Jacob's new love...

He recently has discovered books. Yes, I have read him his fair share of books in his life, but he hasn't shown interest until now. It's actually really cute, because he will pick up a book and walk it over to me and try to climb onto my lap. I really love his reminders to read to him!!

The two kiddo's reading on the stairs.

Any suggestions...

Okay, so you all know that Jared has completed his schooling and so it is time for our family to move on...meaning move out! Ahh, I can't believe I'm actually saying that. I can't imagine not living with my sister and her family. Especially for Alayna, she is going to be bored out of her mind! So if you have a three/four year old send her my way (she needs a friend!).
So I was thinking today about asking all of my friends where we should go. We have looked around the area of Herriman, and it's not looking in our price range. So I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on the following cities...Please tell me anything you've even thought or heard about them. THANKS.

*Saratoga Springs
*Lehi
*Riverton
*Bluffdale
*Herriman (if only!!)
*Any other suggestions!

**Keep in mind Jared works in Riverton (currently two miles away!). So we would both prefer a short commute if possible.

So if you know of anything available or good locations for a great price you just let me know!

We are mainly looking for a home 3 bedroom, backyard, etc. Rent or buy...you just tell me any tips and I will follow up on them! Thanks for keeping an eye out for us!

If you have any suggestions on purchasing a Short Sale or Foreclosure home keep me posted about that too!

THANKS!

Our newest addition!

Yes, you read this correctly...our newest addition has arrived! I am so excited!!! Isn't it great?

(I know...it is yellow, but it was the cheapest color! I guess it's better than plain black? Don't laugh!!)

A Party Weekend!

Here are a few birthday party pictures of Kennady Lou Peck! She turned 1 years old on Friday.

Kennady has been known for her SMILE! She smiles so easily and often. In the family we usually try to pick the "appropriate" birthday cake that represents the kiddo for that year...So with that being said, Kennady had to have a BIG smiley face cake. It turned out FANTASTIC!

Part of the gang at the bbq...

One proud Auntie! (She wanted nothing to do with me or smiling for that matter. She was too interested in her new grocery shopping cart present.

Cute mini smiley face cupcakes...in case the other cake wasn't big enough!!! ha ha ha Hey, it made the little kiddo's happy!

(The name tags were from a previous family reunion, not this family birthday party!)

PS...Riley, thanks for hosting such a great birthday party for a ONE year old!!! :)

Cousin Lovin...

A pretty face generally gets little boys into trouble...

Here comes Jacob...Jake is our "caveman" he acts on instinct alone. He thinks, she's cute...I want to kiss her he thinks! (Look at that little boy coming for her...he is NOT holding back!!)
Jake is thinking... "I must kiss her!!" She thinks..."Save me, someone...anyone!!"
"I finally got her!" The ultimate head lock hug!

Okay, now after I snapped a few photos of this hilarious love sick moment of my son and Kennady. I had to quickly video some of this. To our amazement Jake continued this behavior for 20 minutes. I only downloaded a few minutes of the hilarious half an hour, but he was relentless. He never stopped wanting her!

ENJOY!!! This is a funny one!

If you want to watch something hilarious, you must stay tuned for this video. Jacob has always had a crush on Kennady, but we didn't realize how much until tonight!

Zion's National Park...

(Me, Jared, Krista, Riley and yes that is a baby- Kennady!)

Look at us, don't we look official? Well, we were sure trying to play the part! After our Panguitch party we attempted to wake up early and travel an hour away to hike the Narrows in Zion National Park. We were successful. We were on the road, alert even by 7am. We arrived and were hiking by 9:30am.

(The sista's out to have some water/hiking fun!)

Oh...cute picture! We really just wanted to capture the amazing green color and the beautiful rock.

