicures.
Can I be any more relaxed?

Last Seminar Photos

2009-08-24T13:08:00.002-06:00

The entertainment was phenomenal. There were 7 performances. This guy won "So You Think You Can Dance?" He was such a cutie and started out performing for Mary Kay's seminar events. Now he came back as the headliner.

This number was one of my favorites. Jai Ho.
An extravagant circus number. You can find all of these on youtube. I just don't know how to link them. There is also the best viral video of the CEO of Mary Kay dancing to Beyonce's Single Ladies. You have to check it out and let me know what you thought. It's on my facebook page.

Awards Night in Dallas

2009-08-23T00:53:00.003-06:00

The red carpet where the stars pull up in their limos. The pictures of the limos later on that night didn't turn out.
Pink Cadillac!!!!
Me, Jenny and Lauren. We shared a room and they are the sweetest gals to put up with me for 4 days. We did practically everything together. My director had to leave after the first day, to be with her 2 lb premature grandson. We threw my outfit together at the last minute, when my first dress split up the back. Good thing Jenny overpacks!
Very cool museum.

JFK memorial designed by Jackie. You walk inside and can't hear the city so it's kind of a sanctuary.

Mt Timpanogos

2009-08-22T23:23:00.002-06:00

We hiked a fun little trail and had a picnic.
She loved to point to the signs and be our tour guide.
I got cold and put on my hooded sweater. Paul thought I looked someone from Star Trek.
Grace loved the flowers that were taller than her.
Beautiful view.

Park City

2009-08-18T22:06:00.002-06:00

We stayed at the Marriott. It was great to not have to drive everywhere.
Grace loved our bed. We were so cold the first night that we called the front desk to have them fix our heater. They told me the gas had been turned off months ago. It was in the 30's with no heat. I'm happy to say we survived.
Every Sunday they have a market and it was a blast. Petting zoo, music, great breads and booths.
Face painting too!
Grace was pooped but enjoyed herself. Even when she was tired she didn't want to leave. She would just sit down and watch.

I left my heart in Dallas

2009-08-17T17:11:00.002-06:00

Here is Mary Kay Ash's favorite type of painting. She also did some paintings herself and no one knew that they were hers when they put them in as decorations in the new office building.
We stayed at the Aldolphus. It was as fabulous as the rest of the trip.
We met the Queen and Prince? of England. Just joking, they have stayed there before and I took a picture of their picture.
Here is the view from our room into an office building that always left their lights on. Sometimes the lights would flicker or we would see people working very late. Oh, the stories we made up about them!
Yea me. We actually passed by a sign that didn't have a line of people waiting so I got a picture of me. Cute shoes.

Shine On!

2009-08-16T18:35:00.002-06:00

The theme this year was shine on and shine we did. I never knew how much time I would have to come back and take pictures of me in front of things, so as I was passing I would snap shots with other gals walking through them.
This is amazing. 2% overhead to run the Mary Kay Foundation. Read the sign, I love it. Mary Kay is known for raising the bar. They say 35%, we say 2%. They say basic regulations, we say FDA approved. We raised over $60,000 with donating our pocket change over the month.
Uh, oh, was I just farming on facebook?
President of Mary Kay U.S. Darryl Overcash's office. We're buds. They took us on a tour of Corporate and showed us a few offices.
This is Mary Kay Ash's office exactly how she left it with her glasses on her desk. As time goes on, this will be such a time capsule. She passed in 2001. It's already outdated a little and she also loved old fashioned stuff so that doesn't help. She loved Monet type paintings with pastels and women in long dresses and hats. You know the type.

