My Cutie Pies!

 

I wanted to get some pictures of Charlotte in her baptism dress. It is the same dress that Kate was baptized in. So we went and did a last minute photo shoot at Fotogenix. They turned out so cute…and I even got a cute one of them together..and a couple other fun ones too!

 

Harlow Bleu

 

My good friend Lindsay has started making adult decorative headbands. Her headbands are absolutely AMAZING! Please check her out at Harlow Bleu…(click here). I promise you won’t be disappointed! You can also link to her of my side bar.

Busy…Busy

 

Have you wondered where we’ve been? It’s been a busy last couple months…and honestly..my blog was last on my priority list. Two kiddos keeps me busy…and leaves me pooped by the end of the night.

Anywho…..Here is some pics of our adventures…

A couple days after we got home from Florida..my cousin and her family came for a visit. We had so much fun with them here. Kate loved having visitors..but was having a hard time sharing. She was a little overwhelmed with another kiddo on her turf. At one point….she said to my cousin…”I just can’t handle it”. haha..poor kid. We are working on the sharing. The weather was beautiful so we even got out for some sledding and snow time fun.

 

Valentines Day. Enjoyed some family time at the aquarium. Ate heart shaped pancakes for breakfast and heart shaped pizza for dinner. And had lots of LOVEly moments….

My mom and Grandmas birthdays. We love you both soooo very much and were so happy to share your bdays with you!

Disney on Ice. I took Kate on a mommy-daughter date. Just us two. We had so much fun. We even broke out her Mickey sucker she had picked out at Disney World. We were saving it for a special occasion..and this was the perfect time. Ohh man did she love that sucker and her favorite part of the show was Princess Minnie.

St. Patrick’s Day. Ohh… how I love holidays. And St. Patty’s Day is no exception. Kate had a special date with her Nanny, Bobby and Gma Donna. They took her to Cabela’s. That probably sounds like a weird place to take a 3 yr. old girl. But if you know Kate….its right up her alley. She is obsessed with animals (all animals)…and Cabela’s has a ton of animals. They are stuffed of coarse…..but Kate still thought it was awesome. She had so much fun and hasn't stopped talking about it since. She always tells me….”Mom..we need to go to Cabela’s today” haha…I would have never thought to take her there. Good idea Bob! Her favorite animal there was the big black bear. She always tells me..”Mom…the bee’s were biting the bears bum”…Apparently the bear had bees all over his back side : ). 

I traditionally always make corned beef and cabbage for dinner on St. Patty’s Day. But this year we were going to my moms for dinner the next night and she was planning to make it. So I changed up our tradition a little and made coned beef and cabbage pizza. Sounds weird but it turned out ohhh soo yummy! I will definitely be buying bigger corned beefs in the future so we will have enough left overs to make this pizza the day after St.Patty’s. Our new tradition : )

 

Girls Night. My friend Sadie planned a much needed girls night. Nothing revives you like a night of laughing and DANCING! Yes..we played ‘Just Dance’ on the Wii. Hilarious..fun…and definitely a work out. She even had knee socks for all of us for the occasion. Thanks Sadie. We all had a blast! Also..my friend Lindsay has started a business making decorative adult headbands. They are amazing and we all bought one from her that night. We are all wearing them in the second pic. More to come on her headbands. I will do a separate post on that.

Several zoo days. Enjoying some fresh air, animal sightings..and a ride on the merry-go-round. The animals were very entertaining this day. Baby Zuri was rolling in the mud…mama elephant was spraying herself with mud, the Tiger was roaring, the giraffes were attempting to mate (or should I say the male was trying to mount….the female was just annoyed and kept walking away..haha), and the gorilla ate his poop..eeewww! Never a dull day at the zoo. We always see something interesting.

This trip to the zoo..my mom and grandma joined us. Kate was thrilled to run around with her nanny. It was a special treat for her to get to ride the merry-go-round and train with her Nanny.

The warm days last week (before we woke up to 4 inches of snow last Sunday) brought spring excitement. And with spring fever…I opened the windows…let in the fresh air, donned my table with daffodils (a favorite of mine), and baked a blueberry pie…from scratch (even the crust). What a good day!

 

Along with the spring fever..came the need to do a little yard clean-up. We were all enjoying the outdoor time. Kate was busy running around playing and singing …”it’s a beautiful day…it’s a beautiful springtime” (a Kate original). She started out running around the yard in her panties and then decided she needed to be wearing her princess dress. These pictures sum Kate up perfectly…So very girly…and yet a tomboy at heart.

 

And Charlotte was thrilled to be outside. She just wanted to crawl out on the grass and find leaves and sticks to chew on. I finally had to move her back inside because she was so insistent on getting off the blanket and chewing on everything BUT the toys I had provided. Once inside, I would sit her in the living room..but she kept crawling back to the screen door trying to get back outside with her Dad and sister. I guess I have two outdoor, nature loving girls! Her hair cracks me up in the first picture.

We also baptized our sweet Charlotte….but that deserves its own post…so more to come on that special day..I promise!

