Water Fun!!

Right after we got back from Idaho, we went down to Jen's and went to a cute splash pad in Westminster! It was super crowded due to safety day in the park but the kids had a great time. It was really little kid friendly which I loved, plus it was free. Always a bonus. We'll definately visit there again!

La Habra Children's Museum

Saturday the girls and I joined Jen and her kids and went to the Children's Museum of La Habra. Thanks to Target, it was free and free is always good. The girls had a great time. It's a pretty small museum but had some cute hands on exhibits. We followed up the museum with free slurpees from 7-11 and some lunch. Thanks Jen for inviting us and for taking the pictures (since I'm a dork and forgot my camera.>

Big Changes, Again!!

I know this is major post overload from me. But I wanted to get updated on our happenings before things get crazy. For those of you who don't know, we're moving again. I know, "What are we thinking?" Well, we're thinking we got a really good opportunity and we're going with it. We have just started managing an apartment complex and we'll be moving into a new apartment next week. It's a great opportunity for us to really save money in hopes of someday having a house. We are working for some great people so it should be a really good experience for us. Although it's not the most convenient time, we think it's a good change for us. We'll make sure we get out all the pertinent info (phone number, address, etc) soon. Wish us luck!!!!
P.S. I should have added this. We are still in the same ward. Major Bonus!!!!

Soccer, Baby!!

Last night was Emily's first soccer game. She is playing in a little summer league before starting the regular fall season. I was a little nervous that she wasn't going to like it but she had a great time. She even got knocked down and run over a couple of time but jumped up and kept going. She played great defense and even saved a couple of goals!! Although she was by far one of the smallest, she played big and had a great time.

I love that with all her gear on she has no leg showing. Life of a short person!!!

McCall, Idaho 2009!!

We had a wonderful family reunion in McCall, ID. I wish I could put on all of our pictures but that would be crazy pictures overload. We had such a great time. The girls absolutely loved being with all of their cousins. Always makes us sad we don't live closer. The weather was amazing and we spent the entire week in the water. It was so great just to play and get caught up with family. The camp we went to was awesome, so great we already booked it for 2 years from now. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!!

Lauren spent most of her week digging holes and filling them with water.

Emily had two favorite activities. She loved seeing how long she could balance on this knee board. She turned into an awesome swimmer this week too. She was constantly jumping off the dock and swimming to shore. Here her cousin Kathryn is swimming with her but toward the end of the week she got brave enough to go on her own. She's definately a water girl!!

The camp had these little kayaks and everyone had a great time (and great workout) taking them out!

Here's a view from the dock onto our private beach.
Yes, she is fully clothed. The last night she and Kaitlyn enjoyed an evening in the water in their clothes.

Just one of many beautiful sunsets!!

Special thanks to Diana, Jason, Mike and Jan for all their hard work. And to Rich and Allan for provided the watercrafts that provided hours of fun!!! We love you all and miss everyone already!

Salt Lake City

As we passed through Utah on our way to Idaho we had the wonderful opportunity to visit with some family. We were able to see Jason's aunt and uncle and their two daughters as well as stay with my wonderful cousin. It's always so nice to have a chance to get caught up with those who we don't get to see all that often. Thanks Drapers for letting us just drop in and thanks to the Dowdles for letting us crash with them for a couple days. My cousin was one of my roommates in college and we always have such a great time together. And to make it even better, our kids had a great time too. As we left town to head for Boise, we stopped and let the girls wander around Temple Square in Salt Lake. I love it there. Although there's so much going on around the temple, it's always so peaceful on the grounds. The girls loved it and it was a great way to kick off our vacation!!

A Little Gem

I know I said I was taking a break in June but I just had to share this (mostly so I don't forget it.)
Lauren always wants to sit on my lap at the computer. Super annoying. Today was no different, she wanted up, I was trying to send some emails, I told her no, she threw herself to the ground crying (only lasts about 10 seconds), I told her that was not a good choice.
Emily pipes in "Lauren, the Holy Ghost won't stay with you if you act like that."
I love it.

Still Here, I Swear!

I was noticing it's been a long time since I last posted. Not really sure why. We haven't been terribly busy, just doing our thing I guess. And now that being said the next two weeks are going to be crazy busy. We leave next Friday for the Hall Family Reunion in McCall, Idaho. We are so excited yet have so much to do to get there. I have made a list but it seems that I add 5-6 things a day and only mark off 2-3. The math isn't adding up!! Oh, well, I guess one way or another we'll get there.
Just an update:
*Emily finished her first year of pre-school. She loved it. In fact, she's already asking when she starts again. Could be a long summer!
*Lauren has been awesome without her binkies! She struggled a little at the beginning but she was also teething. I think I will always do the "cold turkey" thing!
*We have had nothing but "June gloom" weather and I LOVE IT! Everyone one complains but I think it's great.
*Jason took a half day last week and we enjoyed our last day at Disneyland for the summer. It was pretty crazy. Not too sad we won't be able to go until September.
*We want to wish our cute friends Rachel, Alyssa and Kayla a very big congrats on graduating this week. We're so proud of you all! They all have big plans post grad and we're excited for them!
*We are super excited for our little vacation and can't wait to see all the Halls. Emily talks about her cousins every day.
You probably won't hear from us until after the reunion. Let's just pretend I'm taking June off!!
Happy Summer to everyone!

Big Steps!

This weekend Lauren traded these......
for this!

We talked about it all week and on Friday she went to Toys R Us and traded her binkies for a new shopping cart. She actually gave her binkies to the lady at the cash register, it was so cute. She loves anything she can push around and collect all her stuff, so the shopping cart was the perfect toy. So far she's done pretty well without her binkies, we're keeping our fingers crossed. The only sad thing is that now with no binkies it really feels like she's growing up so fast. Such a big girl!

All About the Ladybugs!

Emily's birthday party this year was a ladybug themed party. Lately she'd been really into finding ladybugs so we decided it would be fun! We had a great time. We started with a little game of Bean Bug Toss, moved to a game of Pin the Dot on the Ladybug and finished with the Ladybug Crawl race. For their efforts in the games, each of Emily's friends got a terrarium, tweezers and a net for our final event. Jason released real ladybugs and let the kids catch them. It was so cute, the kids were so excited. We ended the party with some "dirt" cake (freaked out a few kids, never really thought of that!) Thanks to all our wonderful friends who helped make Emily's day so super special!

Bean Bug Toss

Results of the Pin the Dot

Lauren with her great Ladybug form

Emily and friend geared up for the releasing of the ladybugs

Our cute birthday girl!