Reality Check

I don't know about you, but I love reality shows. One of my favorites, Project Runway, just started up again. I love seeing these talented people come up with something amazing out of nothing and seeing them compete and rise to the top. When my favorite person wins, it's kind of like I've won a little bit. I wish I had more time, money, and education to be able to create some of the clothes they make and I feel like I get a chance to live that dream a little when I watch this show.

Some of my other favorite reality shows are Top Chef, America's Next Top Model, The Apprentice, Biggest Loser, The Mole, and The Bachelor. I like these shows more for the competition and seeing how people react when forced to live with complete strangers. It gives me a chance to escape from my everyday life and live vicariously through these people, if only for an hour a week. I'm always glad when it's over, though, that I live with the people I love, have food to eat and clothes to wear, have a normal body, earn a regular paycheck, and don't have to compete with 15 other people jumping through hoops to get it. Now that's real life!

Sister's Weekend 2008

I just got back from Nauvoo, IL visiting with my mom, who is on a mission there, and sisters for a girl's only weekend. It was awesome seeing everyone and going to the plays and sites but we were so busy that when I got home I felt like I needed another vacation just to recuperate!

Here we are on a wagon ride through Nauvoo.

All of us after the wagon ride.
One sister's baby shower. Three of my sisters and sis-in-law are pregnant right now and one just had a baby in May. We love babies!

At the gardens outside the Visitor's Center.

In front of the Nauvoo Temple after a session.

My mom walking down Parley Street after we all saw the play "Sunset on the Mississippi".

18 things I love about Leah

Since Leah is 18 months old now I thought I'd write 18 things that I love about her.

1. Her cheesy smile and cute dimple

2. How she laughs and giggles all day long

3. How she says "Mama" and cuddles with me

4. Her big hugs!

5. How she trys so hard to sign "I love you" at bedtime

6. How she is always so excited to go somewhere, saying "Go, go, go!"

7. How she starts dancing the second she hears any music

8. How she walks around making animals noises (barking, quacking, and mooing are her favorite)

9. How she is always so happy and energetic in the morning

10. How she always says "Bye, bye, house" or car or store when we are leaving somewhere

11. How she says "Uh, Oh, Spaghettios" when she drops something during a meal

12. How she throws her hands in the air and says "Yay" whenever something is exciting or fun

13. How she says more like "moe?"

14. How she loves to bring me books to read (her favorite right now is Moo, Baa, La, La, La)

15. How she brings me her crocs (shoes) several times a day, hoping I'll take her outside to play

16. How she repeats almost anything we ask her to say, like a parrot

17. How she loves to dress up and put on glasses, shoes, hats, jewelery, etc.

18. How she is always willing to give a kiss, hug, or smile to anyone at anytime to brighten their day!

Just one more cute one to show off her personality!

We love you, Leah! I can't believe you are 18 months old already!

Parades, Fireworks, and lots of Red, White, and Blue

We had a great 4th of July weekend! It was perfect weather so we took advantage of it and went to our church pancake breakfast, the parade downtown, and then had a barbeque with friends that evening and did fireworks afterward in our driveway. It was an awesome day!

Leah holding the flag. I love this picture!Abbie and Leah loved the popsicles and candy they gave out...
But soon had a meltdown from all the sugar!
Waiting for our Yam Fries from Seva after the Parade! Yummy!
Abbie with her first sparkler...

And watching bigger fireworks with her friends!

Jared and the girls relaxing on the hammock after a great day!

Summer activities so far...

Here's some of the things we've been up to this summer. We went to Palmyra, NY a few weeks ago and stopped in Niagara Falls on the way there.

We also went to the Sacred Grove...
The Palmyra Temple...
and Hill Cumorah.
We had lots of fun goofing around and seeing all the sights.
We also went to Arboretum recently. Here's Abbie smelling the flowers...

With a friend looking over the fence. I like how Abbie has her hands in her pockets. It's like she's thinking "So, what's up?"

Leah acting shy...

There's my smiley girl!

Walking through the peony garden.Lastly, we went to the zoo last weekend. It was pretty hot the first couple of hours, rained on us halfway through the day, and was cold by the end. We had fun, though, looking at the elephants...
Riding the carousel...

Watching the polar bears swim (and touching their big sharp claws).
It was a fun day but we were definitely ready to go home towards the end.

Rag curls

This is my attempt to defy nature and give the girls curly hair for a day. I saw this idea for rag curls on another blog http://girlydos.blogspot.com/search/label/Rag%20Curls and had to try it out. It wasn't as hard as it looks, once I figured it out and the girls didn't mind sleeping in them. The next day, this is what I got!

Really tight, bouncy curls! It looked really cute once I got a few clips in it and Abbie had fun looking at herself in the mirror. It was humid that day, though, so after a day of playing and naps, it was pretty much as straight as it always is. Sorry girls, you are cursed with my straight, thin "frog fuzz" (as Grandma would say) hair!

I'm a scrapaholic...

In another burst of creativity, I finally completed a scrapbook layout, the first in a couple months. I've been trying to get back into it for a while and always doing a little here or there on mini-books or fixing up other layouts, completing journaling, etc. but not really starting anything new. So this is my attempt to start catching up since I'm about 4 years behind. Wish me luck!