The Frank Family

Snowed In

2012-01-23T13:40:00.000-08:00

This past week we were lucky enough to get snowed in.
To us it meant Daddy got to stay home, lots snowball fights, snow angels, sledding
and of course hot chocolate! McKay’s favorite activity was sledding.
(The hot chocolate is in a close second.)

We were lucky enough to find a private little hill to sled down.
It was the perfect size for McKay and there were no crowds to fight.
McKay warmed up with a few snow angels. And then we were off!

McKay was wiping out all over the place
and a few times I was worried that we would get hurt,
but each time he popped up laughing.

Toward the end of our afternoon,

McKay began chowing down on the snow.

Each time he would take a step up the hill he would pick up

a fresh handful of snow and take a few bites.

By the time we got home for a late lunch he was full of snow.

Luckily, he was able to eat because the hot chocolate melted all the snow.

Before we headed home, we ended the afternoon with

some penguin style sledding. Adam followed McKay, on his belly,

as McKay slid down the hill with his sled for the last time.
McKay saw him and just had to try it!

Saturday Adventures: Two

2011-05-29T21:54:00.000-07:00

Here’s our weekend in pictures. All taken with Adam’s Windows 7 phone, so please excuse the quality of some of the pictures. I’m not used to all the settings and I forgot set them.

Adam and I started off the weekend with a much needed date night. We don’t have a weekly date night, so we really enjoy our dates when we go out. I was inspired after reading Elder Scott’s conference talk, The Eternal Blessings of Marriage. I decided that Adam and I were due for a date night, but to make it more fun I sent Adam a coded text message.

Text One:

… . . . . .. … .. . … … .. … .. . … .. . . . . .. . … .. … . .. . … … … … .. … … ..

Text Two:

4 2 6 8 2 5 4 6 4 9 6 8 6 8 8 6 6 2 3 2 8 2 8 6 6 4 4 4 8 4 5 6 8 3 9 6 8

After a little help he figured it out. Since the way I asked him on a date was creative, it took the pressure of planning a creative date. So, I stuck with a classic and we went to dinner and a movie. We saw Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in 3D. It was both Adam and my first 3D movie. We loved it and we can’t wait to see Harry Potter in 3D.

While Adam and I were on our date, McKay went on a date of his own with his Grannie and PoPo. They went out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant and then for ice cream. I love this picture my Dad took of McKay in front of the fish tank at the Chinese restaurant. I guess McKay loved watching the fish and kept getting up to see them.

Saturday, we had a pretty low-key. It started off with a trip to the barber shop, the cake decorating supply store and a drive through downtown seattle to see Daddy’s office.

We came home to find PoPo cooking with his birthday present…

If you don’t know what a Big Green Egg is you are missing out. It is the best smoker in the world. PoPo cooked up some ribs, tri-tip and corn. McKay really likes helping PoPo cook with the Big Green Egg. Here they are hanging out while the corn was cooking. And let me say that was one delicious dinner.

We finished our weekend tonight with bedtime stories with Grannie. Love, love, love these Snapshot Picture Library book. And some of them come with 3D pictures. Are you sensing a theme?

Hope you all had a good weekend too.

Saturday Adventures: One

2011-05-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

I've been such a bad blogger recently. The truth is I've been blogging, just not on this blog. A friend and former college roommate started a wonderful custom wedding inviation company, Eastwind Creations, and I've been posting on the company's blog.

So, to try and get back into the swing of things and blog more about my life and family I've decided that I will at least post about our weekends. Here it is our Saturday adventures post one.

Yesterday was one of the most enjoyable Saturdays. In the morning the boys worked out in the yard and McKay found two snails. McKay loves bugs and creepy crawlies of all kinds. He made a little place for the snails to hang out with water and leaves. Adam told him it was a hotel so he wouldn't be sad when the snails crawled out. It worked perfectly and now McKay is waiting for them to come back for another visit.

While the boys were busy in the yard I was busy making this cute bag for a fun baby shower. I stole some pictures of the shower from the blog of one of the girls who threw the shower. Isn’t it so fun and pretty at the same time!?!

The Invitation

The Food

The Game

The Treats

We wrapped up our day with a trip to the park to fly some paper airplanes. I think this was my favorite part of the day.

Tulip Festival

2011-04-19T20:52:00.001-07:00

We finally made it to the tulips and this is what we saw. It was well worth the wait just to see McKay having so much fun stomping through the mud and puddles wearing his rain boots. I’m so glad that I finally made it to the Tulip Festival. And it’s definitely something I want to do every year from now on.

Deception Pass

2011-04-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

Deception Pass is another place I’ve always wanted to go. It was cold and windy, but it sure was beautiful. I love this state, well the western half. I hope we never have to leave.

McKay was being a stinker and would not look at me for a picture. He was cold and done with smiling. He would just look at Adam and blow raspberries. I ended up getting some cute pictures anyway.

We finished off the day with a trip to the tulip fields.

Laconner

2011-04-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we finally went to the Tulip Festival. I say finally because I have wanted to go to the Tulip festival since my parents moved to Washington eight years ago. We never made it before this year because school let out too late and the blooms would be gone. We decided to make a day out of it and we started off in LaConner.

LaConner is a cute town located on the delta near the mouth of the Skagit River. When Adam told his co-workers that we were heading up there one of them suggested we check out a bakery, Calico Cupboard Old Town Café, while in town. And if you know our family, then you know we love food. So, the first thing we did was hit up the bakery. Which was delicious, but nothing can beat our favorite bakery in Poulsbo.

After hitting up the bakery we walked around town, had lunch, and took some pictures on the waterfront. I love this picture of my parent below. Look closely at the sign in the background. My mom was trying to get a picture of Adam, McKay and I and she wanted us to get in front of the sign, thinking it was a street name or something. We pointed out to her that it wasn’t a sign you would want in the background. She couldn’t stop laughing and of course she had to have their picture taken in front of the sign.

Then we headed off to Deception Pass.

A Fool's Chicken Dinner

2011-04-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

This year I was finally organized enough that I was able to prepare a fun dinner for April Fools. The trick I decided to do was to make a dinner that looks like dessert and a dessert that looks like dinner. Well, I skipped the first half of the meal because my Dad wasn’t too thrilled with eating mashed potatoes and meatloaf that looked like a cupcake. So, we kept it low key and I made a delicious dessert that looked like chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes and gravy, & veggies.

When we gave McKay his second dinner he didn’t want to take one bite. But after a little coaxing he decided to try his mashed potatoes and gravy which was really ice cream and caramel sauce. He loved it but when we asked him what it was he said it was mashed potatoes and gravy. We then had him try each item on the plate; veggies really starburst cut and rolled into veggie shapes, and chicken nuggets that were really homemade peanut butter logs with coconut. Every time we would ask him what he was eating he would tell us the item the food looked like not really what it was. He was convinced that his ice cream was really mashed potatoes and gravy. I think I just confused him and maybe ruined his good eating habits. It was fun either way.

Candy, Candy, Candy!

2011-03-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

This morning Adam and I decided it would be nice to have a low-key Saturday. No big plans or outings. We just wanted to use the time to get things done that we’ve been meaning to do and relax. However, I didn’t want McKay to have a completely boring weekend, so while we were out running errands, we stopped off at Top Foods. More specifically we went and raided Top Foods bulk candy section. McKay loved it! His eyes lit up seeing so much candy in one place. And we let him go to town.

Now we are proud owners of pounds and pounds of candy. Hopefully that won’t turn into pounds and pounds added to my hips.

We bought all the candy pictured and much more.

McKay getting some mini jawbreakers for me.

We ended our trip with two very happy boys.

Friends, Cake and Fun

2011-03-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we took a short road trip to Monroe to visit friends and celebrate a 1^st birthday. Looking at the number of pictures you would think that it was my own baby’s first birthday, but I couldn’t help but take tons of pictures of Abby while she enjoyed her cake. She loved her cake and the faces she was making were too cute to pass up.

Sarah made the cutest cupcakes for the three big kids to enjoy. The cupcakes themselves were rainbow and the wrappers and toppers were spring themed. Sarah is an amazing paper crafter. I’m going to have her make all my cupcake toppers from now on. If I ever start a little cupcake company she’ll be my go to girl.

McKay and Ella really enjoyed their cupcakes. I love the two different approaches the kids have for eating cupcakes. Ella chows down and eats her cupcake like most people, while McKay keeps the wrapper on and just licks off all the frosting. Either way you eat the cupcake, it was delicious.

After their sugar rush the kids finished off the celebration playing with blocks. All three of these kids play so well together, it’s so nice. Maria, Sarah and I spend the morning in the kitchen catching up and cooking, while the kids are off playing somewhere in the house. I love that I get my own play date. Thanks girls for the fun morning.

Catching a Leprechan

2011-03-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

We had a really fun St. Patrick’s Day this year. Growing up I always loved St. Patrick’s Day. I remember wearing green and pinching everyone I could. I wanted to do a little more for McKay and make St. Patrick’s Day a little bit bigger of a holiday. I found a ton of great ideas online, but my favorite idea was on The Idea Room. So, this year we decided to try and catch a leprechaun using a terra cotta pot, painted black, and some broccoli for bait. The night before St. Patrick’s Day McKay and Adam built a trap. McKay was so excited to catch the Leprechaun and stop him from taking our money/gold. Please forgive my poor videographer skills and enjoy McKay’s cuteness.

In the morning, McKay woke up already to find a leprechaun in his trap, but somehow the little man escaped. He did leave McKay a little clue, which led to another clue and another, until it led to the Leprechaun’s pot of gold. Since McKay isn’t much of a reader the Leprechaun took pictures of different things around the house for the clues. The first picture would lead to one place in the house and there would be another picture leading to another place, no reading necessary.

