Pictures, Pictures

I don't have a lot of time to fill you in on everything that's been going on. I do have time to hurry and post some pics. That's what really matters anyway!

Banana LOVES to go to the gym with Running Man and I, and on this particular day she went with her dad to do P90-X. She loves to run and do anything that involves being active. One day she came home from running with Running Man and I asked how her exercising was. She informed me what it wasn't exercise, it was fun! (I wish I felt that way all of the time ).


This is where she does her pull ups :)

Finally a Bix picture. I don't look my greatest, but I was just happy to be standing up! We walked a mile down to the starting line, the race was 7 miles, then we walked a mile back to our house. Phew. I loved it though!! I can't wait to do another one!
This is all of the children my amazing friend C watched during the race. My two girls, our friends' twins, and her little girl.

We were checking out at the grocery store the other morning and there was a Taste of Home cookbook for sale. It had these adorable piggy cookies on the cover. Banana spotted it and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Those who know her well know that is has a teeny tiny (huge) obsession with pigs. Don't know where it came from, and it is still going strong after two years. This was the first time I let Banana be a really active participant in the baking process. She had a blast, we made a mess and it was so much fun!

And, here is a fun shot of all the girls at a special girls night out. All I can say is that fun was had by all, and we can't wait for the next one :)

Falling Behind

I am such a bad blogger. We have been so busy with tons of fun activies, which means I have A LOT of pictures to post. Unfortunately, I just haven't been able to get into a blogging mood. I'm at work now with a lot of time to kill so I thought I'd try and get you a little updated. (Plus, I am trying to ignore my kids screaming in the nursery, so this is a good distraction!) Banana ran the Jr. Bix the other weekend, and she was so excited. She has been looking forward to it all year and still remembers exactly what happened at last years race. She remembered the ice cream, and her medal and playing in the fountains. Luckily all of those things were present at this years race. I had so much FUN waiting to start the race with her with the 2000 ppl crowded in around me. (Notice my sarcasm). But it was very worth it to be able to stand next to her as she ran, and to see the excitement on her face when she finished! The next morning Running Man and I ran the Bix, and I will post pictures of those as soon as I get them from my friend. This AMAZING friend came over at 7 in the morning and watched not only my children, but her toddler, and another friends twins who are Em's age. (That would be 5 kids 3 and under). She deserves a medal. I am hoping she'll let me repay her in homebaked goodies! I'll tell you all about my race when I get the pics.
Right after the Bix on Sat. morning we headed down to Nauvoo so we could see the pageant. We got there with a few hours to spare so decided to take the girls around old Nauvoo. We had so much fun visiting all of the houses, and spots that are still there. At one point we were walking down the road and I hear someone shout my name. I wasn't too surprised because I knew our stake was in charge of the security that night so I thought we'd run into someone. I turn around and see one of my best friends from high school running towards me! My friend Nicole served a mission down there and came back for a quick visit with an old companion. I was so excited! I totally forgot to get a picutre but it was so nice to catch up. I haven't seen her since her accident and she looks as gorgeous as ever.
Before the pageant they have a whole area set up with fun pioneer games and activites. Banana fell in LOVE with all of them. She has always loved Nauvoo but this put her over the top. Em was such a trooper. She had been awake for ten hours by that point and I was so relieved that she was taking it all in stride. The pageant was wonderful, and I don't think it's possible to describe the spirit that you feel when you are there. We love living so close, and being able to go to the temple there.
phew. I think you're pretty much caught up. More pics to come next time!

The best part of the race for my children...the food!



We absolutely LOVE this fountain downtown.


With their infamous prairie diamonds, and a lucky horseshoe!Yummy gingerbread cookies
One of the highlights for me was watching Running Man and Banana do the stick pull. I'm sure you could hear her giggles from a mile away!