FLORIDA baby…and the miserable colds

Last month we went loaded up our family…jumped on a plane and headed to Florida to visit Eric’s sister. We were so excited for this trip. Unfortunately….both my girls..and my hubby all had the worst colds EVER! They were all sooooo sick…probably the worst colds all 3 of them have ever had. What timing. Even though my family was miserably sick…and sleep deprived…. we still managed to have great trip. And somehow… we still did everything we had planned to do (Thanks to Eric’s sister who was determined to show us a good time. Thanks A…we love you).

(Charlotte helping mommy pack)

Sunset picnic at Honeymoon Beach…running along the beach catching the last few rays of daylight as we chowed down our Five Guys burgers and fries. (note to honey…next time hold the onions…or get them sautéed :)  Those burgers were potent!! haha)

Our half day at Animal Kingdom. We literally saw the entire park in 4 hrs! I still can’t believe we pulled it off. We were dripping in sweat from all the running…But we did it. With 2 toddlers..2 babies…3 nasty colds….and extreme sleep deprivation (probably 2 hrs the night before).  A…your amazing! You are one efficient tour guide!
Memorable moments:
-the crazy misty fog when we arrived
- Kate loving the Dino ride
-The animals deciding to get up close and personal on the safari ride.
-RUNNING from the safari ride to the Lion King show….again keep in mind…2 toddlers..2 babies…3 sick people with no sleep. I really though Eric was going to pass out.
-Watching the people move over with slight disgust on their face when we finally sat down in The Lion King show. It was probably the dripping sweat…or maybe we just smelled…haha!
-Realizing we had actually accomplished our crazy goal of seeing the park in 4 hrs so we could head over the The Magic Kingdom for the second half of the day

Moments from Magic Kingdom:
-People ohhhh’ing and ahhhh’ing at baby Mickey and Minnie ….and at the our matching girls
-Losing Charlottes yellow bootie (to complete her Minnie outfit) on our way to get pics. Luckily they had it at lost and found that night.
-Riding Space Mountain with my hubby
-Watching the Firework show while on the Dumbo ride.
-Going on the Dumbo ride..over and over
-Riding the Aladdin carpet ride in the pouring rain….and getting squirted with even more water by the camel. As if I weren’t already wet enough
- Getting stuck in line on Pirates (due to a malfunctioning ride) and watching a little boy from Italy (didn’t speak any English) make friends with my nephew through a game of rock-paper-scissors. Who needs words when playing is a universal language : )
-Funnel cakes and Pineapple floats
-Watching the Main Street Electrical Parade. Kate loved it…Eric thought he was going to puke from the lights and noise      (He was so sick and the extra stimulation didn’t help his splitting headache). Thanks honey for being such a trooper. You didn’t even complain. You are a much better sick person than I am.
-Walking around soaked from the rain…not the best way to enjoy DW
-Watching Kate take her Minnie wallet with her money she had been saving into the Disney Emporium store on Main Street. She had a hard time deciding between an Ariel mini doll set, a stuffed Dumbo, and a bath set of the traditional characters. She finally decided on the bath toys. I was so proud of her…she knew she could pick one thing..and she weighed the options seriously and made her decision with no whining or crying. She marched up to the register with her toy in hand and confidently handed the woman her money. Such a big girl! I love you Kate!

Day 2 (Morning half) was spent at Hollywood studios. Beautiful sunny morning. We loved the Toy Story ride…the Beauty and the Beast show….and our extra long visit with Minnie….she gave the babies some serious attention. Haha…I guess that’s all you need to get additional time with the characters.


Another beach day…..super windy (not good on a sandy beach). But Kate still loved running in the waves….until she was blue lipped and shivering.

Other fun moments
-playing with cousins
-Valentine party for the kids (including making valentine boxes and valentines, valentine exchange, reading valentine stories, and making valentine cupcakes)
-Kate was in heaven playing with all the animal figures…she is obsessed with them lately….and she loves making long animal parades). She also loved being completely girly and playing princess dress-up with her cousin!
-The boys playing Wii
-Game night…with lots of yummy snacks and treats. I had a big blonde moment playing scrabble. My brother-in-law played ‘six’. I looked at him and said  “what is s-i-x??” His reply….”well…that would be the number after 5”…. oh right…I knew that…haha…I don’t think I’ll live that one down for awhile. I'm blaming it on the severe lack of sleep from dealing with sick children….that must be it… haha!

Poor Charlotte was soo miserable with her cold…she didn’t crack a smile for 6 out of our 7 days there. Poor baby. I felt so bad for her. Even as bad as she felt…she was such a good baby…no crying…she just went along wherever we dragged her without even as much as a fuss (but with a very serious face). I was soo happy when she started smiling again. We love you sweet girl!

There is a lake right by Eric’s sister’s house (Literally across the street and a couple houses down). There is 2 crocodiles that have taken up residence in the lake. They named them Mr. and Mrs. Gates. As we were getting a closer look (via a zoomed camera)…we discovered….there is now a baby Gates too. He dove in the water right before I got the picture. So that is probably Mrs.Gates in the pic…..or maybe now she should be called Mamma Gates.

Anyway…that was our trip in a really..really big nutshell. Thank you A and G for being such amazing hosts. You made us so comfortable and thought of every detail. Thank you for driving us around to show us the sites….and for all the fun memories. We had such a great time with you guys and miss you like crazy!
P.S. sorry we brought the nasty Utah colds with us : (  and thank you for being so understanding