June, In a Nutshell

It's starting to feel like we actually live in Arizona now. This week we've been graced with the presence of 114 degree weather, 105 degree nights, and we welcomed our first, very own scorpion into our house. Ok, it was already dead when I found him, THANK GOODNESS, but still. Cameron has officially been warned if he ever hears a death scream from me, not to panic, it only means I've seen a scorpion. I got 5 jars of tomatoes bottled before the heat got the rest of them. Next year I'll know to plant sooner :( . So far, and maybe ask me again after the summer, I'm LOVING this weather. Am I crazy?? I LOVE being at the pool almost every single day, wearing shorts and flip flops everyday, warm nights, warm house, tan skin. Love it. In fact, sometimes the house gets too cold for me (yes, our 77 degree house) so I have to go sit outside for a few minutes to warm up! I think I need a hammock! Maybe next month I'll change my mind about all this though. I'll keep ya posted.

Taya finished her first set of swim lessons a couple weeks ago and thank goodness, she's still alive. It was a battle almost everyday, but we made it. And by we, I'm including myself. It was rough. :) ...

Dodger is now our little fish. He LOVES the water. Every time we go he gets better and better, it's so cute. He got his first buzz the other day, thanks to Daddy. Cam disappeared for a while, came back in the room and said, "Uh, I need help", with a partially buzzed little man. I LOVED his little toe head so I was a bit sad, but he looks like a stud with his shaved head. Guess his name fits him a little more now for some reason :).

A Few Random Tid Bits...

Aunt Jami was here for a visit and completely spoiled my kids with attention. She just left today and my kids are already wondering where Jami went. I asked Dodger where Indie was and he walked right to the room she'd been sleeping in and came out with a confused look. He absolutely LOVES Indie! He gave her loves and kisses every time he saw her, so cute...

Jami bought Taya a new friend from Costco while she was here. Taya named her "Taya". Shocker...

I came in the family room the other day and found Dodger watching T.V. like this. I almost wet my pants...

Taya's underwear was pulled so far down he could barely even open his eyes. So random.

We've been doing a whole lot of this lately. Pool and popsicles, what more could a kid ask for? ...

That's about it for our month of June. It hasn't been filled with anything crazy, but after everything my brother and his family have been through I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for even being able to do the things we've been doing. If you haven't read their story yet, go here to their family blog. It will change your life and allow you to appreciate the things we take for granted every single day. Keep fighting Clara, we love you!

www.loveforclara.bbnow.org

Oh Taya

If this doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will.......

Before I Forget

One of my favorite things about my little 3 year old:

Whenever I go to the gym and workout, afterwards Taya asks to see my muscles, touches only my elbows, and says, "Whoa Mom, your elbows are SO STRONG!".

Why she thinks elbows are muscles... I have no idea, but it sure is cute for the time being! Let's just hope my elbows aren't the only strong part of me. Maybe I should be offended that she completely bypasses my biceps and looks straight to my elbows. :)

Pool Time

I've been TERRIBLE at posting, so to catch up I won't blab on like I usually do :) ...

We usually try and go to the pool at least a few times a week. The kids love it and so do we :) ...

 Daddy & the kids playing in the "bubbles"...

 Taya has ALWAYS loved to lay out. We think it's pretty cute :) ...

Utah Trip

A little late on the posting so I'll just be quick... We made a trip to Utah the middle of April for Indie's baby blessing and to see/meet baby Chloe (Cam's sister, Tiff, had a baby :). ) We had so much fun and loved seeing family and friends again. I will admit, it was a little weird not having our own home to go back to, but Taya was in heaven at Aunt Jami's house, of course, so it was worth it! Here's a few pictures from the trip...

Made a quick day trip to Wyoming to see baby Chloe and the rest of Cam's family...

Taya lookin' studious with Nana's glasses... just "checkin' my friends Mom"...

Taya and baby Indie...

Good times at Kangaroo Zoo...

This was my mom's attempt at taking a picture of us coming down the slide... so funny :) I love how happy Dodger is though ...

The girls were laughing SO hard, it was impossible to get a good picture (miss my still-broken camera!) but here they are, Tessa, Taya, and London. So cute...

 

And how do I NOT have a picture of Indie's blessing?? Apparently I had Jami take all the pictures... Jami, could you send me a few please? :)

Love For Clara

Please read about sweet Clara HERE.