McKay was so excited when he found his pot of Gold. I know you can’t see it, but under all those green goodies is a bunch of chocolate gold coins.

This last video is more for Grandma and Grandpa Frank. I don’t think anyone else wants to watch a five minute video of McKay running around the house finding clues.

Relief Society Cupcakes

2011-02-24T15:06:00.000-08:00

I love decorating cupcakes and cakes. And maybe one day I can do a little side business, but until then I love making them for friends and family. Knowing this, I was asked to teach a simple cupcake decorating class for a Relief Society Enrichment activity. But it was cancelled due to snow. I had already decorated the cupcakes for the class and they turned out really cute. So, I thought I would share them with you, since I couldn’t share them with my class.

What do you think? Would you come to my class or buy cupcakes from me?

Enjoying the Sunshine

2011-02-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

The last couples of days we've had some sunshine.
The sun has been a rare sight this January,

so we've been trying to soak it all in.

Today while preparing our picnic lunch

we saw this outside our window.

And McKay being the little boy
who loves anything with wheels
just had to go outside and check it out.

We watched the men load
all three cars onto the truck.
It was actually quite fun to watch.
But, I don't think that's ever a job
I would want to do.
A couple of times I thought the drivers
would drive right off the truck.

After watching the cars get loaded up

we went out back to eat lunch and enjoy the sun.

On the right is McKay's
first tree climbing experience.
It's not much, but it's a good start.
I look forward to many scraped knees
from his future tree climbing endeavors.

It's suppose to rain the next couple of days.
We will miss you Mr. Sun.
However, splashing in puddles can be fun.

Spreading the Love

2011-01-28T16:55:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, McKay and I went to visit our Friends,
Sarah, Ella and Abby, at their new house.
Even though it hasn't been that long since they moved,
we have missed them.

Sarah was such a great hostess.
She had giant Valentines for the kids to decorate.
While the kids were working hard on their Valentines,
she made us all a delicious pizza for lunch.

I love this picture of McKay.
He was thinking of what he was going to write.
Once he noticed me trying to take a picture of him thinking,
he kept posing like that so I would take his picture.
Then he would ask to see the pictures.

Coke & Mentos

2011-01-16T21:35:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we all went over to our friend's,

Maria & Trevor's, house to have a little fun
with some Mentos & Coke.

Reese & McKay couldn't wait
for the fun to begin.
Look at those cute, excited faces.

On your mark,
Get set,

Go!

We made a little science experiment out of the whole thing.
We did three different bottles of coke to see which one worked best.
We had a generic bottle of coke, coke brand coke and diet coke.
Guess which soda did the best.

Hint it's the one in the video.

Snow, Snow, Snow

2011-01-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

I really do love snow here in Washington.
It usually snows for one to two days
and sticks around for another day or two.

Then the rain comes and melts it away.

So, you get all the fun of a snow day
Without having to endure it all winter.

It snowed for the second time this winter.
So, we decided to take another walk.
This time McKay discovered
catching snowflakes on his tongue...

...and snowballs.
The funny thing was
my Mom and I were talking
in the beginning of the walk
about how we were grateful
that my Dad and Adam
weren't with us.

Don't get me wrong.
We love their company
and miss them during the day.
But we were glad they weren't there
to start a snowball fight.

Later in the walk
McKay began picking up snow
and throwing it at us.
I guess it's a boy thing.
I gave up and tried to show him
how to make an actual snowball.

After Christmas Lights

2011-01-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was so busy that we didn't have time

to see any lights until after Christmas.

Thank goodness the Bellevue Botanical Gardens

keeps their Christmas lights up for a week after Christmas.

When arriving at the Gardens
we were given a map
and a list of animals to find.
I think we found all the animals
except for two lizards.

McKay loved looking at the Christmas lights
and searching for all the animals.
He wasn't all that into stopping
and taking pictures.
Look at his face in the picture below.

He did better taking pictures with Grannie and PoPo.
Probably because we took those pictures first.

Christmas Morning

2010-12-30T21:52:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few snapshots of Christmas morning.
Reading Santa's note.

Playing with a stocking stuffer.

And the main event, McKay's choo-choo track.

We had a great Christmas morning.
McKay slept until 8:00am. And we even woke him up.

We woke up Grannie and PoPo, then headed down stairs.
Adam and I covered McKay's choo-choo tracks with blankets,
so he wouldn't be distracted.

After opening all of his presents, we lifted the blankets off the train table.
McKay face was priceless.

A couple days after Christmas we moved the table up to his room.
Every night since then, he has thanked Heavenly Father
that his choo-choo track is in his room.

We hope you had a Merry Christmas too.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2010-12-29T21:51:00.000-08:00

Some old and new Christmas Eve traditions.

A new tradition:
Sprinkling Magic Reindeer food on the front lawn.
Rudolph's nose lights it up & guides the reindeer to your house.

An old tradition:

Cookies, Milk and a letter to Santa.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T13:57:00.000-08:00

This years Christmas card.
Design completely from scratch, by Brie.

Let Them Eat Cake

2010-12-23T12:49:00.000-08:00

We have 4 birthdays

between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

(On my side of the family.)

McKay's is Nov. 30th

Adam's is Dec. 9th
My Grandma's Dec. 12th

My Grandpa's Dec. 22nd

This year I made birthday cakes for all of them.

Grandma ordered a white cake with caramel frosting.
I think that cake was my favorite cake recipe.
The frosting was pretty good too.

Grandpa ordered a white cake with lemon frosting.

I made a white cake with a lemon curd filling

and a lemon cream cheese frosting.
Definitely a cake I would eat again.

McKay loved helping everyone blow out their candles.
By the time is got to Grandpa's (B-Pa) birthday
B-Pa had to fight to blow out his candles.
I think he only got to blow out one of them.

McKay got the others out before

B-Pa could take a breath.

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

I love making gingerbread houses.
Or at least I think I do.
But every year Adam dreads it.
He says I hate it too, I just forget.
And he's right.

I hate making those darn gingerbread houses.
The ones that come in a kit.
The gingerbread is too heavy
and the house never wants to stand up.
Plus, mine never look as good as the one on the box.

Realizing this I made a few changes.
1. We made gingerbread houses while Adam was at work.
2. We invited some friends over.

3. We made our houses out of graham crackers.
No kits allowed.

Top Left: Reese's Gingerbread house.
Complete with a marshmallow tree.
Bottom Left: McKay's Gingerbread house.
With a snowman in the front yard.
Right: Ella's Gingerbread house.
Gotta love her little gingerbread man.

Here a few cute shot of the kids

after building their houses.
We tried to get both of the girls to give McKay a hug,
but Reese was too shy.
But Ella hugged McKay right away.

During McKay's nap
I made a gingerbread house of my own.
And I love it. Especially my trees!
Another new tradition...
graham cracker gingerbread houses.

Christmas Tree Hunting

2010-12-19T20:48:00.000-08:00

After four Christmases with a fake tree

we got a real one this year.
We even got to cut it down ourselves.

When we got to the Christmas tree farm
we told McKay he could pick out our tree.
He looked out the car window and
began to point out the trees he wanted.
He wanted one of the forest pine trees!
We told him they were too big for our house.

On the left, the trees McKay wanted to get.
On the right, our Christmas tree.

After sawing down our tree,
we cozied up to the campfire
and drank some apple cider.

This is definitely a new family tradition.
No more fake trees for us.

30 Years

2010-12-10T11:46:00.000-08:00

Adam turned 30 this year.
He wasn't really into to celebrating,

so we just had a small family celebration.

Adam, McKay and I went to our favorite

Mexican restaurant with my Grandma and Grandpa.

It was delicious and we enjoyed the company.

Afterwards we went back to our place and ate Adam's favorite cake.

An eight layer yellow cake with a dark chocolate frosting.

All made from scratch.

McKay wanted to help Daddy blow out the candles
before the house burnt down!

That is one bright cake! Happy Birthday Babe. I Love You.

3 Years

2010-12-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

McKay turned 3 this year.

We decided to throw him his first friend birthday party. When we asked him what type of birthday party he wanted I wasn't sure what to expect. McKay loves anything with wheels, but as far as shows and movies go he has a new favorite everyday. In the end he chose to have a How to Train Your Dragon party.

After getting on the viking party hats, we started the party off with a rousing game of Dragon Bingo. (Bingo with pictures of characters and dragons from the movie.) After Bingo the kids got to decorate their shield and then begin viking training.

Training began with a group practice. Each kids got their shield and a bunch of clean rolled socks. Then we let them loose. Needless to say, they loved it.

Then we moved on to target practice with miniature dragons.

All their practice payed off when they got to slay a real dragon.

And after a hard day of training and dragon slaying... we feasted on pizza and cake!

McKay had a great birthday this year. He was spoiled rotten by friends and family. Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us, whether at a party or through a card or phone call.

First Snow Day

2010-11-29T23:29:00.000-08:00

We got our first snow the week of Thanksgiving.
Both McKay and I were so happy and excited.
I was happy because I knew McKay would miss the snow if we didn't have any.
He has never known a winter without at least some snow.
I was also happy because I knew it wouldn't last all winter.
I thought I hated snow, while we lived in Utah.
I just hated that it never would go away.

I love this picture (above) of McKay.
What you don't see is that he wasn't smiling for me.
His Grannie was standing beside me and off to the side,
just talking to him, like she always does.
And I caught his expression of love for her.

Just playing around.
Can you believe we are still in our neighborhood,

just behind our house!
Man, I love Washington.

The next day, Adam couldn't go to work because of the snow.
So, we took him out to play.

Turkey Day Celebrations

2010-11-28T20:49:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We hope you did too.

