Retraction- Princess style

In my previous post, I had mentioned that Mckinley seemed disinterested in all things Princess. That WAS until Miss Kate, graciously gifted her with a box of Disney Princess Dress ups. At first, she was mainly interested in the rings, "pearl" necklace and bracelets but then she discovered the dresses. Since Monday, we have had the Aurora/Sleeping Beauty dress and crown as the daily staple. She LOVES it. Just glad that I was able to catch Mckinley discovering her "inner princess" with the camera.

One year older and wiser too....

10:22 AM and you made your entrance into the world. I should have known that being six (Yes, SIX!!) days late, this would set the pace for the stubborn, strong willed little girl that was entering our lives. You were an angel- a stork bitten, blond angel and all ours. What a blessing you are and we are so thankful you chose us to raise you and be with you on your journey.

Some things we love about you right now-


1) You love go-gurts!


2) No princesses or dollies at this house. You are all about "dine-saurs" and "dagons".


3) You love bath time and to "schwim". Your little nakey bum is so edible!!


4) "Shoes on", "shoes off"- a pretty good indicator of if we are staying or going.


5) You love to be outside!


6) You are learning to "snuggle"- every now and then we (daddy more often) get a few minutes before bed time.


7) You can count to 10- "seben" is my personal favorite.


8) You are the master of unscrewing, uncapping and opening anything.


9) You love "pretties" and to put on lip gloss and chapstick.


10) You are so empathetic and compassionate to others.


WE LOVE YOU! Happy 2nd Birthday, Mickey Doo!

You call me a WITCH as if it's a bad thing

Living in Utah definitely has it perks and I can now add one more to the list-- WITCHAPALOOZA!! We had an excellent time @ Gardner Village for a ladies night- myself, my mother, Bree, Heidi, and Kelly. We met together Saturday afternoon to embellish our own hats- feather boas, glitter, ribbons and bows, and then met @ 5:30 to visit with other witches and bask in the Halloween decor @ all the fabulous little shops. The show commenced @ 7:00- food, singing and a great show! The theme was "Ghosts of Withes Past" (cleverly adapted from "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past"). It was great! We had so much fun singing along, dancing and just enjoying each other's company. I can't wait to go next year and now that we know there are people that go WAY beyond black clothes and green face paint, I will be on the look out for a sweet dress and witch shoes for next year.

Until next year ladies-" i'll get you my pretties!"

My mother and my sister and I.

The Witches!

Just a little patience

I guess I started this post below last week...never posted it. I think I got too busy or Mckinley threw her lunch on the floor or something. She has become quite challenging (no need for "I told you so's") but it seems like sometimes that EVERYONE makes a comment about how "active" our child is. She tests my patience pretty much everyday and I sometimes wonder how in the world can I handle working from home (40 hours a week), handling a toddler who needs constant attention or she is coloring on the wall( herself, the couch, the dog), and then eventually, having another child at home.

**I started today with a goal of not using the word "no" to Mckinley. That goal got chucked out the window at 9:34 AM, as she dumped crushed up goldfish crackers all over my new leather ottoman. My patience has been super thin lately and I am really not sure why. Yes, she is a toddler--the phrase "Terrible Twos" is all too familiar but it is funny, I pray for patience and to be a better Mother and it seems like the Lord sends those tantrums and screaming fits as a "test".

I went and listened to Stephanie Nielson (nieniedialogues.blogspot.com) @ BYU last night. First off, that is one kooky place. Nerdy kids all over sporting their BYU blue- I hope the Aggs beat them! :) Second, I went with my sister-in-law, Marianne (who bless her heart is the Young Women's President) and a bunch of 16 year olds texting and rambling about Taylor Swift...wow was that agonizing ( is that what I have to look forward to?!?!?). Anyway, Stephanie was amazing. What an inspirational spirit. She just radiates- now, for reals, I am not just "drinking the Kool-aid" and on this kick....I have followed her blog for a long time and think she is really a great example of patience and the kind of mother I want to be.

Here it is 10:15- still have a few hours left to work, Mark was a dear and has mopped the floor and dusted the furniture...I have to give that man mad props too. He is super receptive to my Mt. Saint Helens breaking points. He comes home from a 12 hour day, takes Mc without complaint and let's me do my thing. I am sure I am not the easiest to live with most days but he really is my match and is able to talk me off the ledge.

