Happy Fall!

Fall is the best! I love it. I'm loving it even more down in Arizona. Seems like it didn't take us long to get acclimated to the warmer weather! ha. It actually doesn't even really feel like fall at 80-90 degrees, but we'll take it! We did take a quick trip up to Utah again. I swear every time I post we have gone to Utah...sweet. Anyway, it was super hot here, so we were excited for a little cooler weather, but got a little more than we bargained for. I think it snowed one day! ha. We had to buy Tay some warmer clothes! We surprised my family when we came up, so that was soo fun. Stopped in Cedar City to see Hannah and totally caught her off guard leaving work. Saren was super confused when she called the house and I answered, she thought she had just dialed the wrong number. We always love visiting our family.

Anyway, when we were there we took Tay to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving point. It was super cold and windy so we didn't stay too long, but we still had fun.






This is Tay with her "cousin" Claire. Someday they will like playing together. They totally don't get it yet! They're sure cute, though.


And this is what happens when your 18 month old learns how to climb up the chair onto the computer desk while you're not paying attention. Stinker!

Eric's mom came out for a week and we got to do some fun things with her! We went to the Arizona State Fair. Fairs are always sooo funny to me. The people that come out to them...love people watching there! Tay LOVED the carousel. She went on it 5 times, I think.




The day Eric's mom left, my mom came! How fun. We got to carve pumpkins with Kjersten and her family. Tay loved the guts.


I love Eric's tongue in this picture. Total concentration.

I can NEVER get Tay to even look at me to take a picture, let alone smile. This picture is a rare one, so I had to post it! Pretty soon you'll see more than just those two teeth. Two new ones on the bottom and another one on top, making her now have 7 teeth! Sweet.

And finally we made it to Halloween. Tay was Dorothy. I had to take a gazillion pictures to even get a couple decent ones! I swear.


We went to our ward's trunk-or-treat. Tay had a great time. Eric took her around to the cars, and after the second car she wanted to do it all by herself. She would either hold her basket up for them, or set it on the ground so they would put their candy in it. She loved getting candy!

When we were leaving we put her in the car and were outside talking to Kjersten and Kevin. When we got back inside she had tried to chew through about every candy wrapper to get some chocolate! Silly girl. Also, the first thing she asked for when she woke up today was a sucker! Oh geez.

And this is the face of a happy girl! TWO suckers and drool all over her chin. Doesn't get much better than that! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

1st Haircut and Other Miscellaneous Things

I had another GREAT trip up to Utah over my birthday in August. It was sooo fun to see my brother Curtis. We had a fabulous time. We were sad that Eric couldn't come with us.

While we were there we took a family picture...minus Eric:(


Saren and Tay playing at the park...cuties


Lovin those popsicles! Oh, I think I'm going to have one right now!:) Yummy


Hannah's new haircut. Love it.


All the kids went up to Park City. We rode the zipline and went shopping at the outlet mall.


Tay's first haircut. I forgot to take a before picture. But, let's just say it was looking a little like a mullet! Ha She actually did really well while Kjersten cut her hair.


All cleaned up.


Tay practically swimming on her own.;) Look at those lips!


Olivia doing a dive into the pool...she's pretty good at belly flopping!


Yeah...Eric decided to do her hair one day, don't ask!


My sweet, sweet 16 month old girl. She pretty much refuses to have pictures taken of her, so this is the best we can get! I'm hoping she gets out of that stage pretty quick!


Tay's new rain boots. Her and Olivia got matching ones. Found those cute things on just another too-hot-to-be-outside day spent at Target!


Just playing at the little fountain thing at an outdoor mall. Good times.


We painted our office area and kitchen island red. It was really stupid trying to take pictures of them...but here's what I got.

Good Ol Summer Days

We have been having such a fun summer! I'll just show you through all the pictures.


Eric and Tay riding the four wheeler up at the cabin. We had sooo much fun there, and the weather was perfect! Tay loves, loves, loves being outside, so this was perfect for her!

Then we went up to visit the family in Utah since we were already up there at the cabin. We spent the week just hanging out with our friends and family. It was very relaxing!

We got to go to the Timpanogos Temple as a family. What a great experience!

Waiting in line to ride the go karts.


Then we brought Saren back home to AZ with us for the month. We has so, so much fun having her here. We totally miss her already. Thanks for all your help Sar. She did this crazy hair do on Tay. I was laughing so hard!

Giving kisses


We went camping, and Tay was soooo dirty. But, she was loving it!
We are having a blast this summer!

Happy Father's Day

Happy father's day to all the fathers out there!

I have the best dad ever! He has sacrificed so much for our family. He always worked so hard. When I was in junior high, my dad decided to go back to graduate school to get his master's. We moved to Champaign, IL to the University of Illinois. My dad got two master's degrees in two years, a 4.0 GPA, with 5 kids and working 5 different jobs to get by! Can you believe it?! My dad is one of the smartest people I know. He always helped me with my homework and projects. When he was in graduate school, my parents would leave at 3 AM to do their early morning paper route. Then my dad would be gone the rest of the day working and going to school. I am so grateful for his determination. He has taught me to work hard for what I want and to persevere and finish things that I start. I love him with my whole heart. My heart aches for the things he has to endure now, but he does it with a good attitude and always puts on a happy face for us kids. I love you daddy!

I have been so blessed in my life. Not only do I have the best dad, I have a husband who is the greatest dad. I love watching him with Tay. She loves him so much!

Here are just some cute daddy/daughter pictures from when Tay was 3 weeks old.