A Few Good Things...

Strike a pose sissy.

She was being way too quiet right before this picture and I knew she was up to no good...hence her arm covered in pen.

My beautiful Sis Devanee right before her solo dance at P.N.W competition. She is amazing, Love ya Dev!!

My mom and her amazing team, they did awesome at P.N.W

I have been waiting a while for this girl's hair to grow out. I'm probably jumping the gun because it falls out in two seconds :)

This is seriously Aisha's face every time she watches her fav movie Cinderella! I knew I could capture it because she totally gets in the zone and doesn't pay attention to anything else!

My Mom was doing a spring recital for the drill team and she usually has guest performances. Well, this time she asked if any of my dance classes were ready to perform...YAY! So we chose the two younger classes because we know they would be a hit even if their dances weren't quite ready ;) *I'm sure the fact that Abby is in one of those classes didn't sway my decision at all*

Aisha was a great support to her sister :)

Sorry this is a little blurry, but I had someone take pictures while she was dancing and they all turned out black *Sigh* so I did a little editing. Anyway, you get the idea, she was a perfect little angel. I don't know who was beaming more, me or her!!!

Gettin' crazy in the tub with cousin Marriner.

Aisha's new obsession....dress up!!

Five years and more in love than ever....

Yep, it was our five year anniversary on the 6th of this month. Crazy? Oh yeah. Although I can't say that it felt like only yesterday that we were married, but I can say that it doesn't feel like that long. Adam is the best thing that has happened to me! I love him so much and it grows deeper everyday. I am sooooo lucky ;)

We had planed a big trip, he took a week off of work, and of course things change.....like our budget:) Which is fine, we still got away for a couple of days to Utah. We left the girls with Adam's brother and sis-in-law, stayed in a nice hotel, and did what ever we wanted! There was no schedule and no hurry, it was just us. We had a lot of fun.

One of our stops was at the Salt Lake Temple (you can see it above our heads) It was probably my favorite part of our trip. I have never been before. I can't even describe the beauty and the spirit that is within those walls. Pretty amazing!

So we drop our kids off and where did we go? That right, the zoo:) It was cold and empty, but we had fun, all bundled up seeing the exciting sights and smelling the smells that only the zoo can provide ;)

We waited for someone to come by so they could take our picture, but like I said....empty. So Adam was a good enough sport to go solo and pose by the huge elephant. (he humors me with picture taking, if you can't tell by the look on his face)

Taking a moment.

There have been a lot of fun and cute moments that I have witnessed as a mom and to this I always say: "I need to write that down". So here it goes.... it might be a little long:)
Aisha-- she is so dang cute, I can hardly stand it! Although she has a huge vocabulary, I have yet to interpret her language. She uses a lot of the same words, I'm just not quite sure what they all are. The ones I do understand are: Mamma, Dada, graca(cracker), dee dee( drink) ankoo (thank you) koo koo (peek-a-boo), go, Seesa(Jesus) and several others I'm sure I'm forgetting. And she still signs a lot, which could be why she doesn't use a lot of words.
Her new loves are to cover my eyes with her tiny hands and say "wis mama?", give kisses (even though her SMAK is a little delayed), watch Cinderella(ra-ra), and to do everything that Abby is doing, whether it's running, dancing, singing, giggling, or sitting in time-out, she's right there with her. She is such a cute Character and is a big time mama's girl... Which can make me feel pretty good sometimes knowing that to her, I'm the coolest thing in the world.
Oh yeah, and when she feels like it she goes "stee-tee" in her potty... I don't know whether to force that one or not.
Abby--What a big girl lately, it's such a bitter-sweet thing. I love to watch her learn, grow up, and experience fun things that I remember as a kid and yet I can't stand the fact that it's going by way too fast. She is in primary now and LOVES class time and especially singing time. She picks up on the songs so quick and pronounces every word with a bob of her head :) And when it comes to a song she already knows, she turns to me and does her cute shrug and big smile- (the one she does when she's really excited about something, but too shy to let it all out). I'm in primary too, so I get to see her come in a little line with her arms folded and sit quietly in a chair just her size. Then she turns to wave at me and that's the part when I have to remind myself not to cry, quit watching her, and remember I have my own class to watch ;)
She is starting to ask questions that are pretty random, which is awesome because I know that the wheels are turning and she's trying to make sense of life. She is also into bigger words that she doesn't quite know the meanings of. For example: "I can't take two more bites, that's because it will make me really busy" or "While I go potty, you can go get my drink ready....that's a good joke." I think she meant to say a good deal :) Anyway, you get the idea. She always tells us that she loves us..." Mom, I love you, I love you this much" with her arms stretched out. And her new thing is to randomly come up to me when I'm sitting at her level, turn my head and kiss my four head. She loves to use her imagination as she plays and makes up really funny songs.