We really were so glad we made the trek to come to the wedding and then make a quick weekend trip out of it. We all LOVED the narrows. It was fun to hang with the Peck's and do something that was here in our state. I have recently traveled a little more to new area's in our own home state of Utah. I am slowly learning why people love the outdoors. I'm the last one you would find enjoying...hiking. Yes, those who know me well, understand it is my ONE thing on my list that I really DO NOT ENJOY! But I must admit that I enjoyed myself. After hiking from 9:30am-1pm...my enjoyment had worn off. My ankles were tired of slippin and slidding all over the rocks! So I said, "I'm DONE!" Lucky enough the boys had set a time limit on our hike and it was 1pm. I was in luck, it was 1pm straight up! So, turned back...and it took less than half the time. Either way, we all had a GREAT time. It really was quite spectacular. I'm learning that being a little more adventurous and getting out of the house and movin my body is rather enjoyable! So I must give my husband props for remaining 7 years patient with me, because it's been a slow slow process to get me to do something like this. But while we were hiking, he grabbed my hand and said, "This is exactly what I want to be doing with you...these trips are so much better with you!" (he was referring to his guy camping and hiking trips!) For a moment, I looked at him and thought, "Yeah, right...you would rather go with the boys because I would hold you back!" But then as I considered that it was actually Jared saying something cute, I knew he really meant it! It made the day that much better, knowing that he still LOVED being with me, even if this is "his" thing...I might slow him down, but he still would rather do it with my than someone else! (I know don't laugh at such a silly thing, but when I have a husband that has so many outdoor hobby's. He generally does them without me and I assume he likes it that way. It felt great to know he'd rather have me learn and do it with him! Lucky for him I am beginning (very beginning) to enjoy the outdoor hiking thing and TONS of enjoyment for mountain biking!)

Kylie & Dennis...

My cousin Kylie & Dennis were married a couple weeks ago in the San Diego Temple on July 11th. Dennis is from Panguitch, Utah and they held an open house this Friday. We decided to surprise them and take a drive on down to celebrate with them!

This is my cousin Jordan hanging out with Krista and I.

Jared, Riley and Kennady enjoying our time at the open house. We were all really just counting down the minutes until the real party in Panguitch was to begin. We all returned to Dennis' grandparents house to open their gifts. We ended up staying us SUPER late until about 2 AM. We all ended up crashing on the grandparents floor that night. They were so kind and hospitable to us. Thanks for the Panguitch fun!

Waterslide FUN!!

On the 24th, we had this GREAT idea (thanks to Krista & Riley) to bring our slippin slide to my Aunt Cheryl's house. Her back yard turns into the community park. We had 75 feet of plastic. We dragged her hose over and had the sprinklers helping out too! We of course brought out the dish soap to help us out! This was a riot. We went again and again. The funny thing was that the very moment we walked out to the park to set up our slide another family brought their 100 foot slippin slide. So, after a few hours of our individual fun we decided to team up and combined our slides. We eventually had 175 feet of pure excitement! It was an absolute riot. We have all decided to continue this tradition, multiple times a year! What a blast! Next time anyone is invited to join in the fun.

This is Alayna's new best friend. "Soda-pop!" Yeah, my kids are sheltered. When they get in the real life with others who actually drink this sugar goodness, she can't get enough of it! So, for the entire BBQ on the 24th she had a "pop" can in her hand! She LOVES pop. Poor kid, she is so deprived!

Yes, for all of you wondering...this is Shandra trying out the slippin slide!

This is Jared trying to take out Alayna! He succeeded!

Celebrating the 24th of July!

Here are a few darling pictures of our little "caveman" Jacob! He seriously is an adorable kid. Jared and I can't get enough of this little guy. He really makes us laugh. I has a few new loves in life, ICE, Balls, water, and girls. (I'll explain the cute girl thing in a minute!) Anyways, I just wanted to post some super cute picts of this little guy! Oh, we call him a caveman because he grunts and acts on instinct only! Cute kid.

Our cute little tag-a-long!

Kennady Lou Peck is our new little baby! Since her parents so kindly left us to enjoy an exotic cruise to Jamaica. We have been blessed with her. My parents so kindly kept her from Friday until Monday afternoon. At that point I relinquished duty. I have her until Thursday night at midnight! Then her parents will be home!

This was the morning...Alayna being so excited to HELP feed Kennady applesauce. I actually enjoyed teaching her how to help me with a baby.

Here are my two babies! Jacob has really enjoyed his new little friend.

She is still such a happy little girl, even though she doesn't have her mommy & daddy to ooh and goo over her...we are enjoying her bright smiling little face!

Just one week later!

Can you believe how quickly our bodies heal? Well, after the traumatic experience last Monday, I am SHOCKED that our sweet little Alayna face is back and smiling!

