Family Pictures

We got these family pictures taken a month ago and I was waiting for the picture place to post the proofs online so I could put them here. Turns out though, that they don't ever post the proofs, so what we bought is all we've got. Bummer!

I've had people ask to see them, so I went for the next best option and took a picture of the pictures...in their frames behind the glass. So please excuse the ghetto-ness.

We also couldn't get a single smile from Matthew, who is usually incredibly smiley, and Emma would only smile her cheese smile while she squeezed Matthew in the 2nd picture. Overall though, we are pleased with how they turned out.

And speaking of family, I get to go see mine!!! My family just decided last week to have a family reunion in May, so the kids and I leave for Idaho on May 8...less than 2 weeks! My sweet mother-in-law took pity on us and agreed to help me drive since she was already planning on going to Utah that weekend. She gave up a quick flight to spend 12+ hours in a car with 2 little kids. Isn't she so nice??? So I'll spend that weekend in Utah and then spend two weeks in Idaho. Jon will fly up a couple weeks after us and help me drive home. We'll make a quick stop in Boise on our way home. Sooo...does anyone in Utah or Idaho want to meet up? I'd love to be able to see as many people as possible. Let me know!

Heat Wave

What do you do when it's 90 degrees outside and you don't have air conditioning???

If you're us, you go buy your almost-one-year-old's birthday present 4 weeks early and start putting it to good use! He doesn't know the difference, right?

This picture is totally random, but it makes me laugh. Matthew snuck into the kitchen and climbed right into the dishwasher while I was getting dinner ready. I had no idea he was there.

Santa Cruz

We wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather on Saturday, so we packed up the kids and some lunch and set out with GPS in hand. We had no idea where we wanted to go so we headed south and finally picked Santa Cruz. We didn't want to go to the Boardwalk because we knew it was going to be way overcrowded, so we looked up some parks on the GPS and headed there instead.

We started at Natural Bridges State Beach, which actually didn't have any bridges of any kind, though it was a beautiful beach. We walked along the coast for awhile, but it was windy and cold. Jon was the only one of us with a jacket, so we packed up and left.

Matthew looking really small in his new big boy carseat.

Isn't it so pretty?

And cold!We left the beach and headed inland. The GPS directed us to another "park" which ended up being a lagoon with a wooden walkway all through it. We were hungry, so we decided to just stay. I'm so glad we did.

Emma loved running along the bridge
There were lots of ducks who were more than happy to come up close in the hopes of getting some food

Oh, and carp too. We threw some bread in for the ducks (I know, don't tell anyone!) and these fish jumped up out of the water to get it. It was a little scary, really.

Happy to be out of the stroller and exploring!

We found some grass in the shade and sat down to eat our lunch.

These flowers were eveywhere. I love the color.

On our way out, we saw this little guy taking in some sun.

We really enjoyed our little adventure. It was fun to go explore the non-touristy things and spend time with the family, AND it was completely free. :)

Like Daddy

I LOVE this picture. I know it's not the greatest quality and it's not very artistic, but I love that it captured the moment perfectly. Emma was so excited to go on a bike ride with Daddy after he fixed his bike. She really loves him and loves doing things with him.

I think this picture came at a perfect time because Emma has been favoring me a lot lately. She usually won't let Jon help her with things and asks for me...or demands me and it's kind of been getting to him. So, here's proof that she loves and adores him and wants to be like him. :)

As much as Emma looks like me, I think she gets everything else from Jon. They are both very artistic, outdoorsy, and adventurous. I can't wait to see all the fun things they do together as she gets older.

Easter Weekend

We had a fun, relaxing Easter weekend. Here's a little of what we did...

Saturday morning Jon took Emma to the Lowe's free building clinic. They built these cute little birdhouses. Emma was SO excited for it all week but when they got there she just wanted to watch. I promised her she could paint the house when we got home and she couldn't wait. This was probably her favorite part. She insisted on painting the house green, so it's camoflauged nicely in our tree. :)The finished product, ready to go in the tree.
Lowe's also gives each kid their own apron and they get a patch for each project they do. I wish I had known about these classes earlier. It is so fun.

