They say it's your birthday

Noelle turned 3 yesterday! I was hoping for a drastic improvement in behavior (she is the definition of "terrible twos"), but no such luck. It started out as a really rough day. Libby and Noelle were fighting non-stop. At noon I finally put both of them in the tub. Usually this has a calming effect, but it resulted in the opposite. After having a pitcher of water dumped on me- this was not in jest- I lost it and sent them both to bed. Libby promptly fell asleep. This was her first nap in two years. Noelle never did fall asleep, but that is nothing new. Not sounding like much of a birthday, is it?



































New sippy cups and silverware. I love practical gifts.

The day started looking up when we had Noelle's birthday dinner. Check out that cake- made by yours truly (thanks to Audrey for the cake pan). Noelle was feeling shy as we sang Happy Birthday to her.

My aunt and uncle, Steve and Vickie, happened to be at my parents so they came over and joined the party. As did Nana Holley and Aunt Kim. It is so fun to have them all with us.
Notice Ty in the back ground of this photo, he is assembling Noelles trike. Props to Ty for being such an awesome uncle (Dave too!).

Libby "helped" open every gift.
















Don't dis my wrap job (the blanket)- I was too busy making an elmo cake to worry about wrapping paper!

A new, pink trike!

It drives like a dream.

Happy Birthday Noelle!

Party in Phoenix!

This last weekend Libby and I got to fly to Phoenix to meet our new little niece, Grace. Daren stayed home with Noelle- what a trooper! I had a great time hanging with the fam, but I especially enjoyed some one on one time with Libby.


Savannah and Jess sat just behind us- a perfect photo op

Not such a good angle for our photo!

I blew bubbles- it kept Libby totally entertained and distracted while we got ready to take off. Libby has flown before, but she was too little to remember. So, this was an exciting experience for her. She did great! She giggled as we took off and loved watching her very own little TV as we flew to Phoenix.

Our first look at baby Gracie! Libby and Savannah are in baby heaven (so are Jess, Amy, and Grandma Chris).

For someone living in Phoenix, it wasn't warm enough to be in swimsuits. For a Utahn, it's a totally different story. We loved the SUN while we were there.

As soon as the girls rolled out of bed they were ready to hold Grace. It's so fun to have a happy baby (that doesn't talk back) to cuddle with in the morning.

Grandma Chris bought the girls these sweet sunglasses. They wore them everywhere- indoors and out.

All the lucky ladies that were able to attend Gracies blessing.

We had to do a secrect service shot on behalf of my Dad. This is his favorite pose. Besides being a funny shot, it is also a remarkable one because ALL my siblings are included in it. Poor mom- she is a little short.

The best part of the visit. Jess and I got to read and read- with little or no guilt. Gotta love that

Brig and Lisa were wonderful hosts. Some highlights of the visit:

-A visit to a hilarious comedy club (totally clean, fun humor)

-A couple of hikes in a nearby State Park, complete with cactus

-Dad driving me and Jess to Garage Sales (I should probably classify this as a miracle rather than a highlight)

-A wonderful blessing for Grace (given by my brother Brig)
-Brig, Savannah, and Libby busting sweet dance moves

-and last, but not least, never ending waffle cones!

Until next time....

A New Blog

Now that my incredibly talented sister-in-law has fixed my bow blog, I will officially introduce it: libbyloushairbows.blogspot.com. Like President Uchtdorf said last conference, we all have a desire to create. I am fullfilling that desire by making hair bows. It's fun!