September 4, 2007

Labor Day--Hooray!


What a fun, realxing weekend! Brad, Tess, and I went to the cabin in the Uintahs for the weekend with both of our parents. We got caught in a very cold thundershower while on the four-wheelers and got completely soaked and muddy! That's a memory! We had a nice time seeing the beautiful scenery and watching The Office and the U.S. Open. (Go Roddick!) On Monday, our small little family took a long hike up Bell Canyon to a beautiful waterfall and gorgeous overlook. It was definitely more difficult with Tess on our backs, but totally worth it. She got to take a nap in her pack while we worked our butts off! Lucky her! We ended the day with a swim to cool off and watched a movie with friends! As you can see, we were all tuckered out, especially Tess. I love long weekends together!

August 24, 2007

Tess, want a puppy?


Our friends' American Bulldog just had puppies last night! So cute! We are thinking about getting one...well, I'm still thinking about it. Brad is sold on the idea and Tess would love a dog! Any time she sees dogs she squirms to the ground and chases them. She also barks when she sees any animal, even fish in a tank. Dogs are great for kids! This breed is especially mellow and good with kids. They are also fiercely loyal and protective of their families. I've just never had a big dog. Stay tuned to see if my heart rules my head!

A Weekend with the Girls


August 16-19, 2007-- Fun times hanging out with my high school girlfriends this weekend. We've been talking about taking a trip like this and a few of us finally did. We stayed at Jill's parents' vacation home in St. George. It was beautiful...and good thing because we were there most of the trip just talking. We stayed up every night until 4 a.m. and then slept in until 11 or 12. We'd get up and the chatting would begin again. We even forgot to eat a lot of the time. I wondered when our conversation topics would be exhausted, but we made it home without a lull or moment of silence. We also saw "Cinderella" at the gorgeous Tuacahn Redrock Ampitheater where we caught a case of the giggles! Good times! We did some shopping, naturally, and had the best pedicures of our lives! If you were there you'd be laughing right now, it was just a good thing that our toes were painted all the same color. But, none of that mattered because we all just enjoyed being together. I love knowing I have friends that I could not see for 5 years or more and after only minutes it'd feel like we were right back to being best buds. I'm so lucky to have had such great girlfriends growing up. I am truly blessed to still have these great women in my life that I adore and admire. Can't wait until next year... here we come Newport Beach!!!

August 21, 2007

Things I Miss

1. Brad's motorcycle/cruisin' up the canyon
2. My sweet Grandma Butterfield
3. German food/cake/ice cream...you name it, I miss German food!
4. School
5. Stomps
6. Punky Brewster...kidding!

August 16, 2007

To Be or Not to Be



This is the camera I am looking to get, the Nikon D80. Any suggestions or comments? I am so excited to start this new hobby, but wow, it's sure expensive!

Family Dinner

August 12,2007-- My whole family went up the canyon for Sunday dinner. The Talbots made it as well as Hank and his girlfriend, Whitney. We had a delicious meal and had fun watching the kids play in the creek. Tabitha, the wild child, fell in. Bless her little heart, she was trying to swim upstream. It made for some good laughs! I love having our family together!

Day Out With Grama and Grampa!


August 10, 2007-- Grama and Grampa had a great idea to take the grandkids to Gardner Village for pony rides, a petting zoo, and lots of dessert at the bakery. Sugar overload! The kids loved it! They especially love being with their grandparents who are their best friends. I'm so grateful that they love Tess so much and spend so much time with her!

August 15, 2007

Growing Up

...way too fast! Tess is changing and learning every day! She loves to climb stairs, eat whatever we're having for dinner, climb on the dishwasher, unload drawers and cupboards, eat ice cream cones, and terrorize her pet guinea pig (Mo). Her latest accomplishment is that she stands all alone--"Big Girl"! She stink bugs all around the lawn because she hates crawling in the grass. She also says a lot of words: Mama, Dada, Tess, Hi, ku-ku, dog ("gog"), and she barks. I also swear that I heard her say "water" and heard her speaking Spanish with her toy remote control. She's doing something new every day and its a blast to watch her change and grow! We love her so much!

Pioneer Day


We spent the day just relaxing. The highlight of the day was dinner at the Red Iguana (best Mexican food in the valley) and a walk around Temple Square with our friends the Francos.

Future Rodeo Queen


Here is our sweet little cowgirl at the Days of '47 Rodeo! Matti bought her this hat, which she pulls off pretty well. We had a great time watching the bull riding with the Smiths. Yee-haw!

August 14, 2007

Hogle Zoo


June 21, 2007-- Tess took her first trip to the zoo and we all tagged along to see her reaction--Grandma Jan, Grandpa Jim, Grandma Claudia, Aunt JaNae, and Mommy and Daddy. She was awestruck most of the time and then she was just plum-tuckered out from the heat like the rest of us. I can't wait until she can make all the animal sounds and enjoy them more! We had a great time, though, seeing the new exhibits and watching the bird show. Tess gave the bird a dollar, but she was more interested in the dollar than the bird. Hmmm...must get that from her dad! I'm sure we'll see many more days at the Hogle Zoo!