We started the morning off
by making a cute foam turkey.
The rest of the morning was spent
cooking and cleaning.

Here is our little group
just before we stuffed our faces.

Our group consisted of our little family,

my parents, my grandparents,

and our friends, the Westergards.

Ella & Abby.
Aren't they the cutest little girls.
McKay and Ella are such good buddies.
And they play so well together.

We finished off the evening by watching football and playing games.
And yes my Dad is pretending to pick his nose.

We Are Thankful for You

2010-11-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Candy Turkeys

2010-11-19T21:48:00.000-08:00

I found these super cute candy turkeys at Our Best Bites
and I knew McKay and I had to make some.
The more the merrier.
So, we invited some friends.

I think the kids liked eating the candy more than the finished result.
But us Mom's had a blast making those cute little turkeys.

Halloween at the Zoo

2010-10-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

Since Halloween was on a Sunday this year,

we wanted to do something fun for McKay on Saturday.

We saw the Zoo was doing some Trick or Treating

& letting the animals smash pumpkins.

The Trick-or-Treating was really small,
but McKay didn't care.
We had a lot of fun looking at animals
and seeing their smashed pumpkins.

Here is a Sloth Bear eating his pumpkin.

McKay got some cute monster truck rain boots
and he loved testing them out.

Carving Pumpkins

2010-10-29T22:27:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun carving pumpkins this year.

This was the first year McKay got to carve pumpkins.

His first Halloween he was asleep when Adam and I carved pumpkins.

Last year, we all just stuck plastic scary face pieces into our pumpkin, like a Mr. Potato Head.

McKay still did a Mr. Potato Head pumpkin and then he helped me carve mine.

Left: Brie & McKay's Pumpkin
Right: Adam's Pumpkin & McKay's Design

McKay went through several different faces.

McKay helped pick out Adam's design.

And he helped me gut my pumpkin.

The final results!

Halloween Party & Playdate

2010-10-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to think that Halloween is McKay's favorite holiday.

He loves his costume, the decorations & of course the candy.

So, I decided it would be fun to throw a Halloween party.
And I asked my paper talented friend, Sarah, to help me out.

This is what we came up with.

I love how McKay & Ella color coordinated.
It wasn't planned, but they looked super cute.

Below is some of our guests.
I'm missing a few. Some of my pictures didn't turn out.

We started the party off by making skull candy necklaces.
The kids loved eating the beads.

I think McKay ate almost half of his while making the necklace.
One on the string, one in his mouth, one on the string.

Once everyone arrived we began the games.

We started of with pin-the-face on the pumpkin.

Sarah cut out these really creative pumpkin faces.

We then made a pumpkin face
that the kids could take home.

We finished up the games with a Musical Cupcake Walk.
Yep. You heard me right. We combined musical chairs with a cupcake walk.
When a child's chair was chosen the child would take it into the kitchen
and get their lunch. And, of course, a cupcake.

I think the party turned out
and most importantly the kids had a good time.

Dad's Last Day of Freedom

2010-10-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

Adam found a temporary job!
We decided to celebrate

Adam's last weekday of freedom

by taking McKay miniature golfing.

It was McKay's first time golfing,
miniature or regular.

Towards the end of the game

McKay was done golfing.

He became the flag boy.

He would also cheer us on,

by waving the flag and saying,

"Go Daddy, Go, Go, Go!"

Just in case you were curious...
I won!
Only by two strokes,
but I never get to say that.
Adam beats me at everything.

Remlinger Farms

2010-10-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago

my parents took us all out to Remlinger Farms.

We had such a great time.

For those of you who don't know Remlinger Farms...
It's an amazing, Halloween theme park.

We started the day off with a train ride.
This was McKay's favorite activity of the day.
I think we ended up riding the train at least three times.

There is also a fun car ride.

The car is on a track,

so McKay got to sit in the drivers seat.

He really thought he was driving the car.

We would tell him to watch out for the rocks and trees

and then tell him which way to turn.
He was a great, little chauffeur.

They also had some carnival rides.
McKay really enjoyed the flying pumpkins.

I wasn't sure if he would have fun or just be scared,

but he ended up having a blast.

We also rode on one of those spinning rides,

like the teacups at Disneyland.
McKay loved it until PoPo got us spinning like crazy.
McKay also rode his first mini roller coaster.
He cried the whole time

and was shaking when we got off.

I think it will be a couple of years

before he rides a roller coaster again.

We had McKay ride something slow
and calm after his freak out on the roller coaster.

Thanks Grannie & PoPo
for a wonderful Saturday.

He Did It!

2010-10-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

We finally heard from these guys.

This is what they had to say.

In case, you didn't catch that...
Adam passed the Washington Bar!

You did it!

I'm so proud of you, Babe.

Mmmm... Cupcakes

2010-10-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

After making the Word World Cake, I was asked to make some cupcakes
for a Dr. Seuss themed Baby Shower. This is what I came up with.

What do you think?
I was happy with the result.

And most importantly, they were yummy!

Fall Walk

2010-10-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

I got a great idea for a fall activity from a friend's blog.
And I immediately thought of my new friends, Maria & Sarah,
and their adorable girls, Reese & Ella.
First, we went on a walk to collect fall leaves,
acorns and McKay's favorite, rocks.

Our walk took us to a fun little park.
Where we stopped and played for a bit.

The littlest member of our group.
Abby, Ella's little sister.
Notice that McKay's friends are all younger girls?

After filling the bags we headed back to the house to make some art.
For the first craft the kids glued the leaves,
pine cones, flowers & rocks to a piece of paper.
We used the acorns and paint to make "marble art"
for the second art project.
Below is McKay's finished product.

Fishing with Dad

2010-09-18T14:48:00.001-07:00

Recently we gave McKay a sticker chart.

Or as he likes to call it his "chicker start".

We started the chart hoping that he would like the prize system

and then we could use it with potty training.

He loves the prizes, but still has no interest in potty training.

His most recent prize is that old fishing game.
Where you wind up the game and
the fish spin in a circle opening and closing their mouths.

He had so much fun playing with his Dad.

I would say this prize was a hit.
Hopefully, I can start blogging about potty training soon.

Word World Party

2010-09-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was McKay's first birthday party for a friend. And it was my first time making a cake for someone who is not a member of my family. The birthday party was for a cute little girl named Reese. Her mom planned a fun Word World themed party. Word World is a PBS cartoon where everything is made out of the letters that spell what it is. For example sheep is built out of the letters s-h-e-e-p.

In one episode Dog has a birthday. Dog's birthday cake is built using yellow letters c-a-k-e and covered in chocolate frosting topped with strawberries. Below is the cake I made for Reese's birthday.

I had a blast making the cake. And McKay had a great time at the birthday party. He loved the hanging out with his new friends, Reese and Ella, playing games and eating cake.

A Visit from Grandma & Grandpa (Part Two)

2010-08-31T08:23:00.000-07:00

The second day of Grandma & Grandpa's visit we spent at Alki Beach. It was such a beautiful day I thought I was in California. The weather was perfect beach weather. We started off the day with burying each other's feet/legs in the sand. McKay thought it was hilarious. He loved covering my and Adam's feet in the sand and watching us "struggle" to get out.

After playing in the sand for a bit, we headed down to the water to splash around. Just like when we were in Oceanside, we had a hard time getting McKay out of the water. I couldn't believe how far out in the water he went. The water went up to his chest and he would have kept going if Adam would have let him.

We ended our time at the beach by building a sand castle.

Grandma & Grandpa were having so much fun that we talked them into staying an extra day. We decided to make the last day worth the stay by taking them to Slav's Bakery in Poulsbo. I was too busy stuffing my face to take pictures, but I got a few cute shots of McKay on the ferry boat. I think the ferry boat was his favorite part of the trip. If you come visit us plan on riding the Ferry.

A Visit from Grandma & Grandpa (Part One)

2010-08-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

Adam's parents decided to make the 14 hour drive to visit us. Well, actually they came to visit McKay. Whatever their reasons, we are so glad they made the trip. They've been to Seattle before and have seen all the major sights. We racked our brains for fun, new things to show them and this is what we came up with. The first day of their visit we took them to Snoqualmie Falls. We were going to hike down to the bottom of the falls when we discovered it is closed until March of 2013! We headed off to lunch instead.

While finding a place to eat lunch we drove by a cool train museum in Snoqualmie. After lunch we decided to check it out. And I'm glad we did. McKay loves trains and he had so much fun walking through and pretending to drive all different kinds of trains. It's also a great place for a photoshoot. I'm dying to go back once the leaves change colors and take some nice pictures of McKay.

Our Past Adventures

2010-08-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

Well, here are the promised pictures. Thanks to my wonderful husband, who discovered that my problem wasn't blogger or photobucket, it was me. All well.

8.7.2010
Last weekend was our neighborhood summer festival. It was such a fun little event. There was a petting zoo, face painting, a clown who makes balloon animals, many booths with free stuff and a bike decorating contest.

Earlier this summer we bought McKay's first tricycle so I decided that it would be fun for McKay to enter the contest with his tricycle. McKay's tricycle has a large handle bar on the back so I can push him if he gets tired. It took sometime to figure out a way to decorate the tricycle and incorporate the handle. In the end we came up with turning the handle into a ladder on a firetruck. It was fate. We happened to have a red box in the garage and Grannie had a fireman hat and little boy red suspenders in her dress-up box. The end result... one cute firetruck + one cute little fireman = 1st place in the bicycle decorating contest and one $25 gift card to Target.

8.6.2010

McKay always wants to go to the temple when Adam and I go. And we always promise to take him another time when we can go walk around the temple grounds. And we never remember. Well, we finally did and I wish we would have done it a long time ago. It was so nice to just walk around the temple grounds with McKay and enjoy the peaceful feeling of being near the temple. Plus, we loved the beautiful grounds.