Anyway- there you have it. A not so fluffy post and kind of a glimpse into the craziness of my life. So next time you see me, take a look at the cuticles- They are a pretty good judge of my stress level and right now, they resemble something close to ground beef.

Excuse me but can I be you for a while

For lack of anything else exciting to blog- a post that is a hodge podge of random. I guess being the first day of Autumn, a few of the posts are summer related and all of the posts include Mckinley (surprise, surprise). I was looking at the birthday ticker today and it is crazy that my baby is going to be two in a few short weeks. We have a two year old....can it be??

Let's begin with this one...we hit up Park City for Labor Day and this is Mc and Mark on the Alpine slide. She LOVED it! Being half (I say 3/4's) Mark, she was fearless and Mark said she kept saying "gehn gehn" (again again) over and over and wanted to go faster. She loved it!

This is Mc with her cousins Finn and Sophie. They are super close in age (about 2 months apart) and it is fun to see them together. My cousin Ashlee (their mom) and I have always been close and to see our kids together, now that we live in the same state, is awesome. This picture captured them about the only time they sat still, to eat their ice cream @ Grandma Cookie's 71st birthday party.

A few weekends ago, my mother and I hosted a yard sale @ my house. Mark was a trooper and at the end of the day, chilled with Mc and our niece Brynlee. Does Mckinley look like her daddy or what? And for the scrapbook, this is right before Brynlee peed through her diaper onto the couch. Guess she was just really comfortable with Mark.

And lastly, Mckinley right after I tucked her in. She has her "beebies" and nothing makes her more happy than to go to bed. She actually asks for "nigh nigh" when she is ready for bed. What a sweetie. We sure do love her!

A little something from the archives

This is me in all my 2nd grade glory. This weekend, I picked up a box of old school papers from my mom's house and came across a few gems.

Now, keep in mind, 2nd grade for me was one of the best years of school I can remember. My teacher, Mrs. Gadd was amazing. I remember her peach colored turtle neck, brown polyester pants and the nervous "hold my arm under my boob and lift up" twitch that made her ever so charming. I brought her flowers (picked from someone's yard on the way to school), wrote her notes and thought she was amazing. 2nd grade was also where I got my first 15 minutes of fame with the weather man, Lynn Randolph. He used to do "Weather School" and our class got picked to host. I had drawn an amazing picture of a girl outside in a rain coat almost getting struck by lightening. Mrs. Gadd also had us keep a daily journal and this was one of my favorite entries- the theme was "By the time I am twenty years old I hope that...". My spelling was superb (note: 'collage', 'scailorsip' and 'sergen'). I had aspirations of a mission (which was going to be to Russia- I was sure of it) and to become a plastic "sergen". I also find it funny I had the desire to be "popiler"..even at an early age we have our priorities.

As you can see from the picture, we did reports- this was the Zebra report and my Zebra plains (salt dough and rice dyed green). I would like to say this was ALL my idea but my mother was quite the skilled diorama maker. I rocked the sweet side pony, jelly roll bangs and dreams that were far beyond my years. Hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane.

Come on girls! Do you believe in love?

Sorry for the crooked video! Any help in that capacity would be appreciated. Until then, touch your ear to your shoulder. Worth the watch! :)

Happy September! It seems like summer went by way too quickly with not nearly enough trips to the pool or days spent outside. Fall is almost here and I am super excited for the weather, pumpkins on my porch, sweaters and Halloween.

Mckinley is getting too big! It still amazes me that she has been a part of our lives almost two years in October. What a sweet blessing! She is constantly entertaining us with her dancing (as you can see in the video she has a love for Madonna, like her parents. Yes, even Mark!) and now whenever I get the camera out she says "Chhhhheeeeeessssse". We did have a monumental tantrum this week- screaming and yelling "Daddy, hep me" (translation, Help me!!!). I have never had so many people looking at me in TjMaxx like I was kidnapping this poor little girl (mind you, shopping cart full of things for HER!!). She loves Cory (the dog), her stroller, coloring and go gurts. She loves her "shows" which she requests in the morning and before naps. We sure do love her and are so lucky to have such a sweet spirit (minus the aforementioned tantrum) in our home. Here is Mc giving Cory a hug.

Tomorrow for Labor Day we are making a trip to Park City to ride the Alpine Slide and the ziplines before they close them for the season. I have wanted to go all summer so I am pretty excited to rock the zipline.