A Little Too Excited

The other morning I was going to fill the pool up so it could get a little warmer before the kids got in. Well, I turned my back for two seconds and this is what happened...

 Needless to say, pool time came a little earlier than planned.

Caught...

This kid LOVES the hose!

Noses

Taya thinks she has two noses. 

"I gotta go blow my noses.

Obviously it's because of 2 nostrils, but is it bad that I think it's cute and don't want to correct her? :)

Tayism

This was Taya's conversation with Cam this morning...

"Ya goin' to work today dad?"

"No, not today honey."

"You gonna stay home ALL day, Dad?"

"Yes, it's Sunday, I'm staying home ALL day."

"You can't stay home. You hafta go get us more money, Dad!"

I promise she didn't learn that from me! :)

On another note, I wanted to write this down before I forget. Her prayers lately have been hilarious! Most the time you can't even understand her because, for some reason, as soon as she starts her prayers her voice goes up about 5 octaves and you can barely understand her cause it's so high pitched. It's pretty cute and I usually have to hide my face because I'm laughing so hard. :) Maybe sometime I'll try to record it.

Just A Few Highlights...

I don't want this post to get too crazy, so I'm just going to give brief explanations of the things we've been up to :). Sorry, Cam is out of town and I'm exhausted, but I know I've put this off too long :) ...

 Welcome to our home...

This is our rental house for the next year (or however long we decide to stay here). So far we love it! No stairs and plenty of space for the kids to get lost play... what more could you ask for! :)

We have a lemon tree and a grapefruit tree in our backyard. Taya loves to pick the lemons, but has a hard time reaching them :) By the way, did you know lemon trees have thorns?? I cut myself one day and my thumb was swollen for 3 days! Yikes!

Our dogs- which I'm sure you've been DYING to hear about :) - couldn't be any happier here! They lay in the sun all day and love to go on walks with this princess...

Trey, Jami, and baby Indie came for a visit in March!! We had lots of fun, ate lots of great food and enjoyed the warm weather while they were here! ...

We said goodbye to our truck a few weeks ago... it was a sad day for all of us! I had a love/hate relationship with the thing, but it will be missed for sure. BUT gas prices got the best of us- and probably everyone else- so we decided it was time! ....

 Cam's new beauty....

On a lighter note- since all of you are depressed about us selling our truck too :) ...

YES, this really happened...

It was great. Didn't make a mess at all. ;)

.....

I'm not going to lie, most of our days consist of this...

 (Sorry for all of you who are freezing right now... but just remember we'll be scorched in a few more months if it makes you feel any better. And if that doesn't make you feel any better, there's a mosquito that's bit me about 4 times in the small amount of time it's taken me to write this post.)

If any of you have any friends in this area you know there's been crazy sicknesses going on- croup, pneumonia, etc. ... We were lucky not to have gotten pneumonia, but don't worry, the kids alternated being sick for over a month. It was AWFUL, but at least the kids were still able to entertain themselves being stuck inside all day...

Taya made lunch for her dollies, and apparently a bunny :) ...

Hide n' seek has been a daily game at our house lately. It's actually pretty funny. I hide with Dodger, who squeals and giggles the entire time, in hiding places that Taya assigns for us. It's very effective. And Taya either hides in the exact same spot the we just hid in or tells me before I start counting where she's going to hide. This is probably my favorite time of the day :) ...

And Dodger, we've learned, is O.B.S.E.S.S.E.D. with Dora. :( I'm not talkin' like the kid likes it, I'm talking OBSESSED! If the t.v. turns on and he doesn't see Dora within a couple seconds he hunts down the remote, brings it to us, and whines until Dora is turned on. I haven't decided whether I think it's cute or sad! Haha. But it sure is cute watching him sit on his knees to watch it. (Which, by the way, is the only way he will sit. NEVER EVER will he sit on his bum. In fact, when I'm holding him and reach to set him down he bends his knees so he can kneel down instead.) ...

We went and saw the Mesa temple last Sunday night. It's gorgeous! Our kids loved it-- loved the flowers, walking around, etc. Such an amazing feeling just to be on the temple grounds and get to escape "life" for a minute...

And last, but not least, we celebrated the big "32" for my handsome hubby this past Thursday. He didn't do or get much because 1. Without fail he ALWAYS picks out any kind of present he gets at least 2 months before the actual holiday (and I'm tired of feeling bad and caving so he gets double the presents :) ) and 2. Haven't found ourselves any babysitters yet, so until that day happens we're at the mercy of our children (wow that sounds bad :) ). But hopefully he still had a good birthday! He wanted Joe's BBQ for lunch, so he brought it home and got to use our new "special" plate for the first time...