7.30.2010
The day after Adam finished taking the Bar we went to the zoo to celebrate. It was nice to be all together as a family. It was easy to see how much McKay had missed having Adam around. I don't know what he is going to do once Adam goes to work full time. We ended up have a wonderful time at the zoo. We even did a few things we haven't done before. One of those new things was feeding the birds in the birdhouse. You can buy a popsicle stick with bird seed glued on it and the birds will fly down from the trees for a little snack. McKay's face lit up when the first bird landed on his stick. He loved watching it eat. I think it was my favorite time at the zoo.

6.18.2010

This was one of the last times McKay got to play with his cousins before they moved to Oklahoma. Oh, how we miss them. Anytime McKay is on his tricycle, scooter or Lightning McQueen car he tells me that he is going to Oklahoma to visit Ashlynn and Ryder. I can't wait until the day we are going to visit them (during the winter) and I can tell McKay that we really are going to Oklahoma.

7.12.2010

The Monday after our failed trip to Chelan (see below) we took McKay to see his first movie. I was a little nervous about the movie keeping his attention the whole time, but I had nothing to be concerned about. McKay loved Toy Story 3. He sat in his seat with his large tub of popcorn, giant soda, and the two boxes of candy. I would totally recommend this movie to, well, everyone. It is hilarious. It had me and my mom laughing out loud and almost in tears. We are buying it as soon as it comes out.

6.9.2010
My good friend, Diane, and her husband, Fernando, we close by in Chelan for the 4th and the following week. So, we decided to get together in Chelan for the weekend. Our car had other plans.

It turned out to be a pretty long day. We waited for a tow truck for 6 hours! Luckily we broke down in a beautiful spot, my Mom came to our rescue and we kept each other entertained. And McKay was such a trooper.

Life...

2010-08-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

Life has been a little bit hectic and stressful this last month or so. And I've let a few things drop, blogging being one of them. I'm happy to say I'm getting back on track and have several wonderful events to blog about. However, blogger is mad at me for my long absence and is punishing me by not letting me upload any pictures. Since I don't have any wonderful pictures to share right now, I thought I would update you all on life in Washington.

Adam took the Bar at the end of July, but we won't find out for sure that he passed until October! I'm confident that he passed, I'm just waiting for confirmation of what I already know. I didn't realize how stressed I was about Adam taking the Bar until the day he finished. When he walked into the house I was super giddy and a weight was lifted from my shoulders. Now it's back to the job search.

Not too much has changed for me except I've got a job. I work for a good friend and former roommate designing wedding invitations for Eastwind Creations. It's a wonderful company and if you know anyone getting married, send them our way. (They can request me too, if they want!) I really love this job because I get to decide when I work. So, I design while McKay's napping and after he goes down for the night. That way I still get to spend my days with McKay, which I love, but I get to do something for me as well.

McKay has been growing like a weed. He's also a great little talker, using full sentences most of the time. The next thing I'm hoping he'll want to learn is how to use the potty. Please wish me luck. Tips and thoughts are all welcome.

We've had a lot of fun adventures and I can't wait to share them with you. Hopefully blogger decides to forgive me soon and I'll post pictures.

July 4th Celebrations

2010-07-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July. We hope you did too.

We started the night out with some sparklers.

And then got bundled up for a great show.

I only got a couple pictures of our beautiful fountains, but it's amazing the fireworks that are legal in Washington. We had a such a great show thanks to Adam, Tyler (my cousin), and my Uncle John.

We really had a terrific 4th of July. It's was so nice to sit with family and celebrate this amazing country we live in.

2010-07-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

26 on the 26th

2010-06-28T19:50:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had such a great birthday. My parents took Adam, McKay & me to Ocean Shores for the Sand & Sawdust Competition. We drove to the coast Friday and spent Saturday in Ocean Shores checking out the wood carvings & sand castles.

Isn't that Indian just amazing. I can't believe someone made that using a chainsaw. So, I think you can guess what the competitions are, but just in case... The sand contest is a professional "sand castle" building competition. And the sawdust competition is chainsaw carving competition. We saw some pretty talented people and their creations. Then we hit the beach.

Remember, we're in Washington and the water is cold. So, I wasn't sure if McKay would want to play in the water once he felt how cold it was. I had nothing to worry about. We could not get that child out of the water. He cried when we finally dragged him to the car.

Here are the two best "sand castle".

Summertime...

2010-06-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

...And the livin' is easy.

Sunny days have been rare here in Washington, so we try to take advantage when they come around. Adam has been teaching McKay how to hit a baseball off the tee. It's been so fun to watch them together. McKay loves play baseball and I can tell he's gonna be a sports nut like his Dad.

This swing hit my camera.

Usually after getting all sweaty, playing ball, we get out the sprinkler and cool off.

I told McKay to look at my lens. He's such a good listener.

When it's really hot we get out the water slide.

The Crocodile, Elephant & Butterfly

2010-06-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the zoo with my mom, sister-in-law (Amanda) and my niece and nephew (Ashlynn & Ryder). We had a blast. We had been to the zoo a couple of weeks before this and had to come home before the kids could see the whole place. So this time we visited all the animals that we didn't have a chance to see and a couple of our favorites. But before we could do that, we did this...

...and this...

...and this.

By the time we got to looking at the animals I was done taking pictures. I'll take more next time. Yay for zoo memberships.

My Buddy & Me

2010-06-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

McKay has a cousin that's only 6 weeks younger than him named Ryder. When McKay and Ryder were newborns, Amanda (my sister-in-law) and I would talk about how we hoped they would be good buddies as they grew up. The boys haven't seen each other much the last two years. When they met up again in the beginning of May we were expecting them to be best buddies. We were wrong. The boys had a lot of miscommunication and we had to keep them apart. It was such a bummer.

Last weekend we went to my brother's house and the boys met again. I don't know what happened in the weeks between, but this time the boys became the friends we always hoped they would be. They reminded me of that jingle for the boy doll My Buddy. You know what I'm talking about... "My Buddy, my Buddy, my Buddy and me. Where ever I go he goes." You know, the boy version of Kid Sister. Well, the boys had a great weekend. I can't wait to see the adventures they have as they grow up.

John & Annie

2010-05-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's post made me think of this amazing couple. While writing about how blessed I am to have a child, it made me think of those who haven't been given that blessing yet. John & Annie haven't been able to have a child of their own and they are looking to adopt. Both John and Annie blow me away. John is such a cool, funny guy. And you can tell how much he loves Annie every time he looks at her. Annie is the sweetest, kindest and most thoughtful person. You can tell she truly cares about you from the first time you talk to her. They are going to make terrific parents.

If you know anyone who is considering adoption for a baby or toddler, please let them know about John & Annie. Click here to check out their blog & learn more about them. Please spread the word and help John & Annie find their child.

Love.

2010-05-28T13:46:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had one of those moments where you are watching your child and your heart feels like it's about to burst because it is so full of joy & love for that child? Where your heart is so full that you physically feel pain. Today, I had one of those moments. It wasn't anything big or earth-shattering. I was doing my make-up, when Adam came into the bathroom to get me. He whispered, "Quick, come here." We walked out of the bathroom and quietly crept to the banister to look out over the living room. McKay was down in the living room playing with a garbage bag. He was throwing it up in the air and watching it fall to the ground. Like I said, nothing big. It was just nice to watch him being himself, playing and happy. He is such a wonderful little boy. And today I was reminded of just how much you can love someone. While feeling this way, I was also reminded of how much Heavenly Father love us. We are his children. Needless to say, I had a nice morning.

Adam's Family Photos

2010-05-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

Here is our second family photo shoot. Adam's whole family came to Provo for his graduation. It's really hard to get the whole family in one place. We decided it would be a good opportunity to get some nice family pictures of the whole group. Michelle took these photos too. It was pouring outside and we didn't think we would get any pictures, but my genius husband thought of the law school patio. It's covered, but let's in a good amount of light. I think it was successful. What do you think?

The ones who started it all.

The big brother's family. Jared, Alicia, Ryan, Kaylee & Brennen. There are two more little girls on the way. I can't wait to meet them. I know they are just go to be so beautiful.

Adam's sister's family. Becky, Ted, Jacob, Angelice, Ben, & Holly. They are such a good looking family. They moved near us just before we left Provo. McKay had such a blast playing with his cousins. He is totally missing them.

Adam's brother's family. Andy, Callie, Emma, & Owen. We wish they lived closer too. We always have fun and eat really well when we get together.

Our family. You already know us.

Grandma & Grandpa with all the grandkids.

Finally Some Nice Family Photos

2010-05-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

During Adam's Graduation weekend we had two family photo shoots. The first one was our little family and my parents. We had a family friend, Michelle Tandy, take our family photos. Here's her website. She is an amazing photographer and she did a wonderful job. Thanks Michelle.

I love this last photo. It's so hard to get a good picture of Adam and me together.

PoPo's Birthday Extravaganza

2010-05-19T21:36:00.001-07:00

Monday was my Dad's birthday and boy does he know how to celebrate. Saturday, we went to Poulsbo and the Viking Fest. Sunday we had a family dinner with two pies and some presents. Monday night we had a nice dinner and two ice cream pies. I need to follow his lead and have a birthday weekend, heck make it a week! Here are some pictures of our Saturday outing.

We started off the day by taking the ferry to Kingston. It was a beautiful, sunny day. McKay enjoyed his first ferry ride and his first time seeing the ocean.

My cute parents, otherwise known as Grannie and PoPo on this blog. I love this picture. My parents have always been good about showing us kids how much they love each other. I still catch them kissing in the kitchen!

