New way to ride...

Since Addysen is getting so good at sitting up, I decided it was time for a seating change. We've started leaving the carseat behind and have been using the stroller and front of the cart much more.

I have to say, trips to the library and wal-mart are much more pleasant...and longer...now that Addysen has a new view of things.

Here is today's trip to the library...


And in the cart at Wal-Mart...


And since I didn't have a blog when Elodie was this old...Elodie's first ride in the stroller, same age.


How funny...after seeing these 2 pictures next to each other, I noticed Elodie and Addysen have the same expression in these pictures...it even looks like their little tongues are doing the exact same thing! Craziness!

Back to our roots...

We bought our tickets to go home to Louisiana tonight!!! I am so excited to go home and spend time with my family and friends. Me and the girls will be there for 2 weeks and Christopher will stay for one week. Somebody has to get home to pay for these plane tickets!

We got a pretty good deal on airfare but having to pay for 3 plane tickets was pricey! It's like when we were ready to buy our package to Disneyland...do I really want to spend my money on THIS? It's alot of money to spend all in one place! There are so many other places I could spend this money. There's no question...seeing my family will be worth it! We will be there for my Paw Paw's 95th birthday, my 28th birthday, we will get to go to an LSU game...it's going to be so much fun!

So mark your calendars Louisiana....I'll be seeing you on October 29th!

Audrey's Baby Shower

We are getting good at throwing parties! My sweet friend Audrey is having her 3rd baby in less than 2 weeks and Melissa, Jen, and I decided to throw her a shower..it's what we do. Really, any reason to have a party is good enough for us. We decided on a breakfast shower and had my egg casserole, Jen made muffins and fruit, and Melissa made cinnamon rolls! Everyone was making fun because I had put "a light breakfast would be served" on the invitations...it was hardly light!

We love you Audrey and can't wait to meet little Eli!

NOT my idea of a date night...

Last night Chris and I went on a date. 2 other girls in my ward and I decided to do a swap every friday night. We all have girls close in age and thought it would be fun to let them play together on Friday nights while the parents get to go out. Last night was our date night.

Christopher had a ball game at 7pm...I know what you are thinking....this doesn't apply to the title of this post. I actually enjoy watching Chris play ball and since the games start after the girls bedtime, I don't get to go that often. I was actually really excited to go watch him play. Takes me back to our without kid days in Snowflake when Chris was playing ball 3 or 4 nights a week. Since his ball game was only a hour, we decided we would go get ice-cream or something after his game. Nothing fancy but isn't it about time?

So, we drop the girls off at Annie's and headed to the ball game. We were about 20 minutes early to the game so we just sat in the stands while Chris put his shoes on.
Occasionally, Christopher's team needs a sub. One of the guys on the list is a guy we knew from our old ward. We found out that he was coming to help out the team but had to bring his son because his wife had to work...

I'm sure you can see where this story is headed. He shows up with his son who is running all over the place. My first thought was "What the heck is he going to do with his almost 2 year old?!?" This would be example number one for a mans way of thinking when it comes to sports and their kids! He probably thought nothing of this situation. Surely his son would sit nicely in the dug out and not cause any problems! RIGHT! I didn't say anthing...

A while later, while the team was warming up, I can see HIM making his way over to me with his son in hand....at this point I should have gotten up and made a run for it but I didn't. Of course he came over and asked if I could watch his son during the game....and what am I suppose to say to that? I had one of those moments you see on tv where the world stops and the main character gets to speak their mind without anyone hearing! This is what I wanted to say..."No, I'll pass thanks. I left my girls with a sitter so I could come alone and enjoy watching my husband play ball. This may not look like a date to you but it is! I hardly ever get to come to his games because my girls are in bed early and I really want to sit here and relax. Really, you should have not brought your son with you because seriously, what were you planning to do with him? I'm sorry, I can't help you!"
Of course, that didn't happen. What my brain wanted to say and what came out of my lips was 2 completely different things. Before I knew it, my mouth was saying "SURE! I don't mind"

UGH!

Besides my hour being completely ruined because I was chasing (LITERALLY!) a 2 year old and trying to keep him from getting on the fields and into the dug outs, there were a few other things that bothered me about this situation. SERIOUSLY! What was he thinking? Did he really think his son would sit quietly while he played ball. And what if I hadn't been there? Would he have just asked anyone to watch his kid? I'm sure he didn't even think "Hey, she doesn't have her kids here with her, I shouldn't bother her to watch mine." What would I have done if I had brought Elodie and Addysen with me!?! I'm sure he would have still asked..."You're already watching your 2 kids..what's one more?!"