Dallas is amazing

2009-08-04T14:19:00.004-06:00

Here's the Dallas view from the bus. See the clouds. Yep, rained the whole time. Formal gowns and rain do not mix. Luckily, the worst of the storms happened when we were inside.
Playing with the camera. Taking a picture of myself when I'm not looking.
Mary Kay Global Headquarters. The friendliest place on earth.
They cheered to welcome each person. Their view is without us they wouldn't have jobs so they go all out to show appreciation. I felt a little akward until I realized it was super fun and I deserved it.
Cute local cheer squad. They cheered all day long. You can see in the back round, they pass out cups of water too and have cheer leaders outside too. Their enthusiasm cannot be duplicated.

More Monroe

2009-07-27T20:08:00.003-06:00

Our favorite Monrovians, Mark and Crystal.
Here is that cute little dog.
Chubby bear, Paul
Glamour Shots.

Monroe Trip

2009-07-27T19:59:00.004-06:00

We stopped in Monroe and ate lunch with Mark, Crystal and their two precious girls, Faye and Lydia. We played on the only grass there was.
They have the littlest dog and it kept licking Grace. She pulls away but secretly loves it.
The only grass was right next to the highway. Grace was the only one that tried to escape.
Jumping on Uncle Paul is the best!
Of course I have to throw one in of my little diva. She is awesomer than I thought. Today we went shoe shopping and she wore 3 inch heels all around the store for an hour. I tried them on for 10 seconds and had enough.

Lucy is back!

2009-07-23T22:22:00.002-06:00

We had a change of heart with our all black dog Lucy, but the chickens are still in hiding. This picture was taken of the final 2 chicks to be hauled away to an undisclosed location. Of course we would never wait until this blows over with the city, hide our coup in the nethermost region of our property, build a fence around it and then under the cover of moonlight, welcome back our feathered friends. That would be way to sneaky.

Everytime Grace hears something she puts her hand to her ear like this. She does it every time and it is the cutest thing.

Where is Gracii?

2009-07-19T21:25:00.002-06:00

She hung out for so long in the cabinet that I had no idea she was in there. I was working and then...
She opened the door and I almost peed my pants. She had so much fun, hiding while momii works.
It's too bad that after I was finished with my project the cabinet got filled with stuff again. She gets to play every Monday at least.

Mary Kay Awards Banquet

2009-07-18T22:14:00.002-06:00

To celebrate last year and welcome in the new year, we always have an awards banquet. This year was the best because I swept in all the categories. Last year I was a princess and this year I was the Queen of Queens! Paul even won #1 husband. He had to keep track of his stats too and gets to choose a cool hunting knife or binoculars prize.
My prizes are ribbons and very nice jewelry. I beat over 100 other women. In Mary Kay world the ribbons are more prestigious than the prizes. I got a new bling pen and business card holder. When I'm in Dallas, I'll be getting a few more prizes. Mary Kay can be so fun. Part time job with full time bling.
My Director May Dawn. She is the most inspirational person and has helped me grow tremendously. She drives 6 hrs (one way) to train me each week. What a sacrifice, but it worked. I'll be a director by December 31 and on my way to Cadillac.
Diane Campbell and I. We were both the top of our units. We won some of the same prizes and she is my sista winna! Good job Diane. We ate at Made in Brazil (just like Rodizios) and the food was super delish, but the the lighting was not the best for pictures.
This blog is mostly about Grace. She loves that I'm home all the time and mostly work when she naps. She enjoyed the rare treat of a babysitter last night and took the opportunity to decorate the bathroom with one of a kind colored pencil drawings. We did another photo shoot yesterday and I have to say show me your teeth instead of smile to get these shots. She is my legacy and MK is my means.

Eternal Families Rock!

2009-07-17T15:57:00.002-06:00

Margie and Brian are the most beautiful and thoughtful couple. I wish them both the best and thanks for the memories.
Grace loves to dance and will either repeat what I do or come up with some fabulous moves of her own.
Margie and Brian went to the Virgin Islands and we went to Sand Hollow! Miranda was there too, but of course I forgot to get pictures of us.
Grace loves to lay on the back of the couch.
I told her to pretend like she was sleeping and this was the face she made. She clinches her eyes and her mouth. She is just so cute.