My handsome hubby. I just had to post this picture. He's such a good looking man. I'm so lucky to have him.

After arriving in Kingston, we drove to Poulsbo to enjoy the Viking Fest. Well, that's not completely true. We went to Poulsbo to go to Sluy's Bakery. The Viking Fest was a bonus. For those of you who don't know much about the Bishop family, we plan our vacations, excursions around food. Our first stop was the bakery and then onto Famous Dave's BBQ. Enjoy the mouth-watering pictures.

After getting a bunch of pastries we headed down to the waterfront to enjoy a little snack. I ate a cream cheese danish, a blueberry cake donut, and a sour cream cake donut. Just a little snack. Hahaha. Then we headed to the carnival where McKay got his face painted for the first time. He was so excited. He kept telling me he was getting a blue snake on his face. The lady was a nervous about painting his face because he was so young. McKay was a good sport and sat super still. In the pictures he is checking himself out in a mirror. He carried it with him for the rest of the day.

Our next stop on our trip was to Famous Dave's BBQ in Silverdale. For those of you who have never been . . . GO. It's delicious BBQ. We ordered the All-American BBQ Feast. It's BBQ chicken, shredded pork, ribs, corn on the cob, corn muffins, baked beans, fries, and coleslaw all served on a trash can lid!

We finished our day with another ferry ride. Below McKay is waving good-bye to another ferry boat. Needless to say, PoPo had a great birthday.

Friday, was Grandpa's (Adam's Dad) birthday. Happy Birthday Grandpa! We wish we could have celebrated with you too.

Magical Band-Aids

2010-05-13T13:54:00.001-07:00

McKay is at the age where kisses and band-aids are magical and will heal any ouchy. Yesterday while running around the house McKay ran into a door frame and bumped his head. Usually for head injuries I give him a kiss and off he goes, but today he was adamant that he needed a band-aid. So, I gave him one and then took pictures of my silly little boy with a band-aid in his hair.

After I took some pictures, McKay want to use his camera to take some too. McKay's camera is a little camera-shaped view finder that he got in a kids meal. Here's my future photographer.

Woodland Park Zoo

2010-05-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend we watched my niece, Ashlynn, and nephew, Ryder, while their parents went for a much needed vacation. On Friday, Grannie had a day off from work and we all got to go to the zoo.

The Woodland Park Zoo is my favorite zoo. If you've never been there I highly recommend it. There are tons of beautiful animals, but what won my heart was the animal habitats and design of the park. The habitats are so lush and green, it makes you feel like you are out in nature seeing some of these animals in the wild.

We ended up have a great trip. The kids really enjoyed themselves and were such troopers. Ryder wasn't sure about the animals. At times he seemed nervous that they were going to climb right out of there cages and follow him. However, he just loved the elephants & snakes. Ashlynn & I were buddies and she help me navigate the zoo. Her favorite animals were the zebras & penguins. McKay loved seeing all the animals and love seeing the lions & tigers.

Where are we again?

Ryder enjoying the picnic lunch.

McKay at the end of the trip. Definitely ready for a long nap.

We had such a wonderful time we got memberships. We can't wait to go back!

The Big Yellow Truck

2010-05-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

Like I mentioned in Adam's Graduation post (down below) it's been a crazy couple of weeks. We had Adam's graduation, two family photo shoots, & moving all crammed into 3 days. The two weeks before graduation Adam was taking his final finals and I was trying to pack up things in the apartment that weren't necessary for survival. The week after graduation we were unpacking and settling into our new place (a.k.a. my parents' home.)

Day One of Craziness:

- Family Photo Shoot with Grannie & PoPo

- Pick up Grandma & Grandpa Wilcox from the Airport

- Adam's Class Photo Shoot

- Running Errands for Adam's Graduation Dinner

- Taking Pictures of Adam Around Campus

- Nice Family Dinner

Day Two of Craziness:

- Frank Family Photo Shoot

- Adam's Graduation

- Adam's Graduation Dinner

Day Three of Craziness:

- Finish Packing Apartment

- Load the Big Yellow Truck

- Clean Apartment

- Drive to Boise, ID

Day Four of Craziness:

- Drive from Boise, ID to Seattle, WA with a Two Year Old Boy

On day four I finally remembered to bring out my camera and here are a few pictures of our trip. McKay was a saint! We had a portable DVD player, coloring books, toys and snacks, but we really didn't need much. McKay ended up only watching 2 movies. One each day. He colored a little and enjoyed a few snacks, but mostly he just loved listening to music and looking out the window. We did hit one snag, on day three's drive, where McKay got sick in the car a threw up. He was such a sport and was just fine after we got him all cleaned up. He still tells us about his "juice" (his name for vomit) and how it got his blanket dirty.

I got a few pictures of McKay eating his favorite snack.

On our way home we got to stop off and visit my brother and his family. Now that we live in Washington they are only three hours away. I know we are going to have a lot of fun weekends together. While at Ry's house we ate a delicious dinner of carne asada, refried beans and fresh fruit. Everything was delicious, but I have to say the refried beans were my favorite. Ry made them from scratch. After dinner we went out back to play.

When we were about 20 minutes from home we pulled over and transferred McKay's car seat to the big yellow truck. I caught his reaction in the picture below.

We made it safe and sound and are almost all settled. More posts of our new life coming soon...

He Did It!

2010-05-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted, but I have a really good excuse. Adam graduated from law school and then we packed up and moved to Washington. Needless to say, It has been a crazy few weeks.

We are so proud of Adam. McKay summed everything up perfectly, while clapping for Adam during the graduation ceremony, by saying "He did it!" Not only did Adam graduate from law school, but he did it while being a husband and father. Adam was a great student, but he never forgot what was most important, his family. He impressed me with how much time and devotion he gave to McKay and me while in school. I remember before Adam started law school so many people told me about that I was about to become a "law school widow". I never once felt that way. So, thanks Adam. And Congrats Babe, we are so proud of you!

Adam was such a good sport. He let me take him around campus to get pictures of him in his cap and gown. While taking pictures a nice man came up and offered to take a few of us together. I love the picture below. Instead of using the zoom he just got up so close to us that it was kind of uncomfortable and it cracked me up, but he ended up getting a good picture out of it.

Dying Eggs

2010-04-11T21:52:00.001-07:00

Saturday afternoon, during conference, we dyed our Easter eggs. Here are a few snapshots. McKay really enjoyed himself. The holidays get more fun every year, because each year McKay understands and enjoys them more.

Hoppy Easter

2010-04-11T07:52:00.000-07:00

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We had a great time. We were so blessed this year to have family close by. On Saturday, we met up with Adam's sister, Becky, and her family & Adam's parents to hunt for Easter eggs at Thanksgiving Point. It was super cold, but the kids had a lot of fun. We arrived a little late and McKay missed the hunt for his age group. We were walking on the field and a lady noticed we missed the hunt and gave McKay some of her son's eggs. McKay was thrilled. After getting some free eggs we enjoyed a few of the activities.

Riding the cow train. McKay loves trains right now. He had so much fun riding the train all by himself.

McKay was just dying to go down the slide, but I knew there was no way he would/could go down the slide by himself. Thank goodness Daddy was there.

A bunch of us took a bumpy train ride around the park. Below are two of my good looking nephews, Jacob & Ben. I can't wait for McKay to have a brother.

General Conference & Packets

2010-04-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again . . . General Conference. I'm so excited to listen to this men.

What makes it even more exciting is that this year it's on Easter weekend. Now that McKay is a little older I thought it would be fun to find a General Conference packet for this weekend. I did a little searching and hit the jackpot. I thought that I would share the love and post a couple of links to the best games and packets I found.

The church is now making it's own conference packets and games. You can find them all here.

Here's another conference packet, made by a former Primary President. Her new calling is make these packets for her ward. You can find her packet here.

This final website is a great resource, not only for conference packets, but for many church callings. The website is called Sugar Doodle. It has links to helps, handouts, games, activities, clip art, music, etc. for any calling in Primary, Young Women, & Relief Society. If you want to use this resource for something other than conference packets go here. For the General Conference packet page go here. This website has their own amazing packets (for Junior Primary, Senior Primary, & Youth) and links to other websites with their own packets here.

Enjoy the links and conference.

Video Overload

2010-04-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

McKay had so much fun while Grannie was in town. And Grannie was kind enough to document their time together. Here are a few videos of what McKay was up to last week. Enjoy...
This first video is of McKay enjoying Guitar Hero. At Christmas Adam and I got a Wii. We only have a few games and Guitar Hero is McKay's favorite. He even has a favorite song, Ring of Fire, by Johnny Cash. Since McKay can't play it he grabs his own guitar and goes to town, while Adam or I play the game. I'm dreading the day he wants to play with the real guitar.

This year I started a children's music group. Last week I couldn't go, so Grannie took McKay. My wonderful friend, Debbie, ran the class and my Mom got video of McKay singing on of the songs.

This last video is of McKay playing in the grass outside our apartment. His new favorite activity is throwing pine cones.

A Bump in the Road

2010-03-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

I've debated a lot about whether or not I should write this post. Since you are reading this I guess you know what I've decided. My favorite blogs are where you get an actual peek into another person's life, the good and the bad. So, here is what's been going on with us...

In the beginning of March, Adam and I found out we were pregnant. We were thrilled. We had been wanting another baby for quite sometime. About a week later I began spotting. I was nervous, but when I called the doctor I was told not to worry. After four days of spotting I began to worry, so did the doctors. They had me go to a lab to get my blood tested. They were checking my blood for a hormone, hcg, that a woman only produces when she is pregnant. If everything is going well the hcg levels should about double over a couple of days. If I was having a miscarriage then the levels would drop or stay the same. If there was something else wrong the levels would be higher, just not high enough. Two days later, I returned to the lab and had my blood tested again.

