A Carefree Christmas

Some friends asked us to help decorate a gingerbread house to donate for a fundraiser. We chose the title of our project "A Carefree Christmas".
It's a little unconventional for a gingerbread house, but it was fun to make it!
Look closely and you'll see little surfer guys next to our gingerbread beach house.
We even made a beach with real sand, little shade umbrellas and the ocean.
Our beach house was decorated with shells we brought back from Mexico and sand from the sandbox in the back yard.
It was a really fun project (albeit a little crazy with so much help) and I hope they get a TON of money for our Carefree Christmas gingerbread house.

What's up, Bekki?

The annual camp out and repelling with the Young Women was fun. If you enjoy sand in every crevice of your body, lots and lots of wind, broken tents, good food, games around the campfire, repelling, and no sleep-it was just the kind of activity you would have enjoyed. I sure did!

A visit with my sisters was fun too. If you enjoy flying in small airplanes with young toddlers, sick babies, chick flicks, baby monitors, oxygen tanks, visits to the doctor and general queasiness-it was just the kind of trip you would have enjoyed. I sure did!

Fall has arrived in Mesa. If you like 90 degree weather, brisk mornings, hot afternoons and beautiful nights you will love Mesa in the fall. I sure do!

Thanksgiving is upon us and we're not going anywhere. If you like painting, fixing screens, repairing doorbells, mowing lawns and watching movies, you will love Thanksgiving at our house this year! I'm sure excited.

Jace is Eight!

If you know Dallin, then chances are you know his bestest buddie in the whole wide world, Jace. They are super good pals. Jace invited Dallin to his cool bounce birthday party at Extreme Play that just opened around the corner from us. It is AWESOME!! (Jace is the guy on the botom).

There were tons more kids there, they just all didn't fit on the top of the slide.
Maura really enjoyed it.
Amber (Jace's oldest and only sister)even took her down the big slide! I'm not sure how much she liked it.
Amber's little guy, Braiden had a super time with Maura. He gave her lots of hugs and taught her how to shoot a ball.
Braiden's dad had almost as much fun as the rest of the kids.

Rylie wasn't sure what to make of it all.

If you're in our neighborhood, check it out-Extreme Play is a blast!

Veteran's Day Parade

It's taken a while, but here is a summary of our fun day!

Maura was especially patriotic.
We had tons of kids and families from the neighborhood show up to parade with us.
They decorated their bicycles, scooters, strollers and whatever else they had.
There were a lot of friends that came.
They even sported cool accessories for themselves as well as their bicycles!
Cute mommies and kids,
more cute mommies and kids,
lots of very cute kids,
and Maura led them all!
Ready, set, go!
After our 'Parade' we came back to our house to write letters to soldiers, pack a box full of goodies to send to Iraq, and eat cookies. It's a fun thing to do when there is no school.

Package for Maura

Grandma Russell sent Maura a package in the mail. On the top was a Raggedy Anne doll that she immediately grabbed.
She showed it to me,
gave it a big hug,

poked at the eyes,

then carried it around for the rest of the day.

She is a girlie who likes dollies. Thanks Grandma Russell.

Tomorrow is the day!

Come and join us to show your gratitude for the men and women who serve our country.

We are filling a box to send to the soldiers (and children) in Iraq, then we'll ride our bikes around the block in our own version of the Veteran's Day Parade and then have cookies!

My house 3pm tomorrow. Everyone is invited!

To find out more about Operation Gratitude and what kinds of items are needed click on this link and look for "wish list":

MMMM, Cake!

We succumbed to a first-birthday ritual and gave Maura a piece of cake for her first birthday! Notice we took the precaution of stripping her naked first. Here's the play by play in case you are interested in how it went.

First, she grabbed at the candle-good thing we didn't light it!

She didn't quite understand what to do with the candle.
It tasted pretty good.
Next, a tentative taste.
Then a little bit more,
A little lick,
then it was time to use her hands!

She really only had a couple of bites before she was done. Too much sugar for her, she prefers something salty-just like her mom!

Dallin's Baptism

Dallin was lucky enough to have his dad baptize him. They were both very excited. Adam's advice to dads who baptize their kids "get there early so you get a good jumpsuit".
Dallin had a talk to day in Primary about how he felt to be baptized. He said that he felt good, and grown up, and more responsible. He was excited to get the gift of the Holy Ghost and today he tried fasting for the first time.
I am so glad Adam is such a good example to Dallin of how to make good choices and that Dallin is making them. I love my men!

Happy Birthday!

I cannot believe it's been an entire year since this special little spirit came into our lives. She has been such a blessing to us!

Some fun things about the Mookster!

1. We never really call her Maura. She has many pet names and I love it. I think it is endearing to have nick names. We call her: Mookie, Mook-licious, Little Maurie, The Mook Monster, Mookie-loo, and the list goes on! Poor girl will be so confused when it comes time to learn to write her name!

