July: Just second to Christmas

Yes my friends, I now consider the entire month of July to be one big fat holiday! Why, you ask? Because I live in Utah where there's things like INCREDIBLE FIREWORKS (which I didn't take pics of), RODEOS, PARADES, PATRIOTISM, FAIRS, FAMILY FUN, and some decent summer weather.

Oh, and one minor note - I made my 25 mile journey to Old Navy yesterday only to find out when I got there that it was CLOSED because of Pioneer Day!! I'm so glad our LOYAL Utah natives celebrate their pioneer heritage............. unless it interferes with my clothes shopping. :)

Oh well. All is well, all is well.

So you may be asking yourself where this awesome skydiver is headed......

Only to the Spanish Fork Rodeo!!! - AKA THE BEST Rodeo known to mankind!

I loved every second of it and so did the rest of the gang including Jim's family, mine, and all the babies. You can't help but love that the rodeo begins with a Prayer and the National Anthem.

Plus, there's great music, some awesome muttin bustin' and a whole lotta' bull riding!
Oh, and for those of you who were in the Ocotillo Ward in Queen Creek....remember Matt Sherwood? Well, he was in the rodeo lassoing (sp?) calves. He's a world champion too!

Here were some of the rodeo attendants.

Dad & Mr. Serious.

Auntie Lyssa, Tyler, & Em.Auntie Jenna and Henry.
So glad all the family was there! It just wouldn't be as fun without them.

This last week, Jim's cousin Jami and her sweet mom, Jeana came to visit us. We, meaning all of Jim's family, met up at the park with them and enjoyed ourselves for a couple hours. So nice to see them!

(Above: Emmalee with Jeana. Below: My little teether.)
Notice the finger never leaves the mouth. This kid's been teething his whole life.
Just a few of the cousins.

Mel, Katelynn, Jaxson, Braddock, & Del. The trick to keeping them seated? Candy.So what's next on the agenda?

It's the annual Spanish Fork Parade!

Woo Hoo!
Jack & Henry loved it. I know you can only see the back of their heads, but believe me, they're cute.

The best part of the parade was when the missionaries came marching onward ever so onward. I think that's when the crowds cheered the loudest. So nice to have so much support from the citizens. It's well-deserved.
Here's a couple of Emmalee just chillaxin. She loves the camera. I think she wants to eat it.

Hope you all had a great July!

June Happenings.

June was a fun and busy month. I'll try to keep this post as brief as possible, so here it goes!

A couple of weeks ago, me and a few friends went to the Utah Parade of Homes. Amazing! I don't know if they do Parade of Homes in Arizona, but let me tell you, it's pretty cool stuff. Basically, it's a tour of multi-million dollar homes in different cities that you can look at - either for purchase or just to look at. I took quite a handful of pictures of different rooms. Here's just a few of them.

This was a nursery. Loved the frames, the shelf, and the bench. Okay, so pretty much I loved the whole thing.

More of the nursery. Rock-a-bye baby on the treetops.........get it?
Here we have a spacious livingroom. One day I would love to have a grand piano with lots of pretty windows, but for now I'll just envy those who already do.
This month, I also got the chance to spend some time with my nieces Hallie & Livvi. They are hoots, let me tell ya! They came over one night to have a sleepover. One of the neighbor kids brought over his rooster and the girls got a kick out of it. Hallie wanted to wear Jim's hat and put the rooster on her head (????????????)

I, of course, then busted out the camera. Two Words: White trash.

I also just realized that I totally messed up with the coloring! Oh well, it adds to the white trashiness of the photo.

The next day, we headed to the park near my house and had a picnic. I bought Hallie and Livvi hamburgers, fries, and chicken tenders, but they ended up feeding all of it to the seagulls! Do any of you remember the part on Home Alone 2 where the bird lady throws the bird food at the bad guys and like thousands of doves come swarming in??? Well that's kind of what it was like.The last week of June was spent in Arizona. Jim's great grandma (the one who gives Jim piggy-back rides) celebrated her 85th birthday! It was a surprise party and BOY, was she surprised! She was told that she was going to be in a fashion show, so she got all sassed up for the occassion. Sorry grandma, no fashion show.

We spent much of our vacation in the swimming pool. You really have no other choice when the weather is 117 degrees! Braddock went from only putting his toes in to jumping off the rock wall and going down the slide! Way to go, B-Rock!
The best part of this vacation was that we got to stay with my mom. I don't know what it is, but she and Emmalee have this strange bonding connection. Emmalee absolutely loved her! I just have to tell my mom how much I love her. She would do anything and everything for our family. It's been really hard to be away from her because the few times we do get to see her, the kids have a vague memory of who she is. This last time we saw her, however, Braddock finally started calling her "Nanna". We love you and miss you, mom. Thanks for being so patient and understanding. You are an amazing woman.

P.S. Braddock still says your name :)

Okay, the Wilhelm Family is going to kill me, but I had to post this picture. After not seeing them for 2 whole years, we finally reunited! I grew up with their daughter, Kirsty and we became best friends. It was good to catch up on each others lives and see the whole Wilhelm clan again. Love you guys!

Kirsty and I decided to take a really cheesy picture together. I'm not sure what is going on with my wrist, but I think we did a good job on the cheesy part.

Here's one of Jim and Emmalee. I heart them both.
Here's one of Jim and I. I think we had just gotten home from eating at Nielsens Frozen Custard for the 37th time. That's what happens when you don't have one in Utah.
This last Sunday, we went to Canyon View Park (10 min away from our house) with Jim's family. It was so nice to be able to relax after a 12 hour drive with screaming babies. Look at this view!
I took this picture at the park of Emmalee. She was having a hay-day with that blanket!