Sunday night, after having my blood drawn for the second test, I started to have pains on only my right side. This worried me because having sharp pains on only one side of your abdomen can be a sign of an ectopic pregnancy. The pain got so intense that it started to shoot down my leg. Around 11:30pm we decided it was time to go to the hospital. My wonderful friend, Lindsey, came over and spent the night on our couch, so we could leave McKay at home. After waiting in the ER waiting room for what seemed like an eternity, we made it into the ER. (Randomly, we ended up with the same room and same nurse we had when Adam went to the ER in October of 2008)

After meeting with the doctor and getting some morphine I was feeling really good. I told the doctor that I had been spotting for a couple of days, but that I was more concerned with the pain on my right side. The doctor said I was only 5 weeks along and that usually a person wouldn't feel an ectopic pregnancy until around 7-12 weeks. (The fetus would be too small to cause pain.) He said that he wasn't going to rule it out all together, because there have been a few cases where it is detected earlier. He decided to get some blood tests run and give me an ultrasound.

Real quick, for those of you who don't know... an ectopic pregnancy is when the fertilized egg implants itself some place other than the uterus. Usually, in an ectopic pregnancy, the egg implants in the fallopian tube.There is no way to save an ectopic pregnancy. It cannot turn into a normal pregnancy. If the egg keeps growing in the fallopian tube, it can damage or burst the tube and cause heavy bleeding that could be deadly.

The ultrasound confirmed that I did, indeed, have an ectopic pregnancy. And that the spotting I had been having was blood pooling in my pelvis. By the time I had the ultrasound, my tube had already burst and was beyond saving. I needed to have surgery to take out the tube and the baby. Right after talking with the doctor I was prepped for surgery. By now it was early Monday morning.

The surgery went well and I was able to go home Monday night. My mom flew in from Washington to help out with McKay, since I'm not allowed to lift anything over 20 lbs. When we got home we had a delicious meal waiting for us, made by another wonderful friend, Jenn. My mom stayed the whole week. She was amazing. Thanks Mom for all your help.

It's been a week since everything has happened and I've had some time to reflect. First, I'm truly grateful that everything is okay. I am healing well and should be able to have more children without much trouble. McKay was a little shaken up, but he had a ton of fun with Grannie and seems to be back to his old tricks. Second, Adam and I have used this trial to strengthen our relationship and our trust in the Lord. We have had moments of sadness for the loss of this child, but we have been comforted by the knowledge that everything happens for a reason. Our Heavenly Father knows us and knows what we can endure. Without this knowledge, I know I would be worse off. One thing that has surprised me during this trial is the joy and happiness that I have felt. For the most part, I have been truly happy. And I know that is because of the gospel.

I hope that you don't mind that I shared this story with you. I was afraid of sharing too much information, making you feel uncomfortable, or making you feel sorry for me. I truly am doing well and just wanted to give you a glimpse into our lives. We love you all and want to share our lives with you, since so many of you have shared your lives with us.

Enjoying the Sunshine

2010-03-27T08:49:00.001-07:00

Like the picture says, "Can you tell what we've been doing?". The weather has been so funky here in Utah. One day it's snowing, the next day it's sunny and warm. We've been trying to take advantage of the warmer weather and the little patch of grass outside our apartment. We took McKay outside to play with his bubbles, but after a little bit McKay was more entertained by the pine cones.

A Little Bit of Green

2010-03-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

A very late update on St. Patrick's Day. McKay had a great day. He was the only one in the family who remembered to wear green. Good thing he doesn't know about the pinching tradition on St. Patrick's Day. I think this is the last year Adam and I will be safe. To make the day a little more special and exciting... a leprechaun came our way during McKay's nap. He left a hat full of green goodies.

I've heard of a really fun tradition for St. Patrick's that I think we can do next year. I found it at The Idea Room. I love this blog. It is full of fun family traditions, crafts ideas, and more. Any way the tradition is really cute. The night before St. Patrick's day, you make a black pot and fill it green paper and broccoli for a leprechaun. Everyone knows leprechauns can't resist anything green. Next you build a trap for the leprechaun. In the morning the pot and the broccoli are gone and there's nothing in the trap. There are green little footprints that lead to a hidden clue, that leads to another clue, that eventually leads to the pot, now filled with Rolos, Hershey's Kisses, and any other gold & silver wrapped candy. So, what do you think? I love this tradition and can't wait to do it next year.

Innocence.

2010-03-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

We have this picture hanging on the wall, in the living room, above our couch.

One Day, McKay asked about this picture... so we took it as an opportunity to teach him about Joseph Smith & the First Vision. We taught him that the man kneeling in the background is Joseph Smith, a prophet. When he was a boy, he prayed to Heavenly Father and Jesus. And when he was praying Heavenly Father and Jesus came down and visited him. We then began to explain to McKay that Heavenly Father and Jesus are in the light, in the picture. That we can't see them in the painting, but they are up above in the light.

The next day...

McKay stood on the couch and pointed to Joseph Smith and said, "Prophet." A little bit later he pointed to the light on our ceiling fan, in the living room, and said, "Jesus, in light." Since then we have taught McKay that Jesus isn't in the light in the living room. Now McKay says, "Jesus no in light", while point to the light on the fan. Man, I love this little boy.

Proud.

2010-03-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of my amazing husband. This last weekend we found out that he will be receiving an award at the Annual Awards Banquet & Barristers Ball. He will be receiving the ABA-BNA Award for Excellence Program, which is presented to the top students in Copyright Law. Basically he's getting an award for getting a 4.0 in his Copyright & Trademark class. This is the field of law that he wants to go into. So, this is definitely going on his resume. Congrats Babe, I am so proud of you and all the hard work you put into school. You amaze me. You are a terrific father and a great student. I love you.

For Those of You Who Didn't Know...

2010-03-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

... We are moving to Washington. No, we don't have a job yet, but we want to end up in Washington, so we figured we should just move there. We are so excited for this new adventure. However, we will always have a spot in our hearts for Utah. This is where we met, got married and started our family. We are also going to miss all of the wonderful friends we made here. So, if you are ever up in Washington feel free to stop by.

Splish, Splash

2010-02-20T20:29:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I made a fun discovery at the store...crayons for the bath. McKay's two loves, coloring and baths, are now combined. This is the result...

Thoughtful.

2010-02-11T20:22:00.000-08:00

My sweet husband brought these home for me today. I'm so lucky to have such a sweet and thoughtful husband. (No these aren't for Valentine's day, they are because Adam loves me and he is super thoughtful.)

Spreading the Love

2010-02-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

I decided that it would be a fun activity for McKay and I to make valentines for his grandparents. We spent the morning cutting, coloring, placing stickers, and decorating with glitter glue. We had such a wonderful time together. I really enjoyed spending the morning with McKay. I loved watching him concentrate as he colored his hearts. And I love that when I would ask him if he wanted a new marker he would say, "No, still coloring." McKay did everything for his valentines, except cut out the hearts. He even helped hold the glitter glue while I put it on the valentine. I need to find more things like this for us to do together.

The Dark Divine Dinner

2010-02-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I went to a book club party that my friend, Debbie, was hosting. It was such a fun evening. The book that was discussed that evening was The Dark Divine by Bree Despain. The story is about the daughter of a local pastor, who sees a childhood friend, in her high school art class, for the first time in three years, since he just disappeared one day. A scene in the book takes place during Thanksgiving dinner. So, we started the night off with a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner we had a soap carving contest & best The Dark Divine pedicure contest. (See pictures below.) And we ended the night with a q&a with the author. Yes you heard me right. Bree joined the group to answer questions about the book. It was interesting talking with the author of a book, finding where her ideas came from and her writing process. Thanks Debbie for a fantastic evening.

(Read the book and you'll get it.)

The author & the rest of the group.

Just What I Needed

2010-02-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

Last week, I was feeling pretty down and wallowing in self pity, when there was a knock at my door. When I opened the door, this is what I found, in the hands of a sweet friend, Misty. Misty made a fun craft or treat for her friends who commented on her 200th post. What Misty didn't know was that she was an answer to my prayers.

Earlier during the day I had to deal with the government, filling out forms. While talking to a worker on the phone, I found out that it looked very likely that we would no longer be receiving some help that we used the whole time Adam's been in school. Well, this really wasn't that big of a deal since Adam, would be done with school in only a few months and we will no longer be using government help. But it was frustrating and just added to a few other things that I have been stressing about. In self pity and selfishness I got down on my knees and said a prayer. I asked Heavenly Father for a kind act. I asked him to send someone my way to cheer me up, to let me know that he was aware of me & my struggles. A few hours later, Misty was knocking on my door.

I'm a little embarrassed to share my selfish request. And I'm determined that next time I am feeling down, that I will be the person doing the service. So, I only tell this story for a few reasons...
1. To let Misti know she was an answer to a prayer and thank her. (It's not very often that we know how we have helped someone.)
2. To share a special story of Heavenly Father's love and awareness of each and everyone of us.

P.S. Yes, those cupcakes were delicious. And I stole the picture from Misti's blog.

2010-01-30T08:03:00.000-08:00

Ever since McKay was born, I've sung "You Are My Sunshine" to him. I usually sing it to him when he is upset, using the song to help calm him down. It never really worked. Most time McKay would continue to cry through the song and only stop when he got what he wanted or in his own good time. I began to think that he really didn't like the song and associated it with being hurt, mad or upset. The other night McKay and I were laying in his "Big Boy" bed, to calm down before going to bed in his crib. He asked me to sing songs with him. So, I began to sing "You Are My Sunshine" and to my surprise McKay began to sing with me. He mostly would sing the word at the end of each line. After we finished singing, he said, "Like it". It just melted my heart. Even though he would usually cry through the song, I guess he found it comforting. The last couple nights we have be singing before going to sleep.