It bothers me that he was so out of touch and inconsiderate. He was there to play ball and that's it! And it didn't matter that my night was disrupted....and how do you tell someone no without looking like the jerk! Isn't he the jerk for asking? And the other problem was he was the teams 9th player. There was one point in the game (about 30 minutes in) that the little boy started SCREAMING for his dad. I wasn't letting him on to the field and he was not liking me. Had I have thrown my hands up and said ENOUGH! Take your stinkin' kid, he would have had to come out of the game and the team would have had to forfeit because they didn't have enough players.

How mortified would you be if you knew your husband pawned your kid off on someone so they could play ball!

Christopher felt bad. He wanted to say something but I wouldn't let him. What good does that do really. It didn't completely ruin the night. Christopher did hit a home run for me and then he took me to Target to roam the isles with a coke in hand.

I don't know if our next Friday night date will include me going to the game. What would happen if he showed up again with his kid? I'd run for sure!

Quick Trip

No, not the gas station...although we do love a drink from there and we did stop at QT on our way out of town..anyway!

We went up to Snowflake yesterday afternoon for a quick trip to the temple with Chris' sister Kasey. It was her first time through and we were happy we could be there with her as she opened this new chapter in her life. We left home at 2:30pm,got to Snowflake at 5:30pm, dropped the girls off with our adopted family the Schneider's (we love you guys and thanks again for watching the girls-Addysen was crying this morning and Elodie said it was because she missed Grandma Shell), and raced over to the Temple for the 6:30pm session. Got out at 8:30pm, went back to the Schneiders, visited, packed up the girls, got home at 12:30am, and had everyone tucked in and sound asleep by 1am. UGH! See what I mean by quick trip! Elodie didn't understand that we were going to Snowflake but she wouldn't see any of her cousins and we weren't spending the night.

Even though it was a quick trip, we enjoyed being in the Temple with family.
I know Kasey has worked hard to get here and we are so proud of her.
Left to Right...Chris, Me, Uncle Ben and Aunt Jackie (My FIL's brother and wife), Kasey, Grandma Yarn, Barbara and Marshall (Chris and Kasey's mom and dad), and Barbara's best friend since forever Donna. Not pictured was Uncle Joel and Aunt Janet (FIL's other brother and wife), Grandma Brewer (MIL's mother),and Aunt Betty (MIL's sister).

For Jamie...

I am...hot,so ready for cooler weather.
I think..my girls are the cutest..
I know...I need to be grateful for what I have...
I want..not this again..I'm trying not to covet.
I have...a closet full of scrapbooking stuff and I haven't done a layout since before Addysen was born
I dislike..tomatoes
I miss...my family in Louisiana
I fear..losing someone close to me.
I feel...happy
I hear...nothing..Addysen is sleeping and Elodie is playing quietly in her room.
I smell...not much.
I crave...a coke
I cry...it doesn't take much to get my to cry.
I usually..enjoy cooking
I search...just today was searching the internet for a Strawberry Shortcake scooter..SHHH! Don't tell Elodie Santa may bring it for Christmas.
I wonder..what my girls we be like when they are older.
I regret..Not being an EFY counselor. I never even applied, so I don't know if I would have gotten it but I do wish I could have done it once before I got married. Just wasn't in the cards. Oh how I loved EFY!
I wish..do I need to start that list again...I need to stop with the wish list.
I love...Chris
I care..about my girls
I always..wash my sheets on Monday
I worry...about things I can't control.
I am not...athletic, although I like to run. I don't really like to play sports.
I remember..my dad owned a car wash when I was growing up. When I was younger, he would roll quarters at the kitchen counter. Any of the quarters that fell on the floor, I could keep. I remember sitting underneath him waiting for quarters to fall...it didn't happen often.
I believe...that families are eternal but it requires alot of work here on earth!
I sing...to Taylor Swift..love that girl.
I don't always...read my scriptures or say my prayers..I'm working on it though. I have a new goal of not blogging until I've read my scriptures and it's working out nicely.
I argue..with Chris about stupid things
I write...on my blog almost everyday.
I win...I never win anything
I lose...when I play Skip-bo with Chris
I listen...to a lot of Strawberry Shortcake
I don't understand..all the election lingo....some of it's very confusing to me.
I can usually be found...at home with my girls
I need...a pedicure
I forget...things if I don't write it down. Even if it's 3 things I need at the store. If I don't write it down, I'll forget atleast one of the things I needed. But of course remember when I get home.
I am happy...when my house is clean and I know what I'm going to make for dinner in the morning.