Home Sweet Home

We made it! No sanity was lost and no children were tied to their seats! The flight went smoothly and we are SO excited to be home. It was so nice to see Running Man waiting for us when we arrived in Chicago. He was waiting with a huge smile in his face, and surprises for all of his girls. Banana ran straight to him and it only took Em one minute before she just wanted him to hold her and not put her down. The BEST surprise of all was when we got to our house and he had cleaned it from top to bottom. My biggest projects (the bedroom, and one of the closests) were done!!! All of the laundry I had left was done and put away, the kitchen floor was spotless, and all of our hardwood floors were shining!! And to top it off he had done a lot of the "fix-it" projects I had wanted to get done. Touched up paint, and fixed our tub, killed a bunch of mice :) He is incredible. We haven't done a thing since we got home besides grocery shopping. (And I didn't have to do a lot cuz Running Man stocked the fridge for me)! That was A LOT of exclamation points, but I don't know how else to convey my excitement at being home and my appreciation for a wonderful hubby. The girs are having a little bit of a hard time w/o the constant attention from everyone, but are just relieved to have their dad back. Not much else to say...here are just a few pics from our last adventures in UT. More to come!

No trip to Price is complete w/o a stop at the Dinosaur Museum!

My sis is a coach of the dance team at my old HS, so Banana got to participate in the Jr. Camp they have every summer. She was pretty worn out by the end of the day :)
Hanging out at my brother's wedding in Manti. I made the dresses for my girls and my niece. My first REAL attempt at sewing by myself!! They're not perfect but I was pretty excited.

My sis and I with Em. I think Em likes her more than me. She's pushing me away in this pic. And that happened A LOT on this trip.
Waiting to get on the plane!! I was SO nervous. I made myself sick on the car ride up. But all of the prayers paid off and as soon as we took off I felt wonderful. The girls were pretty close to perfect, and I had the help of an awesome teenage boy who sat next to me. Seriously, he was tons of help. He kept Em entertained most of the time, and kept Banana laughing. We had an awesome couple sitting behind us who lent us their DVD player for half of the flight so Banana could watch Bolt.

Now we're just enjoying being home and I can't wait to catch up with everyone!!

I Should Be Doing Something Productive...

We're still hanging out in UT waiting for my brother to get married...I really do love being around everyone and spending time with my family. But...I desperately miss Running Man. And my house. And my friends. The girls are still loving all of the attention, but they are so ready to get back to a routine. Miss em's sleeping patterns out here stink. I feel like she's a newborn again, but I can't ever let her cry it out because I don't want to wake up the whole house. Sigh. But...SHE IS WALKING!! Finally. She's a speed demon when she crawls, and has shown almost zero interest in walking, then all of a sudden she is taking off! I have a video to post, but my camera is acting up so I will post it when I get home next week. Running Man went back to school today and I think he was slightly relieved. He has been pretty lonesome sitting back at home over his break. Thank you to all of his awesome friends that took pity on him and hung out! I can't get my camera to work with my dad's comp so I'm leaving you with the pics I had done of the girls a month or so ago. I had a good friend come and just take some casual shots for us and I LOVE how they turned out. She just does this as a hobby and I think she does an amazing job! Thank you, thank you!!

THE END

Catch Up

So, the post below this one is a catch up of what we've been up to in UT. (Mostly for Running Man to see what we've been up to). Running Man left us on Monday to head back home, and the girls and I are here until my bro's wedding in a few weeks. The girls are loving the constant attention, and I am loving the breaks that gives me. We miss Running Man TONS though. Banana can't decide if she should be mad at me for keeping her here w/o her dad, or her dad for leaving her here. She does ok most days until bedtime, then struggles when she tells him good night. It breaks my heart every time and I feel like I am the worst mom in the world. Em doesn't know what to think so she has decided that food is her new best friend (as you can tell from the pics below). It's so nice to have a kid that will eat pretty much anything I put in front of her. Banana has always been such a picky eater that a lot of times it's like pulling teeth trying to get her to eat. We are still having a lot of fun, but we miss our friends!! I can't wait for a super fun girls night out when I get back, and to get to sleep in for a few days.
The pics below are from Banana's first bowling experience, fun around my moms house, and our 4th of July festivities. We went on a picnic with my in-laws in the mts., then had a fun time at my sister's house! One of my fave pics is of my Grandpa playing golf on the Wii!!! He loved it, and is contemplating buying one! We miss you all, and have a great week!

What We've Been Up To