Saturday Morning Shave

2010-01-24T12:38:00.000-08:00

Almost every Saturday morning, Adam shaves. And almost every Saturday morning McKay watches Adam shave. Recently, Adam has been giving McKay a little shaving cream on his finger. This Saturday McKay put some on his face. It gave me an idea. I decided it was time for McKay's first shave. We helped him put shaving cream on his face and then gave him one of my razors, with the cap on. This is the result...

...one cleanly shaven two year old.

In Need of a Haircut

2010-01-18T12:35:00.000-08:00

What do you think . . . Do we look like twins? I think I need a haircut!

Treasure Trove

2010-01-13T12:37:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to remember this quirky & endearing habit of McKay's. Recently McKay's favorite toy is his Lightning McQueen Ride On Toy. (That's what Target calls it!) Anyway, McKay loves grabbing onto the back of Lightning and Run up and down our hall. His other favorite thing to do with Lightning is put his favorite trinkets in the compartment under the seat. Enjoy a peek at McKay's little treasure chest...

I hope you've enjoyed your peek into McKay's world...

2010-01-01T17:52:00.001-08:00

We wish you all a Happy New Year. I'm not much of a New Year's Resolution person. And if I do think of some resolutions usually they are the typical... get in shape, do a better job of reading my scriptures, etc. This year I decided to actually make some resolutions, here are two that I thought I would share.

1. Be nicer (Be more kind & Christlike.)

2. Be a better, more consistent blogger.

Christmas Morning Merriment

2009-12-29T16:56:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas morning. I was so excited for Christmas this year because McKay understood presents. As far as the whole idea of Christmas, we are still working on it. It was a ton of fun to see McKay's face when he saw all the presents under the tree. I tried to get a picture, but it doesn't do it justice.

McKay had a great time opening and playing with his presents. I was worried it would take all morning because McKay would want to play with each present before opening a new one. Adam did a great job taking the new toy and switching it for a present. Once McKay got everything open (Adam and I went a little overboard this year!) he has so much fun playing with each and every one of them.

When naptime arrived, McKay was tuckered out, but he still wanted to play. Here he is watching his Cars track, while laying on his Cars pillow.

Christmas Eve Festivities

2009-12-28T14:30:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We went up to Idaho to visit Adam's parents. We were the only family visiting this year and McKay loved having his Grandma & Grandpa all to himself. We started our Christmas Eve off by building a gingerbread house. It was not the most beautiful house, we could barely get it to stand up! (Note the "A" frame design.) But we had a great time building it. McKay was such a good helper. I expected most of the candy to go into his mouth instead of on the house, but he didn't eat much candy. He did, however, lick every piece of candy before putting it on the house.

(Testing/Tasting the Cement/Icing.)

Once our masterpiece was finished and safe on the kitchen counter, Grandma took McKay downstairs to finish decorating the Christmas tree. Grandma saved a few ornaments for McKay so that he could help decorate the tree. McKay loved it. He had such a fun time hanging ornaments & playing with the ones already on the tree. Thanks Grandma.

We ended the night by letting McKay open one Christmas present. Well, he opened one from Mom & Dad and one from Grandma & Grandpa. It's a tradition in my family to open one present on Christmas Eve. McKay got Disney's Cars p.j.'s from Adam & me and a book from Grandma & Grandpa.

Cherubs Christmas Party

2009-12-23T08:18:00.001-08:00

This year I started a fun little singing group for McKay and a few other children his age. McKay has had a blast meeting once a week to sing songs, reading stories & eat yummy snacks. This last week we had our Christmas party. We sang Christmas songs...

...played games...

...opened presents...

...ate delicious Christmas goodies...

... and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Yummy Food & Christmas Lights

2009-12-22T22:07:00.000-08:00

We had the ultimate Family Home Evening this Monday. We celebrated Adam finishing his first semester in his third year of law school by eating dinner at Tucanos. For those of you who do not know, Tucanos is a delicious Brazilian restaurant where you can go to a fancy buffet and get salads, sides, soups, etc. And then waiters bring delicious meat to your table on swords. We used Adam's birthday club discount & his meal was free. He also got a free yummy, little ice cream sundae. McKay is our little carnivore and he chowed down all of my steak. Every time a piece of red meat hit my plate McKay was asking for "steak" or "snake".

After a delicious dinner we headed up to Temple Square to see all the Christmas lights. Whenever we are out driving at night with McKay all we hear from the back seat is "lights!" So we thought McKay would have a blast at Temple Square with all the lights. But the train ride (Trax) from the mall to Temple Square was the highlight of the night. McKay cried when we had to get off the train to go to the car. On the drive home all McKay talked about was the train. Oh well. At least he had a good time.

(I love the reflection pond with all the lights and the nativity scene. I think it's my favorite part of all the Christmas decorations & lights.)

Surprise Santa

2009-12-19T21:45:00.000-08:00

I walked into Robert's determined to be quick, grab my needed crafting items and return to the car where my sweet husband and little boy were waiting. I took a few steps and I hear "Merry Christmas". I looked around there he was, Santa Claus. I hadn't even notice him sitting there greeting everyone who entered the store. This unexpected sight brought a huge smile to my face. For a few seconds I felt like a little kid again. Santa wished me a Merry Christmas. Well, that didn't. I grabbed my sweet husband (who hates craft stores) & my baby boy to see Santa & Mrs. Claus.

McKay was a little nervous, but Mrs. Claus gave him a candy cane and we posed for a quick picture. This surprise Santa made my day!

(By the way: What is Mrs. Claus's first name?)

The Cake's On Fire

2009-12-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad this man was born. He is the sweetest, most handsome, wonderful man and he's all mine. Babe, I hope you enjoyed your birthday.

I know it's hard to see, because of ALL the candles on Adam's cake, but ths picture is of Adam and McKay getting ready to blow out the candles.

The Birthday Cake

2009-12-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures of McKay's birthday cake. I had a blast making it. This is my third fondant cake and I'm definitely learning new things every time I make one. I just wish I had more occasions to make them! For those of you who care, it tasted delicious. My wonderful mom baked the cakes, while I made filling, butter cream icing & Lightening. She is a terrific baker! Thanks for the yummy cakes Mom.

It made my day when I got to watch McKay's face light up with recognition and excitement, when he saw his cake. He even tried to drive the fondant Lightening McQueen on the table! He is totally obsessed with Cars. It was the first movie he would sit through and watch. He doesn't watch it as much now, but he loves playing with anything cars. For his birthday Adam and I got McKay Mack (Lightening's Semi-Truck). Every night before McKay goes to bed he gives Mack a hug good-night.

Terrible Twos?

2009-11-30T21:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to our wonderful, sweet little boy. McKay we love having you in our family. You light up a room with your sweet smiles and infectious laugh. We are so proud of the little boy that you are becoming. And what a little boy you are, playing with trucks, cars & balls. But the thing that we love the most about you is your sweet spirit. We love you and look forward to many more fun years with you.

Two Year Stats:

Head - 19 inches (42.2%)

Weight - 24.69 Pounds (14.77%)

Height - 34.6 inches (66.3%)

Leaves are Falling All Around

2009-11-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago a good friend, Lindsey, and I took our boys out for some fun pictures in the fall leaves. Here are a few cute shots that I got. Lindsey has a super awesome camera. It's actually my dream camera right now... a Nikon D90. Some day I will own it. Until then, Lindsey has been so kind to let me play with hers. Enjoy.

(This is Landon, Lindsey sweet little boy. Isn't he a cutie!?!)

I love to save my favorite picture for last.

Traditions

2009-11-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

Today, Adam and I took McKay to the mall to build his first Build-A-Bear. McKay chose to build Frosty the Snowman. He absolutely loves him and carries him everywhere, just like his blanket.

So, when we were at the mall, I noticed a few things... they were already putting up Christmas decorations, a lot of the stores already had Christmas decor in their windows, the Hickory Farms stand was up, & there were hot nuts! I love the smell, the decor and everything. (It may be a little early, but I still love it.) The holidays bring a warmth to my heart & a big smile to my face. I can't wait for the day to have Thanksgiving dinner at my house and wake up Christmas morning in my bed. I love hosting events and just never have a reason or the room to have one. So, until that day comes I do what I can.

I've decided to have a craft or activity, that McKay and I can do together, each day leading to Thanksgiving & Christmas. Besides that I've been thinking now is the time to start some fun family traditions. This is where you come in...What are some of your favorite family traditions for both Thanksgiving & Christmas? I would love to hear what you did as a family that stuck with you and really meant a lot. And maybe it will become one of our family's new traditions.

Our Hardened Criminal

2009-11-02T08:34:00.000-08:00

McKay got his first temporary tatoo. Now he's our hardened criminal.

Treat!

2009-11-01T19:44:00.001-08:00

McKay's first Halloween was a success. In the first picture below, I'm getting McKay ready to go out (drawing the bruise on his face). The next two pictures are of the finished product. McKay made the cutest boxer I've ever seen.

We started off the night by going to the mall to Trick-or-Treat, with Matt, Corinne, Eva & Asher (Adam's cousin's family). There McKay learn the phrase of the night, "Treat". Every time we would come to a store I would tell McKay to say Trick-or-Treat and every time "Treat" was the only word that would come out of his mouth. He knew what the most important word was. After we hit every store in the mall we all went to McDonald's for a quick cheap dinner.