The Hills are Alive (with Margie and Brian's Wedding!!)

2009-07-15T11:51:00.002-06:00

The reception was at the Ledge's overlooking the golf course.
We played outside for ever. See the sprinklers coming on in the background. That's the life when you have a kid. The party is inside and I'm outside chasing a kid in my heels, aerating the lawn as I go.
This would have been cute if she had eyes.
She thought she was top dog running while carrying 2 golf balls at a time. The tongue out of the mouth means super concentration.
Hole in one!!

4th of July

2009-07-07T16:57:00.002-06:00

We did fireworks at Paul's parents. Grace liked those more than me.
It was a bit late and she was a little snuggly, but watched a lot of them.
Happy girl on the way to the city fireworks.
St. George fireworks. They started late and we had fun with different scenarios of what happened and why. No one dies in any of our scenarios, fyi.
She didn't like the city fireworks. They were too loud so we watched them from the car. When she hears something, she puts her hand to her ear, or head. She's done it since birth (almost).

Listen to this

2009-07-07T00:17:00.002-06:00

He is going to be a huge country star with or without us, but I want to be able to say I knew him way back when. I already have my autographed t-shirt!! Post and play his song and he'll get another record deal. He's so close and every little bit helps.

Bye Bye chicks and dog

2009-07-06T13:08:00.005-06:00

We were 99% finished and then find out that chickens can only be on the other side of the street and not ours. So we are getting rid of our chickens, wink, wink, until we can build a privacy fence.
We also gave up Lucy, our black dog. There are many reasons, the silliest being she licks way tooooooooo much. She's going to a no-kill shelter and will be adopted out.
So we've replaced our chickens with a golden goose.

Last Friday this is the surprise I got when I had to go to the bathroom so bad. She had taken the whole contents from underneath the sink and a whole roll of toilet paper and box of tissues. It cracked me up, I almost peed my pants. Look how narrow the area is and off center. I can't move my elbows when I'm using the throne.

More Joy

2009-06-29T12:33:00.001-06:00

Our new windows were finished on Tuesday and our Air Conditioner broke on Friday!!! We are the most joy filled homeowners on the planet. We melted all weekend long. Mostly we were at Margie's wedding, the lake, Vegas or Jared's homecoming so we stayed cool. But last night and this morning someone turned up the heat. But then, at 11:10 the A.C. guy came and at 11:20 we were cool as the "Fonz". I can't wait to see what is next.

Joys of Homeownership

2009-06-24T09:03:00.002-06:00

Termites! 2 different species. Aren't we lucky?
New windows. It was an awful process with an amazing result. They had to saw the metal frames, bust out the windows and it sounded like a horror film. I had to be home for the whole thing to keep them honest. I actually snuck out for a few hours each day to take Grace for a nap at grma/grpa's house. We had 14 windows and one of them is this whole wall.
They catch all the broken glass on a blanket. We have found so many pieces of glass everywhere. We vacuum but it's never ending. I wish you could hear it. It was undescribably the most blood curling sound. We would just huddle in the back room and cringe during the crashing. It sounds like I'm kidding, but I'm not.
Some of the positives are sheds and chicken coops and space.
And gardens!! The eggplant was delicious in omelets and dipped in egg, french toast style. The peppers are deformed but yummy. The best thing so far, was the tomato that got eaten with posing for the camera first. I've never had a garden before. I didn't care for the hours of hand watering at first, but now it's automatic. Our swiss chard is taller than Grace. I'll have to get a picture of that.

My Baby Girl

2009-06-22T20:32:00.002-06:00

She is such a happy girl. We are really lucky.
She can't touch her tongue to her nose yet, like mama can.
I opened my closet and she had hid herself.
She has the "go away paparazzi" hand up.

She found this basket and fits in it. It took a long time to get her out, because the loops kept getting caught on her belt loops.