I love being a mama, what a blessing to have the privilege in raising these precious girls.

Our smokin' hot date...

By the time Valentine's Day had come, I hadn't seen Adam for what seemed like weeks. So we were kinda excited to go on a much needed date. We dropped the girls off at Grandma's and took off. Not five minutes into our little outing, Adam-who never speeds ;) - got pulled over. Instead of saying "I told you so" like I had been waiting a long time to do, we waited quietly for the cop to come back. Then we were suddenly laughing at the situation and at all the people who looked like they had rubber necks as they drove by, trying hard to see who was in trouble. One big ticket later, we arrived at dinner. I have a weak mouth when it comes to spicy foods and the dinner that I ordered was just that. It's too bad that I was into the meal before I realized that not only my mouth was burning, but I was getting really nauseous as well. (it was funny as I tried to compose myself when the waiter came by and asked how the food was) And well, so much for dinner.... on to the next. Desert worked out according to plan, it was fabulous. We missed the movie that we wanted to see, so we rented instead. Let's just say that we should have turned it off, but we didn't (you know how that goes...maybe you don't) Anyway, it was a lot of fun to spend time with my guy, having learned a couple lessons and had some good laughs! Definitely one to remember:)

Abby's wish...

The other night at dinner, Abby said "I wish that I could ride a pink pony tonight". Adam and I looked at each other and he said "I bet we can find one around here somewhere" Abby was so excited and hopeful that I just gave Adam a look like you better come through on this one. After dinner, I was cleaning up and I heard Adam neighing and making other horse sounds. He was prancing in on all fours with a pink blanket covering him completely. Abby just looked at him for a minute trying to figure out what he was doing, then she realized that he was her pink pony. She was so excited and giggly as she rode the horse. I was laughing so hard too; it was quite the site. {I got some pics of it all, but I said that I wouldn't post those :) } Adam is such a fun dad and can make the girls so happy! I know, I scored big time with this guy :)

A Daughter of God . An Angel . A blessing

My Grandma Ivie was diagnosed with Alzheimer's years ago and has slowly been going down hill. Through this illness, my Grandpa has so willingly and lovingly taken care of her. Together, they have dealt with this humbly, growing ever closer to Heavenly Father.
Today, she has left her frail body and life on this earth to continue her journey towards eternity and perfection. I'm so happy for her, but my heart aches with her passing. Her laugh, her smile and phrases she would say will hopefully be ingrained in my memory.
I'm so thankful to be part of her posterity and legacy. What an amazing Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Daughter, Sister, and Friend.

" I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." -2nd Timothy4:7

Christmas...a little late, I know

After church in their Christmas dresses. They were a little too excited to be home, especially Aisha...you'll be able to tell after a few pics.

Abby loves to play the piano, and looks like a pro when she does it. She gets the a book out, flips to a page and plays away. She sounds pretty good too, it's really cute. This girl melts my heart.

I wanted some individual shots. Abby does well at holding still and likes to get her picture taken.

This is my attempt at Aisha's. Look at that face, she is having way too much fun! So I tried again...

and again...

This one will have to do. I got a lot more of her running or twirling, but these give you an idea of how funny she is. Aisha is such a goof-ball, she makes me laugh all the time :)

Christmas morning...

Aisha got a huge doggy. As soon as she saw it, it didn't leave her side. She was dragging it, kissing it, and laying on it all day!

A "pack-pack" with sleeping bag, tent, water bottle, and flashlight. She was in Heaven.

My brother Sean had my name for Christmas...need I say more! Thanks Sean I loved it!

Abby's tent from Santa. She was asking me to make her one out of blankets about every other day, so we asked Santa to bring her a real one. She loves it and had a camp out the first couple of nights.

Doesn't it look like a lot of fun....so I got in too!