(Thanks to Cam's mom! :) )

And of course we had cake and all that good stuff... with matches for candles (whoops!). Happy Birthday Babe! We love you!

***Sorry this was the most random post ever! Hopefully you made it all the way to the end :). We're still alive and kicking here though! Arizona seriously has THE NICEST PEOPLE EVER!!! Everywhere I go I cannot believe how nice everyone is. Grocery stores, gas stations, fast food restaurants... which usually you get the most ornery people out of, but here, there really is something in the air. Everyone genuinely cares about everyone. It really is awesome. And infectious! So, for now... Yes, we love it. :)

**Update... My sister just asked if that was poop on Dodger's face. No, my son is not eating poop. He got into a chocolate bar when I was out of the room and shoved the entire thing in his mouth. Apparently he's been food-deprived for too long. Dang allergies.

Sickie-Wickies

My sister just yelled at me because of my slacking blog(s) so I thought I'd write a quick update. It's depressing... 2 weeks ago Dodger got sick- fever of 102+, throwing up, etc., was sick for a week, almost was over it and THEN Taya got sick- fever, croup, etc. It's been 5 days now, she's still not any better, and guess what... Dodger's getting it AGAIN! Are you kidding me!? Needless to say we're heading to the doctor tomorrow. The one good thing about this whole situation... I haven't gotten it yet! Knock on wood. I ALWAYS get whatever the kids get! I'm starting to think all these supplements I'm on are paying off! And also, I guess there are a few more positives to the whole sickness business- we've decided Taya has the CUTEST raspy voice ever, I wish it would stay :) . She's also been sooo cute with Dodger since she's been sick, I wish that would stay too! It's been nice for a change!

Cam figured out something the other day that we also LOVE :) ... Dodger can sing the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It's absolutely adorable. I never noticed it until Cam mentioned it, but I usually sing that to him every night and he always sings during the day. A few days ago Cam said, "Is he singing Twinkle Twinkle?" Sure enough, he totally was! Now that we've started noticing he'll do it all the time and does it when you ask him to. So cute. It just comes out as "la la la la la la la" or "yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah", but still, pretty cute for a 17 month old. Speaking of which, do they let kids into the nursery if they're not walking yet? I'm getting worried! And I don't care what people say, I HATE the crawling stage. I'd rather them go straight to walking so 8 months of crawling for me is TORTURE. Maybe it's my way of being taught patience ... can you tell it's not working? :)

Anyway- I'm sorry for the lack of blog posts! We really haven't been up to much, though, as you can tell! Cam just got our garage 100% organized and ready for me to start painting again and I'm SOOO excited! It's been long overdue and I'm definitely needing an outlet.

We're missing our family and friends a TON, but we still love it here. We're doing good besides our house of sickies! Can't wait to see everyone again in April!

A Quick Tayaism...

Taya walked in the room earlier tonight and I could tell she was sooo grumpy for some reason...

"Taya, what's wrong honey?"

"Nuttin."

"Taya, what's wrong?"

"I'm just sick of that baby!"

"What baby?"

"Dodger."

HA! I couldn't get too mad because 1. I thought it was hilarious and 2. she's had the flu this week... bleh! EVERY single time my kids get sick I get it too so cross your fingers the bug is out of the house for good by the weekend! It's been almost 90 degrees here and we're missing all this beautiful sunshine!! I did manage to get my lawn mowed and tomatoes planted though, so I was excited about that! :) Lovin' Arizona!

We Made It!

First off, I'm sorry it's been so long! I'd like to say that it's because I've been so busy I couldn't bare one minute on the computer, but that hasn't been the case this week...

So, my mom flew to Utah to help me with the kids on the drive to Arizona (driving 10 hours with 2 kids alone... no thanks!) and to help unpack and organize all of our stuff in the new house. Wow, let me tell you, you never realize how much stuff you have and how long it takes to put it everywhere until you move!! And 70% off the "stuff" is kid stuff!! Kids clothes, kids toys, baby clothes and toys- which aren't even used anymore, but ya can't just get rid of them, right? It's crazy all the "stuff" you supposedly need. If we had the money I would've loved to just give everything away and buy new just so we didn't have to deal with all of our "stuff". 