Happy 4th of July!

We really celebrated the 4th! On the 3rd we went with my parents and the Lees to the Utah Symphony in the Park. The kids loved marching to the patriotic tunes and eating cotton candy! On the 4th, we went to a swim party with Brad's family where Tess splashed all the water out the splash pool and ate all of Nana's ice cream bar. Then, we headed to the Lee's local festivities with a BBQ and fireworks on the street. The girls still had their "Lady Liberty" crowns on for the day. "Delirium" was the craziest firework you can purchase legally, but we got to see a spectacular show of fireworks by all the neighbors who love to break the law in celebration of our free county! He, he! We had a great holiday and are so grateful to live in this free nation where we are afforded so many wonderful blessings!

Camping with the Romney Clan

June 30, 2007
We went camping with my family to celebrate my parents' 30th wedding anniversary. It was so much fun! Tess and the other kiddos loved playing in the creek with Grandma and Grandpa! They are the best! It was fun to see the difference in how little boys and girls camp. Triston's kids seemed like they were born and raised in the mountains...oh wait, they were. Even though, the girls were a little less rough and tumble, they had fun taking walks with Grandma, playing kickball and softball, roasting hot dogs, picking flowers, and playing in the ice cold creek. They all loved getting dirty, including Tess! There's no place I'd rather be than enjoying the wild mountains on a summer day!

July 3, 2007

Drastic Difference


For all of you who have known me awhile, you'll know that I've never really changed my long hair. I've had it long since 8th grade. Well...I finally did it! Yeah! I hope you're all so proud of me that I didn't chicken out this time. I said I was gonna make a radical change, but everyone laughed it off and thought I'd probably just do the color and a little trim like usual. Nope! I cut off over 12 inches and donated it to Locks of Love. I hope some little girl will be happy! I love it and I feel so free without that mop!

Cabin Trip #2

June 23, 2007- We went to the cabin with Brad's family to relax and play! We took a few rides onthe ATVs and a short one with Tess for her first time. She was like a dog leaning out the window of a car. She loved the wind in her face! We sure love being up there!




More Fun Times & Pictures

Here are some fun pics of us playing around, camping with friends, Father's Day, and Lagoon.










Long time, no see



My friend, Amy, was finally in town and we all got together. She has been in New York the past several years and it was so much fun to catch up. I love being with the girls because, even though we don't see each other often, it's fun, comfortable, and seems like not much has really changed. Just wish we could all get together more!

June 28, 2007

Swim, Swim, Swim







Tess loves to swim! Brad is a fish and I guess she's just like him. I'm even beginning to like swimming. We go swimming and play in the water at least once a week if not more. We're now regulars at Aunt JaNae's pool day. Tess actually looks like she's trying to swim because she moves her arms and kicks her legs at the same time. She loves splashing, of course, and she doesn't even mind being dunked. She even likes to fall asleep in the pool. Check out those lovely chub-chub thighs and the cute sunglasses Whitney gave her!

Cabin Fever





We went to the cabin for the first time at the beginning of June. We couldn't wait anymore! Our friends, the Francos, came with us and we had a ton of fun while fishing, eating, playing Guitar Hero, roasting marshmallows, eating, playing in the river with the kids, eating, riding the mini-motorcycle, and did I mention eating! Tess loves the outdoors just as much as us... well, maybe a little more-she loves eating rocks. Silly girl! She's gonna be our little "Wild Billy the Mountain Girl" (like my dad used to call me).

On the Move



Tess has been crawling for over a month and a half now and she's pretty speedy. She's now pulling herself up on everything and even let's go sometimes to free-standing. I can tell that she'll be a girl that can't keep still and is always on the go!

June 13, 2007

The Joker


Grandma Jan figured out that red licorice is great for babies when teething. Tess absolutely loved it as witnessed by her sticky red face. She looks like the joker! Where did this face come from? I promise that my child doesn't normally look like this. Must have been the sugar to the brain!

May 23, 2007

Trip to Paradise










Brad, Tess, and I just returned from a week in gorgeous Kauai. It was wonderful! Paradise on earth! Tess was an angel. She loves the water. She was scared of the ocean at first, but warmed up to it quickly. We went on a tour of the Na Pali Coast which is amazing. We saw dolphins, turtles, and sea caves. We hiked to beautiful viewpoints and waterfalls, snorkeled Tunnels Reef and others, jumped off cliffs into tide pools, saw Waimea Canyon (Grand Canyon of the Pacific), and hung out on the beach. Our resort was fantastic and right on Poipu Beach. We enjoyed ice cream, Hula Pie, and many shaved ices. We had so much fun with Brad's family! I can't wait to return to that magnificent island!

Surprise!



I went with my mother-in-law to Thanksgiving Pointe for the Tulip Festival on April 17 and guess who I ran into? Riley and Jen! It was so great to see them. Riley is 4 years old. She is all personality and so adorable. I said, "You are sooo cute!" and she responded, "YOU are so cute!" We had fun checking each other out and she told me so many stories. What a great surprise!