Fun Fall Recipe

I made this for dessert Sunday evening. Super good and easy.

Apple Dumplings-

2 Granny Smith Apples ( I used 3)
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
cinnamon
1 small can mountaind dew (or about 8 ounces)

Peel, core, and slice apples. Roll 2 apple slices in a crescent roll. Place in a 9x13inch buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour over apples. Pour mountain dew around the sides of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes. Before serving you'll want to drain some of the extra juice, so don't be scared when it first comes out. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

*I'm not really sure what the mountain dew does for this recipe. You don't taste it at the end but I'm sure if you didn't add it, you would notice. ENJOY!

Tailgating and more ASU Football fun...even though we lost!

Yesterday was another ASU home game. We played Georgia and we had no hope. No offense to ASU but Georgia was suppose to win this game. We still had a great time tailgating with family in the heat before the game and all the excitement of being in the stadium...win or lose. It was a packed house last night and suprisingly, there was a ton of red in the stands! We actually sat behind a Georgia fan that was originally from Louisiana. She commented on how cute the girls looked and Chris told her how we were true LSU fans. The rest is history. We pretty much talked about LSU and Louisiana the rest of the game. When we were walking into the stadium, we even saw a guy fully decked out in LSU gear!?!? We understood him but everyone around probably thought he was a dope for being at the wrong game!

We have a break from homes games for a while! The heat can really make the games miserable so it will be nice to go back to ASU stadium at the end of October when the weather is alot cooler!

Tailgating...


Addysen and her cousin Teagan. They were born a week apart. Addysen is March 5, Teagan is March 12th.
It was so hot out so we stuck the babies in their carseats,turned the car on, and they took their naps with the air conditioner blowing full blast! They were nice and happy.


Elodie and her cousin Ellie (they are exactly one year apart-Ellie is 5, Elodie is 4)


Cousins Cooper, Elodie, and Ellie


Addysen was perfect AGAIN! Just went along for the ride, and hardly made a peep!


Playing catch..he was drenched after this!


Twinkies...


Pregame...

They learn this excuse early...

This morning Elodie came into the kitchen coughing...fake coughing...

She looked up at me and said "Mom, I'm sick today. School is making me sick so I need to stay home today." Cough, cough....

She went on to tell me that She would be going to church on Sunday because church doesn't make her sick...

When I was a kid and up through high school, my mom would occasionally lets us stay home from school "Sick". She said that everyone needed a sick of school day once in a while...

I always thought it was a fun thing to do....I just didn't know I'd be hearing that excuse to stay home in PRESCHOOL!

Elodie doesn't have preschool on friday's anyway so it really didn't matter. I just told her okay and she moved on to something else.

Watch me sit...

She's just about got it down...some cute pics I caught yesterday.





And then she was done...


Love this one..


And as if that one wasn't cute enough...

Preschool Overload....

Since Elodie has started preschool, somehow, my fridge has turned into her own personal art gallery...we are starting to run out of magnets...
Since she comes home everyday with something new, I have to sneek old things out to the trash without her around....I always thought I'd be more sentimental than that...I guess when you've seen one art picture...

Really? Already?

Christmas stuff is already out at Kohl's, Michaels, Hobby Lobby.....REALLY? ALREADY?

It's bad enough that all the Halloween and Fall stuff is out...it definitely doesn't feel like fall here in Arizona....a little at night but during the day summer is still in full swing!

It's crazy how all the decorations suck you in....How you start to feel the anxiety kick in....WHAT?!?! Your not done with your Christmas shopping yet? All the decorations out so early have guilt written all over them...companies know exactly what they are doing...and whether you need them or not, I find myself browsing for my next pumpkin candle holder or front door decoration....oooh, I found the cutest fall wreath at Costco the other day..it had my name written all over it, until I saw it was 40 bucks and Chris asked me where I was going to store it....

Do you know I actually went to buy Halloween m&m's at Target a few weeks ago! When I got to the register and realized it meant I would have to pull out my Halloween candy bowl in AUGUST I put them back...sigh...they are so cute though!

Sucks you right in! It's all very exciting though...I love fall and all the upcoming holidays. So bring on the Christmas music! I'm ready, even if my house doesn't have Christmas lights up yet....