Anyway, my mom was here for a week and, let's be honest, can walk circles around me in the getting-things-done department. We unpacked and organized literally every box but 2 before she left, hung pictures, decorated the house, went shopping... you name it, it got done. Except for painting. And, believe me, I was shocked she didn't whip out the paint and redo my kitchen (it's awful to say the least, haha)! She's a crazy woman... but in a good way :) . So, that's why I haven't blogged yet. Because for the first week here, I literally was ridiculously busy- because of my mom, and for the second week, I've been too exhausted from the first to even think about lifting a finger! :) But seriously Mom, couldn't have done it without you!! Thanks again!!

So, I apologize if you've missed me :), or if you've been dying to know how Arizona is, or if you just want to see pictures of my kids, that's fine too. No one cares about you anymore after you have kids- they just want to see the kids. And... I'm ok with it.

A few things in case you're wondering:

*The kids were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. on the drive to AZ... thank goodness!! 

*Dodger decided to stop teething for one week while me and my mom unpacked... thanks little guy :), but got right back to it before she left.

*The kids are LOVING it here. Mostly because of the weather and the house, of course. 

 *And yes, Taya misses everyone. She asks all the time about people, wondering who's going to come to the park with us, or if she can go see the neighbors by her "old house". It's hard and I feel bad, but we just talk about "when we go back to Utah in April we'll get to see everyone". She just nods :).

*NO, Dodger is NOT walking yet... BUT SO CLOSE!!! He takes 4 steps, then falls, gets back up and tries again. I think the most he's gotten is about 13. Progress people! Maybe before he hits 17 months. It's so cute though. He gets too excited, stands up and doesn't even give himself a chance to balance before he just starts walking, so he falls. Ha. I'll hafta post a video sometime.

*As for the Tayaisms... she's been hilarious here :) When she's outside she turns into a different person. She talks and talks and talks! Every day she asks me probably 20 times if we can go for a "iiiiiddle, tttiiinnnyyy walk". It's pretty cute, but after the 4th walk of the day it gets a "iddle" old!

*We like our house a lot. It's all one level so NO MORE STAIRS!!! YAY!!! I hate stairs, with a passion. The hallways are huge, the rooms are huge, I HAVE A PANTRY (I didn't in my "old" house- which I hated!), the kids rooms are away from the master bedroom and garage... so I can run on my treadmill and use my tools now while they're asleep- yay, it's a 3 car garage... You get the idea. For the most part, it's a great rental. Except for the kitchen walls :) ... They're salmon. And hideous. Salmon kitchen and an olive green family room. Don't get me wrong, we all know I love olive green, but when you put the two colors right up next to each other... sick. Maybe my mom actually will paint it when she comes back! We can only hope :)

*Cam and I are doing good. We haven't talked about it too much so I'm not sure how he feels, but so far I'm really liking Arizona. Everyone is SOO nice here, even drive-thru people (not that I eat out or anything ;) ). And of course, the weather is FANTASTIC! I won't go into too much detail because I know how cold everyone else is right now, but it really is great. The kids both wore shorts today, that's how nice it is. I miss lots of things about living in Utah and miss my family, friends, and neighbors so much, but try not to think of it too much! 

One more side note, then on to the pictures... Cam's doing great with the business! It's a lot of work, basically starting over again, but he has a couple new employees and new agents so we're excited about the growth so far!

I haven't taken pictures of the house yet, but here's a few of the kids...

Taya with about 3 princess dresses on...

 And yes, her bike was in the house! I'm a terrible parent, I know! It was cold and so windy for a few days here and I got so tired of her wanting to go outside, so we brought the outside inside :) Our halls are super big so I thought it'd be ok for one day...

ps this is the kids hallway. Guest bed/craft room to the left, Taya's bedroom is just behind her, Dodger's is next to it, and 2 bathrooms on the right.

 Dodger climbed in a box while we were packing at our "old" house and thought he was so cute...

Taya's make-shift baby bjorn :) ...

 This face Taya's making won't surprise anyone :) ....

I LOVE these new chairs my mom got them from Ikea! ...

Please excuse Taya's un-lady like pose, I just thought Dodger was too funny.

They think their new office chair is the funnest thing ever...

That's the beautiful salmon color in the background :)

Taya pushing Dodger...

The park...

I had to add this one. We went to lunch with some friends before we left and took a few pictures of Taya with her little friends. This is Taya, Tessa and London "Yunyon". Aren't they so cute!? :)