The Offspring.

Emmalee has become quite the photogenic baby. She's growing at a speedy rate. Honestly, people always told me that once you have kids, life flies right past you. I'm beginnging to see the truth in that. Seriously, is Christmas REALLY going to be here in six months?!

I'm an old woman. :)

Anyways, I've become quite the picture-taking freak.

(When you have two really cute kids, you pretty much have no choice.)

Bright-eyed Baby

Really attractive, Em.
She must be drooling over her pretty mommy.

Then there's this little guy.

Seriously, I'm not sure what to do with him sometimes. He's 21 months, but I'm pretty sure he's hit the terrible two stage three months early. He now calls his dad , "Jim", he tells me "no" all of the time, and thinks that biting and pinching is a game. I'm not sure what to do about his behavior besides what we have already done -timeout (which has taken place approximately 45 times) and even spanked. Now I'm not saying he is the Bad Seed or anything, but I guess I've always been used to having such a sweet, loving little baby and now he's turning into a kid!
I guess he possesses a few good qualities too, but who wants to hear those :) Just kidding.

I will say that he loves to be a big brother to Em, he still cuddles and gives kisses, and he'll walk over to his crib when he is ready to take a nap. Gotta love that! He bows his head and folds his arms when we say prayers, loves to read books, and especially enjoys helping his dad do stuff around the house.

I think I imagined that when I had kids they would all be perfect because they had their one-time punishment and knew never to do bad things again. I guess that's why I have kids because
I HAVE A LOT TO LEARN!

Here's the little monster on his tricycle.

You can't top this!

Last night I put Sesame Street on for Braddock. Okay, okay, Jim and I watched it too. I just had to show you this video. If you only knew how passionate Braddock is about tools. He was in awe! This video is hilarious.

Lots to boast.....I mean POST about.....

So I've been completely pathetic when it comes to blogging. One thing that TOTALLY drives me crazy is when I click on someone's blog and the same post is showing for 4 weeks straight. Come on people! Don't you know I look at your blog everyday? Then I remember that it's been about four weeks since I've updated....oops. So here ya go!

These are my precious babies all in brown. I love them OH SO MUCH!

One thing that I haven't had to worry about, is Braddock trying to hurt her. He's so gentle with her and very protective of his little sister. Everytime he sees her, he puts his hand to his chest and says, "Oh."

Isn't he precious? I told him we couldn't go OUTSIDE, a word that Jim and I have to spell now when we are around him.
This is his reaction when I say NO to going outside. Sad. Okay, I'm not that bad of a bad mom. We usually spend two hours outside on average everyday. Onto happier things......look at her! Isn't she beautiful?! Thanks, Cara for the headband. :)Emmalee is so alert and very responsive. She loves to smile and coo and kick her legs. The only problem I am having is trying to get a picture of her smiling. Everytime I hold up the camera, she just stares at it in awe. Hmmmmm.......what should I do about that?
Here's a little smile. This was after church on Mothers Day.
Pretty blue eyes.
Saturday night, I gave Emmalee a bath which she ABSOLUTELY LOVES. She talks and kicks so much, water gets EVERYWHERE. I had to get some pictures of her in her duckie towel afterwards. But once again, she won't even QUACK a smile.
Sorry, that was stupid, but I had to say it.


Also, Jim and I finally finished the dining room and kitchen. I should have posted BEFORE and AFTER pictures, but I only have the AFTERS.

We painted all of the exterior doors black which makes a total difference! I love it. Something that I'm not really in love with though, is the picture and center piece. Jim bought them at Kirklands home store a year ago to go in our dining room, but I think I want something that looks a little more Pottery Barnish. Any suggestions?
Here's our new kitchen. We put in stainless steel appliances and new countertops.
And THIS is my new tile floor! Love it!
And THIS is my car that I wrecked on Saturday. I was taking the back roads from Spanish Fork to Payson and came across a sharp turn. Don't ask me how I can be so incredibly stupid. I think it just comes natural. I didn't see the person at the stop sign and somehow managed to hit her car. The day before I was bragging to Jim that I've never been pulled over or been in an accident that was my fault.
I'll just keep my mouth shut from now on.

The last two weeks.................

Please forgive me for lacking with posting. I know all of you check my blog dozens of times a day and are dissappointed when nothing has changed, so here's some updates.

Almost two weeks ago, my mommy came to visit from Arizona (I miss her already). I was able to spend some quality time with her and my sisters (we missed you, Jace).

Alyssa was so awesome, as always, to play with her nephews. She's the best aunt.

Here's a picture of her with Braddock laying in the hammock.

That Sunday, Emmalee was blessed by her daddy. He gave a simple, yet beautiful blessing. Afterwards, we went to my house and had lunch in the front yard. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the food was fantastic. We took family pictures too! Dang Jim! He always switches into his casual clothes as soon as we get home. Oh well.
After family pictures, Braddock decided to hop in his gator and give his twin cousins, Jack and Henry, a ride. The problem is he knows how to push the gas, but has NO CLUE how to steer. I'm hoping the boys riding in the back weren't traumatized by this experience.

You can't tell me this isn't cute.........

................but THIS is SO NOT CUTE!

Jim surprised me by bringing home a goat today and BOY, WAS I SURPRISED. Why? I ask! Why?!!! What do they do??? I guess I'll never know because I refuse to feed, water, or visit it. It's enclosed in a fence area in the corner of our backyard (hallelujah). Okay, so I'm cruel, but as the Ladies Man puts it........"That ith dith-guth-ting!"