Reunions, Zoo and Home...

We have had a busy end to September, busy but good! We had my Great Grandmother's birthday/family reunion on Sunday. It was fun to see all of my first cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma and siblings. But I'm really not a mingle with people I don't know well kind of person. Anyhow, my Grandma turned 95 this year! She has been saying for years and years that her time is almost up - but she just keeps on going. What a lady! This is my mom and dad with Grace and Max-













Grace had fun on the bouncing horse, she just kept saying "bouncy, bouncy", and she got so mad at me when I told her we were done. But I'm the boss. I just have to keep repeating that. Over, and over and over.

On Saturday Mike and I took the kids to Hoogle Zoo. We got there early and had such a nice day. It was the perfect temperature, and it was hardly busy at all. We have been saying all summer that we were going to go, and it's a good thing we finally did, it was the last day to see the white alligator. (Which I thought looked dead... but anyways....)

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The kids had fun, Max is so animated sometimes, every time he

saw an animal move he would kick his feet really fast and get excited. Grace liked the reptile/small animal house the best, and liked to pound on the glass. Which is against the rules and I tried to stop her... several times. She called the alligator's bugs - so we bought her a small white alligator stuffed animal, her own big bug!

-As we were leaving there was not a single parking spot and there must have been 100 people in line waiting to get tickets, thank goodness we got there when we did because we

all know how I love crowds!

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And last but not least - Grace has been quite the comedian lately. Friday night she dropped her dinner on the floor and she said, "Oh dang it." It was the cutest thing I had ever heard, it was so hard not to laugh at her. She has been saying it constantly now... Thanks Grandma Ruth, I know where she got it from! :) Tonight while I was making dinner I found Grace invading Max's space, just a little bit - I have no idea how she was sitting on his walker, but she sure was!

Anyways, there is our week in a glace, sorry it's so long! Hope everyone is well and happy!

Family Pictures

So two posts in two days! We had quite a busy weekend!
We had family pictures taken Saturday with the McBride clan in Logan. Hopefully the pictures the photographer took turn out really well, but these are some just from our personal camera's. (I also added a slide show at the bottom, look at me getting crafty!) As you can see Grace was up to her old tricks and would not play along. She was fine while we let her throw rocks in the river, or sit by herself in the grass. But she would not smile, she would not hold still and she sure wasn't going to make it easy on anyone! Blasted, I just need some cute pictures to hang on my wall!
The last time we had pictures with my family was five years ago, and we have added five more people since then, Tytan, Kenadi, Mike, Grace and Max, so it was about time! I'm glad it's over, and hopefully the next time, probably when Jordan goes on a mission, my kids will be good little participants!

Darling Grace

Grace is 20 months now! I can not believe how much has happened in such a short time! Grace has such a fun, busy, trying personality. She likes to dress herself, but still requires help and that frustrates her. In this picture she is sporting a hair elastic as a bracelet, her daddy's watch on her elbow, one sock on and it is far too little and mommy's big necklace. She also is holding her toothbrush and is standing at the front door, ready to go to Grandma Kate's. She insists on putting her own socks and shoes on, so anytime we have to go somewhere that takes an extra 5 minutes.
The other day she made me laugh so hard, I was in the living room and I heard the bathroom door close. Well Grace loves to unroll the toilet paper, and I hate it! It drives me crazy. So I run to the bathroom and open the door, only to find out she had pulled open the drawer and locked herself in the bathroom. She laughed and laughed and laughed as I tried to get her to close the drawer. I remember doing that when I was a kid to hide from my brother, but she is still so little, she shouldn't know how to tease her mommy yet!
Gracie stayed at Grandma Ruth's for the past couple days while I was on an overnight work retreat in Bear Lake. When I came home at first she was like no big deal, but then tonight all she wanted to do was cuddle with me. Grace never sits still long enough to cuddle, so I loved it!

I've Been Tagged

TaGeD

10 years ago:
1-I was 19 and working at Jacob Lake for my second year. I loved it and miss it.
2-Thinking about going to college, it would still be a few years before that actually happened.
3-Hanging out with my friends Stacey and Shauna, skinny dipping or chunky dunking, which ever you prefer, not becoming an angel from hell,
4-Missing my family, spening lots of money on phone cards.
5-Playing in St. George, Lake Powell, the Grand Canyon.

5 Things on Today's "to do" List
1-Work
2-Go to Maceys to buy things for my work retreat Monday/Tuesday and the Gma's 95th birthday/reunion on Sunday.
3-Make sure that all the clothes for family pictures go together and look matchy, but not too matchy.
4-Fix my flat tire (happened on the way to work, sucky!) (Or rather wait for Mike to come and fix it.)
5-Clean the house...again....

5 Snacks I enjoy
Any kind of Brownies, Carmel rice crispy treats, Sugar Cookies, Peanut Butter Bars, lemon bars

5 Things I would do if I were a Millionaire
Pay off debt, Put enough away for each childs college, Go to Europe, Pay off house, put in a new yard, Buy two new cars

5 Places I have Lived
Hyrum, Jacob Lake, Logan, Baton Rouge, Kaysville, Layton

5 Jobs I have had
Paper Route, Kitchen Staff at Jacob Lake, Convergys, Manpower, New Gate mall Receptionist

I Tag Stacy, Sheri, Jalane, Jenn and Katrina

RULES: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags others and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

Boring updates....

So my loving husband has threatened to ban me from blogging if I ever blog about Edward the vampire ever again. I believe his exact words were "What the h@!!, that is so stupid....." I wonder how he would feel if I blogged about how upset I am that the new Harry Potter movie got moved back to next July!

So, about the things that matter, Mike, Grace, Max and I are good. We have had colds, flu and yada yada that is going around, but everyone seems to be much better now. Work is good - and we are all sad that summer is over. But fall brings so many things that we love, cooler weather, beautiful colors and soon the holiday season. We hope all of our friends out there are happy and well!

Blogging for Edward

First, the shock that I read a vampire romance story should astound many. I am not a romance reader, and if I had known what they were when I started I never would have. Saying this, I actually really liked the series.

My friend Jenn posted on her blog the news of Midnight Sun not being released, at least for now. (The manuscript got leaked on the web and the author is pretty upset about it.) I really didn't care, I like many others wondered what the big deal would be. But then I read the 264 pages of the unedited book from Edwards point of view. I loved it! It's better than the first four books and I am completely sad and longing for more. I have laughed out loud while reading it. Hopefully this is just a ploy to get people hooked so they will buy the book when she finishes it. If not, I am left to my own uncreative imagination about the inward thoughts and feelings of a vampire.

Grace will not hold still for a picture, she is up she is down, I tell her to smile and I get .001 seconds to snap the picture before she is on to something else. Sunday morning before church I tried to get a picture of Grace in her cute dress, after five failed attempts I decided to record her. Lets just say she is busy.

This week she has also started telling us no. I knew it would happen eventually, I guess the fact we made it 19 1/2 months is lucky considering how often I tell her no. But I'm really not a fan. She has also taken to hiding Max's toys and"binka's". I couldn't find his keys or ring that he likes to hold and after searching and searching found them under a blanket in Gracie's bike seat. What a little stink! But she is a cute stink.

Getting Bigger...

It seems to be Blog about Max time - I can not believe how big he is getting. He is 4 1/2 months now and he rolled over for the first time yesterday. I left him on his back and came back and he was on his tummy, screaming. He doesn't like his tummy. By last night he was rolling over every time I laid him down. Grace didn't roll until she was almost 6 months old, so way to go Max!