We were going to give the kids their Easter baskets on Saturday, but Emma saw the presents and I just couldn't wait to give them to them so they got them earlier in the week and we just didn't do any real baskets. They are young enough that they don't know the difference.

We gave Emma a couple of games. She LOVES the fishing game, though she usually makes us play and then she ends up just watching.
Matthew got these mega blocks. I was so excited because I had been looking at them in the store and they were about $30, but I found these on Craigslist for $5! Matthew was pretty excited too.

Saturday afternoon we went to Jon's parents house to spend another weekend with them. The weather was gorgeous and we were able to spend a lot of time outside.

Matthew really wanted to get ahold of their cat, but she wouldn't let him get too close. Cats must have a sixth sense about babies, because she runs when she sees Matthew, but she doesn't mind Emma touching her. She ran right after I took this picture.

Handsome boys

He loves the grass. I love the way he sits.

Sunday we colored eggs and Jon's family did a little egg hunt for Emma and Jon's youngest sister. Emma had fun finding eggs.

We tried to show Matthew some eggs, but he just wanted to eat rocks (doesn't he look so guilty here???)and play with his train

It was a great weekend. I love this time of year!

A Long Overdue Update

It's been awhile, so here's another little update and lots of pictures. Enjoy!

We spent last weekend with Jon's family. While we were there Jon did a little photo shoot with the kids. These are some of my favorites.

Emma really doesn't like getting her picture taken so she will either do a major cheese face or just look mad...and so there aren't many of her.

These next ones are also at Jon's parent's house. The kids love taking baths in the big tub there. Matthew's hair looks so red in these pictures, but it's really not.

This one makes me laugh...little poser

We have started trying to get Matthew to sleep again...or I should say, we are STILL trying to get Matthew to sleep (we are going on a MONTH of letting him cry it out- is it really supposed to take this long???) SO, Emma is usually a really good sleeper, but since the kids share a room and Matthew spends 2-4 hours a night screaming, she hasn't been sleeping so well. We finally decided to put her in our room. It's definitely not ideal, but it's helping. Here is our new arrangement.
The three of us crammed in our tiny room

while Matthew enjoys all the space on his own. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but really, our room is about half the size of the kids room. (We did it that way because the back door is in our room) Anyway, we are hoping things improve soon. Matthew actually only woke up once last night and then slept until 6:40 this morning, which was a HUGE improvement over yesterday. He also took both of his naps today and they were each an hour. I really can't remember the last time that happened.

In other news, Emma's potty training is going well. She still has an accident every other day or so, but she will usually stop herself. And she stays dry during naps and most night times. So, I am happy.

For family night this week we gave Emma her own Book of Mormon (or "Book of Mornin" according to Emma). She was SO excited. We have been reading with her every night this week. We read and she repeats. We only get through 3 or 4 verses but it's progress.

Emma has always had a ton of personality and is just a funny girl. She LOVES watching movies and has recently gotten really good at quoting movies. Her favorite movie to quote is Toy Story 2. In this picture, she put the plastic egg over her eyes and said "These are my angry eyes!" Her other favorite quotes (some not verbatim) are "I've got a snake in my boot", "You killed my father (while scowling and growling). No Buzz, I AM your father. NOOO!!!!), and "I'm going to Japan!" There are a couple others, but I can't think of them right now.


A couple other funny things she's said this week:
Jon and I were looking at a picture of Matthew. Jon said we needed to crop it and Emma exclaimed, "No, he's not the prophet!" Earlier in the day I was holding Matthew and told him he looked groggy. Emma got upset and yelled, "He's NOT a froggy!"

I try to take Emma swimming once a week, so we've gone twice now. I am surprised at how well she has taken to the water. She uses pool noodles to help her stay up and she won't let me touch her. She wants to swim all by herself. She has gotten really good at kicking and gets everywhere she wants to go. This last time she started jumping off the stairs into the water (with her noodle) and then off the edge of the pool. She was so excited to put her face under the water too, and she did really well with it. This girl has no fear!

Today Dreamworks had their big Easter Egg Hunt. Emma had fun finding eggs, though she looks really concerned here.


Jenny found the golden egg and got the grand prize...a Monsters vs Aliens toy and 4 movie tickets. Way to go Jenny! And it was perfect timing since it's her birthday tomorrow. Happy birthday!