The Great Outdoors

Since our dating days, Bridal Veil Falls has been a favorite spot of ours. We have been waiting for years to take the girls there and finally did! They LOVED it. I wish I could have captured some video of Em running around yelling "Best Day EVER!" And of Hannah splashing around in the water and telling us it was the most perfect day. The weather was gorgeous and we could have spent all day there. I love living in a place where things like this are only minutes or a short drive away from us. Here are some pics of our fabulous day!

Ignore my awkward posing! Neither Running Man or I could back up anymore so I thought crouching down would solve the problem...eh, not so much. :)

We {heart} Iowa

Summertime is in full swing at our house, and with that came a birthday celebration, pre-school graduation and our LONG awaited trip to Iowa!! Running Man was asked to be a groomsmen in one of our closest friends wedding. So we have been planning and (not so) patiently waiting for this trip for a year now.

The weekend before our trip was miss Em's 3rd birthday. We kept it very casual and are so grateful to all of those who came for the party, and at different times throughout the week to celebrate with her!
Em hates any kind of attention so this is the result if you ever try smiling/complimenting her.
This not so little girl had her pre-school graduation. I could lie and say I handled it perfectly well...but we all know that's never the case with me. :) She is SO ready for Kindergarten. I am still having a hard time believing she is this old.
Right after graduation we hit the road. The first place on our list to visit when we got to Iowa was our favorite candy store. We usually let them get a few of the little penny candies and a chocolate. Well...I made the mistake of using the restroom, came back out and found that their dad had bought them these monsters. Holy mess! The girls were in heaven and are still enjoying the suckers today.

We could hardly wait to see the Mississippi!! The flood waters just recently receded so we were able to see all kinds of fish and foul. We loved it, but it was H.O.T. We got to D-Port just in time for the sweltering heat and humidity to kick in. Me and my preggo feet didn't fare so well.
Enjoying the sky bridge at Palmer. It felt weird to be back there as alumni. Running Man felt sorry for all of the frazzled students scrambling around.
Rocket Park! The absolute best park we have ever been to. Every city needs one just like this.
Running Man all dressed up for the wedding. The girls danced their little hearts out at the reception.

A spot by Palmer where Banana's teeny tiny handprints are in the cement.Rainbow Bridge. We were so disappointed because it seemed to be stuck on purple the whole time we were there. Normally there's a rainbow of colors that works its way down the bridge...

Our final stop was the always delicious Machine Shed. I crave their french onion soup pretty much every day, and it did not disappoint.Our closest friends Nate and Liz were gracious enough to let us crash at their apartment for a week. We had so much fun and are so grateful to them. I hope they survived our chaos and we miss them so, so much!They have the cutest little puppy Penelope (who the girls call Penelopuppy). I'm pretty sure she didn't know what to do with herself with two crazy kids trying to love on her 24/7. Both of the girls sobbed when they said good-bye to her.

One last picture to show everyone why I had such a hard time moving away from Iowa last year, and why I still miss it every day. These amazing women threw me a surprise baby shower while we were there. They are so sweet, and so much fun to be around. I didn't want the night to end!
Thank you to everyone who made our trip so fabulous!! We can't wait to see you again!

Miss Em

Happy Birthday to this sometimes sweet



sometimes sassy


and always adorable little girl!


We love her so much. She is a constant ball of energy, keeps me on my toes, is her sister's best friend and makes every day so much fun!

There are times when the things that are happening in our lives seem too overwhelming to face. Or when crawling under the covers and hiding away feels like the best option.
This past year there have been so many moments where I have felt like this.
Then I realize how blessed I am to have these people in my life...

and suddenly I feel like I can take on anything.

Easter Festivities

We had a wonderful Easter! We were lucky enough to spend it with most of Running Man's family. There were cousins, candy and eggs galore. The girls had a blast playing non stop with their cousins. They spent most of their time outside running around which kept the fighting to a minimum, and helped them sleep better than they ever had! I loved staying up late and spending hours having adult conversation. I haven't had that in a LONG time!

Now we are back to the daily grind of life and missing everyone. Running Man is busy with work and loving it. If you know anyone who needs a good Chiropractor I know a fabulous one. :)
Here's to some actual spring weather and no more morning sickness!!
We figured with 6 grandkids it would be safer to decorate eggs outside...great idea as far as clean up went, bad idea because we had 6 frozen children after.


The girls were happy the Easter Bunny found them at Grandma's house. Running Man and I were so happy that despite all of the hoopla they both remembered the real reason for the celebration. We have incredible girls and are so blessed to be their parents. Their testimonies amaze me and help keep me centered!

Hello's and Good-Bye's

It has been a whirlwind these last few weeks. A lot of happy times mixed in with some sad. We said good-bye to Running Man's Grandpa Meyer last week after his short battle with t-cell lymphoma. He was an incredible Father, Grandpa and and amazing Grandpa Great. My girls fell in love with him in the short time they've had to get to know him. He left an amazing legacy and has so many reasons to be proud of his posterity. We will miss him so much!

The family (minus one). It was great to be able to spend time with all of Running Man's family and to pay tribute to Grandpa Great.

On the happy side of things we were able to celebrate my sister's wedding this past weekend!

She married a super fun guy named Jose(pics of him to come soon) and we are so excited to have him be part of our family!

The girls had a fun time partying it up, and seeing the prince and princess! Em was in awe and at the reception wanted to go through the line about 20 times to see the prince and princess.

The girls dancing with their Prince! (That's what they call him more often than calling him Dad).

They played hard for three day straight with their cousins and I'm happy to report there was no bloodshed! Em is in LOVE with The Boy, and Banana couldn't get enough of all of them.

Now we are home recovering for a few days before we head back to Price to party a little more!

Despite all of the traveling we've been doing we managed to a little spring cleaning...Em style! I wonder where she learned that from? :)