Multi-tasking...

in heels! What can I say...she picks up on the important things- every young mother should learn and perfect the art of feeding a baby while talking on the phone!

6 month Stats

We took Addysen to the doctor today for her 6 month check up and shots. She is doing FABULOUS and progressing right on. She weighs in at 14 pounds even (10th percentile for weight) and she is 25 and one quarter inches long (20th percentile for length).

We've had her on rice cereal for a while now and so far she has eaten green beans, peas (which she isn't too fond of yet), bananas, peaches, applesauce (another questionable choice), squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and pears. We also introduced her to the sippy cup.

She is practicing sitting up and is rolling all over the place!

Hurricane Gustav-one week later...

All of you know that I'm orginally from Louisiana. Christopher, while born in Snowflake, Arizona, grew up in Louisiana. My parents, 2 brothers, my Paw-Paw Whitney, one of my mom's sisters, two of her brothers, and all of my dad's extended family still live in Louisiana.

My mom sent out pictures from the damage Hurricane Gustav did. Thankfully, none of my family was hurt, houses are still standing, and everyone has electricity. Only just recently though- my parents didn't get electricity until last Thursday and my brother Owen didn't get power until late Monday night-7 days after the hurricane hit! Did I mention they have 4 small kids?

It's been crazy talking to my family these last couple of days. We were at the Big Dirty when Hurricane Gustav started making his way towards Louisiana. I hated not having a way to get in touch with my family! My mom has said that all of the local groceries stores are completely bare, she went just yesterday to pick up some basic items for my PawPaw and she said there was no produce, very little meat, and the store was only allowing each customer one loaf of bread!! My brother Owen, as of last Wednesday, stood in line for 3 hours waiting for a generator!

I hate being so far from home. Not that I could do anything to help the situation..it's just tough being far from my family!

It's definitely a testimony that we all need to be prepared..no matter where we live!

The first picture is my parents backyard- the trees that went down were my parents pears trees that have been there since I can remember- my dad sais they'll be okay..
The rest of the pictures are at my PawPaw Whitney's (Addysen's middle name) house.
He'll be 95 in October- doesnt' he look AWESOME- love this man!

Tag

8 things I'm passionate about-
1. My family
2. My friends
3. Scrapbooking
4. My girls
5. Photography
6. Vacations
7. Saving
8. Chris

8 words or phrases I say often-
1. I love you
2. Hey Sweet Girl!
3. What Elodie?
4. Are you being Happy or are you being Sassy?
5. How's work going?
6. It's quiet time!
7. Ginger!
8. Elodie, Addysen is sleeping!

8 things I want to do before I die-
1. Buy a house
2. Buy a bigger vehicle
3. Pay off our student loans!
4. See my girls married in the Temple
5. Go to Paris with Chris
6. Have grandbabies
7. Go on a cruise
8. Go back to school

8 things I have learned-
1. I'll always be behind in my scrapbooking
2. My kitchen will never stay clean longer than a few minutes
3. I'll never have enough money in my savings account
4. Kids grow up way too fast!
5. To be happy in the here in now because looking back, you'll always want those times back!
6. 27 is really young
7. I'll never have enough pictures of my family and I'll always look back and wish I had taken more!
8. Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth!

8 places I would love to go or see-
1. A cruise
2. Hawaii
3. France and Belgium where Chris served his mission
4. Louisiana to visit my family
5. Back to Disneyland
6. A nice resort with Chris
7. Sea World
8. A nice resort with Chris

8 things I currently need or want- (This one is so easy!)
1. A new purse
2. A small pocket camera for said purse
3. A cute cake plate
4. New clothes
5. A new bedroom set
6. A new house so I can get a new bedroom set
7. A vacation
8. Gas in my car

Carrots

She LOVED them and ate the WHOLE jar! That's a first since we started jar food! She looks good in orange don't you think? I'll never get use to those EYES!!

Go Tigers...I mean Sun Devils!

Disclaimer- For all our family and friends in Louisiana, please do not think less of us! We bleed purple and gold but we're in Arizona now and it's easy to catch the spirit of it all....we plan to make it up to you all when we go home to Louisiana and make the LSU vs. Tulane game!! If it eases the blow...it's tough rooting for anyone other than LSU AND, the whole day before the game Elodie kept asking when we were going to go to the LSU game...we kept having to correct her-"No, Elodie ASU, not LSU!" AND, when we were in the ASU store on friday, Elodie picked up 2 pompoms and started yelling "GO TIGERS, GO TIGERS!!" It was pretty funny! If you don't read this post, I totally understand!