2. She is starting to throw fits if she doesn't get her way. She will hold up her legs so I can't put her down or lie on the floor and arch her back and cry a huge fake cry. It's hilarious! We just laugh at her.

3. She often will get a book and carry it to me and want to sit on my lap and read it.

4. She is learning to walk backwards to come sit on my lap (like backing in) and sometimes can't figure out how to go backwards. She stares at her feet, stomping them and walks in circles. Fuuuuuny!

5. She loves music and singing and will often join in with her own version of the song.

6. Chasing Parker (our dog) is one of her favorite activities. He is terrified of her and will go to extreme lengths to get to a place she can't reach. BUT, he is very patient with her and hasn't hurt her or snapped at her. She likes to stand by him and "pat" his back-but she's not very gentle.

7. She loves Dallin. If he is around, she is his shadow. Just the other day he was lying on the floor and she backed up to him and sat on his face. Ha ha ha ha ha

8. She likes to climb, but hasn't figured out how to get down.

9. Being outside is one of her favorite things. When the door opens for any reason, she runs (waddles) as fast as she can to get out. Once she gets out the door (by crossing the threshold on all fours) she heads straight for the street.

10. She often uses her voice to get my attention.

11. She's a little bit of a Mama's girl, and loves her daddy, but sometimes she's not very comfortable with new people. If a new person picks her up and holds her she stares for a long time before deciding whether she will be held or reaches for mom. I guess you could say she is a good judge of character!

12. She's been walking for about 2 months now. Once she figured it out, there was no stopping her!

Our lives have not been the same since she was born and we are glad for that!

The Birthday Tu-tu

Every girl should have a Birthday tu-tu-at least that's what I am told-and by moms who should know! I did not know that a Birthday tu-tu is a must, luckily I have a friend who helped me with that one little detail.

Maura wasn't quite sure what to do with it at first,
then she looked at her toes and started stomping.

Then off to play.

It's a little big but luckily we have good thighs to hold it up!

Thanks friends!

Tuesday is Veteran's day...

...and I've been thinking of something fun to do.

I got an email recently that described an organization called Operation gratitude that sends care packages to U.S. Troops. Many of the things they want are either used by the troops or passed on to children and families effected by the war in their country.

(click on the baner above to see their website and learn more about this organization)

So, this is what we are going to do: Take a look at the wish list below and see what kinds of items you can donate (I am excited to get rid of candy left over from Halloween) then we can fill a box to send to Operation Gratitude. Come do it with us!

First, we are going to fill boxes, Second, we are going to do a PARADE, Third, we will write letters to send to the troops!!!

Come an join us! Bring items to put in our box, your bicycles, scooters and whatever else you want, and we will ride around the block, then meet at my house for cookies and writing letters to the troops. If you want to donate, but can't come you can drop off items at my house anytime!

Everyone is invited! Tell your friends, it will be a blast! Tuesday, November 11th at 3pm.

The Wish List

WE ACCEPT DELIVERY OF ITEMS DURING THE FOLLOWING TIMES ONLY:
SEPTEMBER 8-DECEMBER 5 for the Holiday Drive
APRIL 15-May 15 for the Patriotic Drive

Provide items from the Wish List (Please provide new items only; shipping address below):

DVDs, CDs, Batteries (all sizes)
Computer Flash Drives
Headsets (earpiece and microphone)
Beanie Babies, Small Novelty Items
Disposable Cameras
Prepaid Phone Cards
Travel-Size Board Games, Handheld electronic games
Bandana Coolers/Cool-Ties*, Mini-Battery-operated Fans
Hand and Foot Warmers
Commercially wrapped individual packets of Trail Mix, Beef Jerky, Nuts, Energy Bars, Sunflower Seeds, Candy (Halloween Candy is great!!)
Ready To Eat Tuna or Chicken Salad kits
Boxes of Girl Scout Cookies; Small tins of Danish Cookies
Packets of Powdered Cold Beverages
Commercially sealed Lip Balm, roll-on deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes
Individual packets of moist towelettes
Travel Size containers of Foot Powder
Screen Printed T-Shirts, Socks
Baseball Style Caps, Knit Hats and Gloves; Neck Gators*
Holiday Greeting Cards (blank)
Tobacco Products
Unsealed personal cards and letters
Used Cell Phones, Video Games and Systems, IPODs, PDAs, Ink-jet Cartridges

PLEASE NOTE: EXCEPT AS STATED IN THE ABOVE LIST, WE ONLY ACCEPT TOILETRIES FROM MANUFACTURERS

Friday at school was...

Crazy

hair

day!

Actually, this is exactly what his hair looks like every morning when he wakes up, we just added a little hairspray.

Ohmygosh!

Aunt Gina

sent us

the cutest

hat!

Really, we like it.

Now we just have to wait for the weather to cool of so it doesn't bake our noggin'!