Its Been Awhile...

I have totally slacked on blogging. I have just been busy, busy, busy. Instead of trying to catch up from April, I am going to start in October. Ryan and I went to Las Vegas to see the Utes play and of course, we took part in a lot of activities during my favorite time of year, Halloween. Las Vegas

Ryan took me to Vegas for a long weekend away. It is just what I needed. We had so much fun and it was great to get away from the cold.

Ryan's parents kept Halle and Shannon kept Lexi. Unfortunately, both Lexi and Dylan had the "piggy" flu while we were gone. Shannon was quite the trooper to take care of her. I felt so bad that I wasn't there to take care of here, but Shannon did a great job.

We went to Las Vegas with my mom and Rick. They were so much fun to go with.

The game was a lot of fun and the Utes won...YEAH!!! I got my picture taken with Swoop and the weather was great. Watching football in the cold is not my idea of a good time.

While we were in Vegas, we also went and saw Jay Leno perform. He is so funny, he doesn't stop for a second. We also went to the Return of the Caveman show. It was pretty funny. Ryan and I took a ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel. It was pretty cool. You can see the entire city from up there. The water show at the Bellagio was just starting and we were able to see that - it was a great show!!!

Halloween

We started the Halloween season by taking the girls to Gardner Village to see the witches. Halle thought it was great, but Lexi wasn't so sure. It was so cute to see them together and for Lexi to show Halle around. They are such good little sisters.

We also went to the Pumpkin Patch, but it was a pretty quick trip. We had to go one night after Lexi's dance and it was COLD. Although it was cold, we were able to find some really good pumpkins. Ryan was such a good daddy and he carved them all for us.

Halloween was a fun day. We had lunch with Shannon, Kody, Ashlie, Grandma Jil and Grandpa Rick. We went to the Pizza Factory and the kids had a lot of fun.

That night there was a Utah game. Ryan decided that he would rather stay home and trick or treat and watch the game on TV. We invited some of our friends and family over to watch the game and have dinner. It was a lot of fun having people over.

I got Lexi and Halle's costumes online and they were so stinkin' cute. Lexi was a Black Cat and Halle was a witch. She had a darling hat, but she refused to keep it on, even for one picture. She also had cute little bloomers that said "Boo". She wasn't so sure what to think of this dressing up, but she was a trooper.

Lexi went Trick or Treating for a while, but she had more fun opening the door and giving out candy.

It was a great Halloween season and we can't wait until next year!!

Mr. & Mrs. Brandon Edwards

My little sister, Ashlie married Brandon Edwards on April 18, 2009.

It was such a fun day and a beautiful wedding. As you can see from the pictures, Ashlie looked amazing (although she would look amazing wearing a paper bag!!).

Lexi was Ashlie's flower girl and she did such a good job. She took her job very seriously. She loved the wedding. At the end of the night she asked me if she could have a wedding when she grows up. Here is Lexi and Dylan (one of the ring bearers). They looked so cute and so grown up.

Shannon, Amy and I were Ashlie's bridesmaids. I loved our dresses. Ashlie let us pick our own in the same color, so we were able to match our own personalities. I think it turned out great.

Grandpa Brad, Grandma Susan, Chaz and Whitney all came to the reception. Lexi was so excited to have them there. Ryan and I were glad also, as they were a huge help with the girls - Thank you so much!!!

Ashlie and Brandon had dancing at the wedding and it was so fun. Lexi said it was her favorite part of the wedding. Here is Brandon and Ashlie dancing their first dance as husband and wife.

It was such a nice day and Ashlie is so happy. We are excited to welcome Brandon to our family and wish them many years of happiness.

Easter in St. George

This Easter, Grandpa Brad and Grandma Susan invited our little family to spend some time with them in St. George.

We were excited to leave the cold in Salt Lake for the warm in St. George, but it ended up not being very warm. In fact, on Saturday, it was windy and cold and I could have sworn we were still in Salt Lake.

Regardless of the weather, we had a lot of fun. We did some shopping, 4-wheeling, buffet eating in Mesquite, visited the Pizza Factory, went to the car show, went to the arts festival, had a BBQ, just to name a few. We had a busy, but fun weekend.

Grandpa Rick and Grandma Jil were also down in St. George and we were able to spend some time with them as well. Kody, Amy and the boys came up from Mesquite and met us for lunch. They had just been to Disneyland and had a lot of fun stories to share with us.

Lexi only wanted to do one thing while in St. George and that was SWIMMING!!! She loves the pool down at Grandma's and she wants to spend the whole time in there. Luckily, her daddy, grandpa and uncle love to indulge her so she was able to spend a lot of time swimming.

Last, but not least, the Easter Bunny made a stop at Grandma's and Grandpa's. Lexi was worried he wouldn't find us there, but he did. He left a lot of fun things for both the girls and hid a ton of eggs. Lexi had such a fun time finding them all.

Thanks again to Grandma Susan and Grandpa Brad for inviting us down for such a great vacation. We can't wait until next Easter!!