Then we headed to Matt & Corinne's neighborhood to do a little more trick-or-treating. Everyone in their neighborhood was so nice. McKay had such a great time. His bucket got so full that Adam or I had to hold it for him. So, if people put his candy in his bucket instead of handing it to him, he would look at them like they forgot something. Besides learning to say "Treat" at the doors he added two more phrases for the night, "Thank You" and "Ween". "Ween" was to McKay trying to say Happy Halloween. Most times upon leaving a house he would say all three, "Thank you, treat, ween." (Usually in that order.)

I think Adam and I had as much fun as McKay. It was so neat to watch his face light up every time he got a piece of candy. And he loves it when I bring out his bucket and let him pick a piece of candy or two for the day. He's growing up way too fast. First "real" Halloween, check!

Not Quite Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-31T07:38:00.001-07:00

Last night, we decided to carve our pumpkins. Early this week we received a Halloween package from Grannie with a really fun & clean way to decorate our pumpkins. Grannie sent McKay a kit with a bunch of scary plastic eyes, nose, ears, & mouths that stick on a pumpkin. We were going to let McKay use it to decorate his pumpkin and then when he was in bed we were going to carve our pumpkins. However, with the busy week we've had we all decided to use the kit to decorate our pumpkins. McKay picked out the pieces for everyone's pumpkin and then helped put them on. He loved decorating his first Halloween pumpkin. How do you think they turned out?

McKay working on his pumpkin.

McKay & his finished pumpkin.

Helping Dad create his pumpkin.

Dad's finished pumpkin.

My finished pumpkin.

Our Pumpkin Family.

Frozen Cornmaze

2009-10-30T14:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we went to Cornbelly's corn maze at Thanksgiving Point. We met our friends, Jared, Lindsey & their adorable little boy Landon, there. It was freezing cold, but we all had a good time, even the kids. Landon was smiling away, bundled up in his blanket. While McKay was running around the maze, throwing corn & trying to eat it. After conquering the maze, we warmed up by the fire and roasted marshmallows for S'mores.

Jared, Lindsey & Landon

Love these signs. They had them all over the place.

Adam lighting our marshmallow on fire! Yummy.

McKay tasting his first S'more. He loved it.

My Cake Decorating Class

2009-10-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

This month I've been taking Wilton's Cake Decorating Course 1 with a friend, Debbie. It's been a blast. Besides learning icing techniques, I've learned a lot of fun tips and tricks about cakes. I definitely want to take the other courses, but maybe in a couple of months. So, if anyone wants to join me, let me know. Here is a picture of 1 of the cakes I did for class. I used my second cake for a Ding-Dong Ditch, so I can't post a picture of it. (It was a super cute fall cake! I wish I could so it off.) Yesterday, I was supposed to make a cake, but I just ran out of time. So, normally you'll do 3 cakes for the class.

Spooky Eye Cake

Pumpkin Picking

2009-10-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Last month our ward had a Relief Society Service Auction and I won a pumpkin for every member of our family and dinner with the Roses. So, the other night we cashed in and we got to go pick out our pumpkins with the Roses. Jen's parent's have a farm and pumpkin patch. They bring all the pumpkins to their house and then sell them. We had a blast hanging out with the Roses picking our pumpkins and collecting gourds and Indian corn. McKay had a fun time playing with Sarah and the wagons. Thanks Jen for taking pictures of our family. I'll post them later. For right now, here's a picture of McKay saying, "Cheese." for Jen. Isn't he such a cutie!?!

Frank Family Halloween Party

2009-10-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

Last night was McKay's first real Halloween party. After searching and searching for a costume we found him one. Let's see if you can guess what he is. It's kind of hard, because he is missing pieces of the costume. He won't always keep the whole thing on. Corrine, Adam's Cousin-in-Law, put on a super spooky Halloween party. We started off the night guessing how many skittles were in a jar. Adam won! We now have a jar full of delicious skittles. After everyone arrived the kids colored pumpkins...

After the kids finished their pumpkins, we had a cake walk...

McKay ate his frosting and then he was done. Next up, was Pin-the-Nose on the Witch...

We finished of the night with songs, goodies bags and The Nightmare Before Christmas. McKay loved the movie, which surprised me.

Thanks for a fun party Corinne.

Craziness & Catching-Up

2009-10-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

Life has been a little crazy recently. It all started about three weeks ago. McKay's two year molars started to come in and it would wake him up in the middle of the night. And for some reason he wouldn't go back to sleep like he did with all his other teeth. So needless to say, Adam and I were losing sleep. I mean really losing sleep, most nights McKay would stay awake for at least two hours before becoming exhausted enough to fall back asleep.

Then last week McKay caught a virus. And on Wednesday on our way home from a short drive through Provo Canyon, McKay threw up (3 times all over himself & my arm!) Poor kid. He had had a low fever the week before and I thought it was due to his teeth. But after he threw up he fever went up and stayed that way for a couple of days. On Thursday, McKay's fever still hadn't gone down so we took him to the doctors. The doctor tested him for strep and then when the test came back negative he decided that McKay had a virus and it just had to run it course.

Also, while at the doctors we showed him a funny rash that we noticed the same day he threw up. (I've noticed it a couple of times before). The doctor called it a petechial rash. It could just be caused by the virus, but he wasn't sure so we had McKay's blood drawn and tested. The rash could also be related to a low platelet count, which could mean other, more serious problems. On Friday morning the doctor called to let us know that McKay's platelets were a medium to medium-low and that he was okay. But if the rash doesn't go away in two weeks or shows up again we need to test his blood again. So, keep your fingers crossed. For now, the rash seems to be going away.

Some good news... McKay's fever broke and he's acting like himself again. Some even better news... he has slept through the night for three nights now! I forgot how much I love sleep, until McKay reminded me. Now, I'm much for grateful for those uninterrupted nights.

So, I bet you are wondering about the cookies. These are one of my favorite cookies...chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. And to me they represent everything wonderful about Fall. They are filled with tons of yummy spices, so when I smell and taste them it's like smelling and tasting Fall. It's Fall in a cookie. So, I made a batch to give away and I've almost eaten all of them. Oops, I guess I need to make some more.

In other news...here are a few pictures of McKay, Sunday morning before church. He found his mittens and hat and just had to wear them. He ran around the house like this for about 30 minutes.

McKay loves taking pictures with Adam's phone. It's been a great way to distract him while I'm trying to make a phone call. (McKay loves talking on the phone and will take to anyone. Sometimes, I just don't want him to talk on the phone...like when talking to a doctor or whatever. Adam will use his phone to distract him.) Now, when I take out my camera he wants to take the pictures. Here's one he took with a little help from me. I held the camera still, while he pushed the button. Just a side note: When I was McKay's age my eyes were dark brown, just like his. I wonder if his eyes will change color too.

Last and probably my favorite...Here is a video of McKay. This is right before he is going to watch Winne-the-Pooh's Halloween Heffalump Movie. McKay can't say heffalump, he says seppalup. This cracks me up because heffalump is supposed to be the easy way for children to say elephant. And McKay can't say either. Enjoy.

Five

2009-10-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

5 Things I Don’t Leave the House Without
1. Debit Card.
2. Cell Phone.
3. Keys.
4. Driver's License.
5. Chapstick.

5 Cartoons I Watched When I was Younger
1. Scooby-Doo.
2. Smurfs.
3. Chip & Dale's Resuce Rangers.
4. Duck Tales.
5. Tale Spin.

5 Things that Terrify Me
1. Spiders.
2. Scary Movies.
3. Something super bad happening to a family member.
4. Drinking milk after the expiration date!
5. A burglar breaking into my house in the middle of the night.

5 Things I Hate that Everyone Else Seems to Like
1. Chocolate Cake
2. Seafood
3. Shopping
4. Chocolate Milk
5. Decorating (It's a love/hate relationship...if I were better at it I think I would love it.)

5 Things I Want to Do Before I Die
1. Watch my children grow up and have families of their own. (Stole it from Debbie.)
2. Live in England. (Again.)
3. Travel around Europe.
4. Go on a mission.
5. Do a U.S. Histiry tour on the East Coast.

5 Friends I'll Tag
1. Amanda
2. Diane
3. Sarah
4. Jessica
5. Lindsey

Learn Something New Everyday

2009-10-02T17:13:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned that crayon writes on almost anything. . .paper, kitchen floors, and even carpet. Thanks McKay for teaching me something new. And thanks Crayola for making washable crayons. Green carpet is just not appealing. I wonder what new things I will learn tomorrow.

Rise & Shout

2009-09-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Way to go Cougars! Hopefully they're getting back into the groove of things. I wanted to post this cute picture after the BYU/Oklahoma game, but it didn't exist. So, I got a picture before the Florida game, but couldn't bring myself to post it after the horrible lost. I figured that now was as good as time as any. So, here's our little Cougar fan.

Aloha

2009-09-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

On Monday, we went to a Labor Day Luau at Thanksgiving Point. We all had a great time. Adam got to load up his dinner plate with tons of yummy Hawaiian food. McKay loved walking around the gardens and clapping for the Polynesian dancers. And I was happy because my two boys were happy.

When we pulled off the freeway into Lehi we hit a ton of traffic heading for the Luau. After finding a sweet spot to lay down our blanket, we went and loaded up our plates with food. McKay actually ate! Because there were so many people the dinner started at 5:30 and the show didn't start until 7:15. They wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to eat before the show. After we ate, we head to the gardens. I've never been to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens until now and they were beautiful. I definitely want to go back. Then we headed back for a 2 hours show of Polynesian dances. They ended the show with a fire dancer. It was a terrific night.

Remembering

2009-09-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a minute to post what has been on my mind all day. I want to remember and honor those who lost their lives on September 11th, 2001. I want to celebrate those who fought back, the heroes who risked their lives to save others' lives, and those who still risk their lives, across the world, everyday, to keep us safe. Thank you and I will never forget.