We got season tickets for the ASU football games this year. A bunch of Chris' cousins get season tickets so we all sit together. We had a great time last night at the game and the girls were FABULOUS!! Addysen was amazing and didn't make a peep the entire game! She just sat there and watched all the action! It helped too that she was passed around a bit from cousin to cousin! We knew Elodie would do great. She loves the DiamondBacks games we have taken her too so we knew she would have fun at the football game. I had originally wanted to get the girls these cute ASU cheerleading uniforms I found at Target. It didn't happen. I bought them but they didn't look cute at all on the girls! And that's hard to do! They hung wrong in places, the 3T fit Elodie in the waist but was too short and the 4T was long enough but drowned her out! The same for Addysen- we needed the 0-3 months for her little body but the 3-6 months for the length! It was a mess so we just decided to get little onesies for Addysen and a t-shirt for Elodie. With bows of course! They both fit the part and blended right in with the sea of maroon and gold! ASU beat Stanford and we had a great time! The only downside to last nights game was we didn't get out until almost 11pm, it was hot-mostly because Chris and I both had kids in our laps, and we had 8am church this morning! Other than that we had fun!


Our family...

Cute little devils...

Sleepy little devil....

Elodie's Birthday Party

We had Elodie's Strawberry Shortcake Party yesterday. She invited 5 girlfriends over to celebrate and it was so fun to have a small crowd to entertain!
Ryanna, Elodie, Madison, Macy, Ellie, and Emma.


In years past, we have done a huge kids/adults party and it's alot to organize! Even after simplifing everything, I was still up to my ears in Strawberry Shortcake supplies and planning! Not to mention up until 1am finishing Elodie's Strawberry Shortcake cake. It was nuts, but well worth it!

Elodie was so excited! She basically planted herself by the kitchen window waiting for her friends to show up! Oh, to be 4 again!

Since we only invited 5 little girls over, I was able to go a little more out with the party favors and prizes! A huge perk because I tend to go overhoard anyway, atleast this didn't hit the checking account as hard!

First, I LOVE THE DOLLAR STORE! I'm pretty sure it's genetic..my mom has always loved the dollar store, I love the dollar store, and Elodie, since about the time she was 3, LOVES the dollar store! And if your ever looking for Strawberry Shortcake stuff, the Dollar Store is the place to find it! It's crazy how much Strawberry Shortcake stuff they have! Besides the little beach bags (which I found in the dollar bins at Target) everything came from the dollar store! Awesome find! Plus, Elodie decided months ago that she wanted a Strawberry Shortcake party so I started buying party favors a long time ago!

Each girl had a place setting at the table-her very own Strawberry Shortcake coloring book and Strawberry Shortcake crayons.

As the girls were arriving, I had them find a seat and pick a page they wanted to color. This was nice because not all of the girls showed up at the exact same time so it was a nice filler while everyone was getting there. Plus, Christopher had left to get the pizza so we were waiting on that. The girls colored and listened to Strawberry Shortcake music.



The pizza came, we ate, and then it was time for a game!

We took the coloring pages the girls had colored and ripped them out. Then we set them on the floor in the living room and played a slight version of musical chairs. Looking back, I would have colored the pictures myself and glued them to posterboard or something hard, but it was fun to have the girls color the pictures themselves to play the game. The only bad part was they kept stepping on the pages, instead of going around the pages....they were pretty beat up towards the end of our game. Not really a big deal, the girls still had fun. So, I numbered each page, numbered some strips of paper, put those in a cup, had the girls walk around in a circle while playing Strawberry Shortcake music, and when the music stopped I drew a number and whoever was on that number got a prize. Everybody won something and they had fun pulling a prize out of the bag.


Next we opened presents...





Then we played Pin the Jewel on Strawberry Shortcakes crown. No pictures but it's just like Pin the tail on the Donkey except it was a huge poster of Strawbeery Shortcake all dressed up.

We sang Happy Birthday and had cake...






We ended the party with a game of Strawberry,Strawberry Shortcake...just like Duck,Duck Goose and while we were waiting for the parents to come, I let the girls play in Elodie's room for a few minutes.


Everything went smoothly and I had the best helper! You can see the Pin the Jewel on Strawberry game in this picture....


Each girl left with a loaded goodie bag and I'm pretty sure they all had fun!