Disneyland

As part of Lexi's birthday present, we took a short trip to Disneyland. We had so much fun, but wish we could have stayed longer. There is so much to do.

Ryan had been in meetings in San Diego earlier in the week, so he met me and the girls down in LA. Everyone was worried about me getting both girls to the airport and through security, but we did just fine. I told Ryan that next time he is traveling and there is a mom trying to get her kids on the shuttle with a stroller, he needed to make sure and help because there were a lot of nice people that helped me.

Lexi was so excited to go on the plane. She kept asking, "Are we flying yet?". It was so cute. Halle was a champ, she slept the whole way. I didn't bring anything to occupy me because I thought I would be busy with the girls, but they did their own thing. It was kind of nice just to relax.

Once we got to California, we met up with Ryan and went to check into our hotel. Once we were settled, we headed on down to Downtown Disney. We let Lexi pick out an autograph book and pen for the characters. My little girl has her own mind and didn't pick out the first thing she saw. She took her time to make sure she made the right decision. After dinner, we headed on back to the hotel to get ready for DISNEYLAND the next morning.

The first ride we went on was the Alice in Wonderland ride. Lexi was excited, but a little bit apprehensive. She wasn't sure she liked the loud noise. After that, we went on the Teacups. This was more her speed. She LOVED it (see picture below). She loved the spinning and she laughed so hard.

Both of the girls loved "Its A Small World". They have updated it, but it is still so cute. They have added all of the Disney characters to the different worlds. It was fun for us to try and spot the different people.

Some of the other highlights from our first day was visiting Minnie & Mickey's house. We also visited Pirates, Buzz Lightyear, Honey I Shrunk the Kids and the Merry Go Round.

The next day we went straight to the Nemo ride, but we still had to wait 45 minutes. It was a cute ride, but I am not sure it was worth the wait. We then went on Peter Pan, Snow White and Pinocchio ride. Again, Lexi didn't love the dark and the noise (Disneyland is kind of scary!!). I think we spend the majority of our day waiting for the parade. It was so hot, that I think we almost melted. It was fun having such good seats for the parade though.

The next day, we met up with Ryan's brother Brady and his girlfriend, Melissa. They live in California, so we don't get to see them very often. Brady hadn't even met Halle yet. It was so good to see them and spend some time with them. We were able to go on the Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain and the Pooh Bear Ride. Lexi HATED Splash Mountain, but she loved the Pooh Bear ride. She said she liked it the best because we didn't have to wait in line. Later that night, we had dinner with the Princesses. It was so worth the money. The princesses came right to your table and the food was wonderful. Lexi was in Heaven. She couldn't beleie she got to meet all of the princesses. We also had them bring a birthday cake to her which she thought was so cool. While we were at dinner, Brady proposed to Melissa in front of Cinderella's castle and she said "Yes". We are so happy for them. They are such a cute couple. We met up with them later that night to watch the fireworks. They were so excited!!!

On our last day, we headed back to Disneyland to go to Pixie Hollow. Tinkerbell had left presents for Lexi and Halle in our hotel room while we were sleeping, so Lexi wanted to be sure to tell her Thank You before we left. Then we stopped by California Adventure to ride "Soarin'".

Both of the girls were so good on the trip. I was worried about taking Halle, but she did great. She did get a little upset when we would wake her from her nap to go on a ride, but she was great. If you ever take a baby to Disneyland, be sure to visit the "Baby Center". It is so quiet and the people in there are so nice. They have a nice curtained area for mom's to nurse their babies and a great changing area. Halle and I spend quite a bit of time in there and it was so nice!!!

After a final goodbye to Minnie and lunch with Brady & Melissa, we were on our way home. We had so much fun and made so great memories. We can't wait to go back again.

Blessing Pictures

I had Halle's pictures taken in her blessing dress. She wasn't very happy about it and the only time I could go is during nap time, so I am glad they turned out as well as they did. Even though she was a little ornery, she is still my precious little angel.

Ashlie's Shower

The Beautiful Bride

My little sister Ashlie is getting married on April 18, so Shannon, Amy and I had a shower for her.

I had such a fun time planning this shower. We had a daisy "Loves Me, Loves Me Not" theme so we had Daisy necklaces for the "Don't Say Cute" game and I made daisy ice cubes for the punch. For the favors, we got nail files shaped as daisy petals that say "He Loves Me" or "He Loves Me Not" on them.

We had a great turnout for Ashlie and she got a lot of fun gifts. We had a lunch andplayed one game and opened presents. it was a fun afternoon!

Congratulations and Best Wishes to Brandon & Ashlie!!!

Lexi at the shower - Earlier in the week when I was cleaning the house, I told her it was for Ashlie's shower. She wanted to know if Ashlie was going to shower in her bathroom or my bathroom!!! Halle was tired from the shower preparation, but she made sure that she matched the theme. She had a daisy bow in her hair, but I think Aunt Shannon took it out (She doesn't approve of the bows)!