Chinny chin chin

2009-06-17T22:02:00.002-06:00

She didn't start out with any chins.

I never realized how fat she got. And her little bald head. I love it all.
She lost her chins. I know she is looking down in the one picture. But her arms were bigger too. She's always chunked up and then gotten taller.
We used to sit her on the couch and put a pillow in front of her and she never fell off.
I love this face. Her head was so big or maybe her body was so little. This is one of the few time frames she had rolls.
Paul dressed her this day. She loved her hippo until she could crawl away and find something more exciting, like markers, remotes, scissors.

As I'm writing this I am getting eaten by a mosquito. How did it find me and why won't it die. Oddly, it's only bitten me several times on my right arm and not my left. It knows which arm will put me out of commission.

Nap Time

2009-06-11T12:49:00.003-06:00

I was late putting Grace down for her nap. Usually she would be in her room asleep on her large floor pillow or come to me and request "nap". She was really quiet and I found her in the spare room, on a big girl bed with her blanket over her head. I thought she was hiding, but she was fast asleep. I checked on her later and she had taken off the blanket, but stayed on that bed her whole nap. It looks so funny and almost wrong to put the blanket like that, but I promise she did it.

Grandpa's work

2009-06-10T08:57:00.003-06:00

Grandpa's work
Quick tour in the golfcart.
She was so tired, this was the closest thing to a smile.

Another ride on a 4-wheeler.

Misskahlaineeeeeus pictures

2009-06-09T09:33:00.003-06:00

1 guess what our dogs are staring at. The more black one is Lucy and the tongue one is Rebel. Rebel barks, but Lucy licks. Together they make the perfect nightmare.
This is just such a cute face I had to include it.
Homegrown corn. It tastes better than it looks.
She was sound asleep with the binky pressed up against her face. That can't be comfortable.

Peeps

2009-06-08T11:20:00.003-06:00

Until we build our chicken coop, we borrowed this old cage. It's Grace's timeout place. No, it just fit her so perfectly I had to take a picture. She's so gullible too. All I had to do was offer to let her in and she jumped right in.
Why did we move into a 5 room house if this is all the space she needs?!
2 weeks old. They grow crazy fast. I had no idea.
The budding naturalist.

Laps are good.

Cotton Days

2009-06-07T14:50:00.001-06:00

The parade
Fish pond

Bounce house. Now every trampoline is a bounce house.

Chicks, Man

2009-06-06T16:03:00.003-06:00

Here is one of our baby chicks at 1 week old. We have 3 and they are about 2 months old now and huge.

Great Zion Trip

2009-06-06T15:50:00.002-06:00

This tortoise doesn't bite.
She loved to point out the window. In the forefront are her great grand parents, Merrill and Donna Dean. I should have gotten the classic 4 generation photo.
We did a relay race to this mega tree at the lodge.
Hand on her hip cute.
Weeping Rock. I love Zion N.P. I miss being up there everyday.

Creative Napping

2009-06-02T21:38:00.002-06:00

I love these pictures. It was so cute to come into the playroom and see her curled up on the shelf, pretending to nap. She had already put Elmo and Strawberry Shortcake down for their naps.

Karaoke FHE

2009-06-02T21:27:00.002-06:00

Watch out Taylor Swift!
I love Mary Kay prizes. She loves to sing and play with the lights.
Who doesn't love "Sandy" from Grease? We sang it over and over and I'll do it again!

Important Post

2009-05-03T21:46:00.003-06:00

My dear friends Alyssa and Ben (Paul's friend since 6th grade) are ready to adopt. Please spread the word to all interested mothers. She is truly going to be a fantastic mom and if she has to wait less than 9 months I'm going to be jealous :) I had to wait 41 weeks. I know the process/timing is in the Lord's hands but faith without works is dead. Let's work together. Hopefully you can visit their blog, get to know them, become a supporter and post their link everywhere. It's alyssaandben.blogspot.com. Good luck guys!!