Besides have a little dry skin under her lip, she is doing perfectly! We are so happy to have her SMILE back! Notice, she is also back to swimming! Every night her "sad" thing for the day was that the doctor said she couldn't swim until Monday. She was so THRILLED with Monday finally came! You better believe it she went straight for the swimming pool!

"HAT!"

This is Jacob sharing his first word, "HAT" with all of you. I guess it is his first object word. He says the typical, Momma, Dadda, bye bye, hi, hot, All done, etc.

Hey, this hat might be pink, but I think he looks great in it! I finally found him a little boy baseball hat for him to wear! I just happened to catch the photo of him saying, "Hat, Hat" while wearing his sisters darling pink hat!

It was bound to happen!

Living with six little kids in one house an accident is bound to happen from time to time. Our little Alayna had another accident. She was out swimming with her cousins. She was taking a ride in a tube and she was somehow pushed over the edge. She unfortunately landed on a rock wall. I'll spare you the gory details...for those who are squeamish and with a weak stomach. Lets just say I thought I was tough...but when I fainted yes, two times today. I guess I'm no longer the brave accident mom.

The first time I showed her her face in the mirror she just stared and then said, "At least I have a cool Spiderman band aid!" What an optimistic little thing!

She had to get on "stitch" underneath her bottom lip because some "tooth" went all the way through. As you can see her face is all scratched up and she has VERY puffy poofy purple lips. She has been a very brave girl.

Unlike myself. As I was standing over her little body and holding her hands down while she was getting stitches, I started feeling a little squeamish. I was just staring at the doctor so intently, that I realized that the room was starting to spin and going very dark. I was thinking very slowly mind you, "I...can't...carry...her...I can't carry her! She's...too...heavy...Jared will have to carry her!" I then found myself "checking out" before I knew it the nurse had pushed me into the chair and had pulled my shoulders down so my head was in between my legs. I few seconds later I was ghostly pale and laughing. I realized what had happened. The doctor said, "I've seen that look plenty of times on the Mommies faces. It does usually happen because the child is finally taken care of and the mommies body begins to go into shock and realize all what has happened!"

I guess that's what happened to me. Except that I was "faint, sweaty, clammy, spinning, etc" at home when I had to figure out what to do with my little girl. Thank heavens for prayer. This situation was assessed MUCH worse than it turned out. Again, all spare the rest of you with a faint stomach the details. We are just thankful she is doing as well as she is. A HUGE thanks goes to Aunt Shanny who helped ME stay calm and under control, even though I was about to faint. I'm just glad Alayna did as well as she did. She was one brave little girl. She was so sweet tonight. When we tucked her in and talked about happy things today and sad things. She said "I was so happy even though you (mommy) was a little scared you prayed and you felt better." Me too.

*What a lucky seven wedding anniversary for Jared and I...we won't forget this one!**

7 years...yes you heard me right!

Today we are celebrating our SEVEN year wedding anniversary. I honestly can't believe that we have rounded over the 5 year mark and we are on our way to TEN. I must admit we have had our good times together.

Jared and I fell madly in love at Utah State University. I was a YOUNG freshman and he was a RECENTLY returned missionary (by three weeks or so!). We were bound to fall in love. We were next door neighbors. I lived in Snow Hall 302 and he was in room 304. We met that first weekend up there and yes I had this thought, "Darn no cute boys to date...but at least they will become our best friends!" But once I heard these words, "I served my mission in Rome, Italy!" He had my attention and I thought he was instantly super cute!! (My dad served in Italy...and he said he liked to golf...so does my dad!) I was "hush hush" over Jared...well, only to his face! And Jared was "Mr. I won't get married until AT LEAST a year home from my Mission!" A few months later, after I broke Jared's 5 year kissing streak, we were destined to fall in love! The following spring the Spirit witnessed to us both, that Marriage was the right thing, and we had to listen. I am sure glad I did at that very young age. One thing we can know for sure, that if we do following the promptings of the Spirit we will be blessed.

I must admit we have been overly blessed in our marriage. We were both able to finish our college degrees at the University of Utah. Just as I graduated we had our first baby Alayna. She quickly became the light and joy of our life. Jared then was accepted into graduate school here in Utah, (We didn't have to move out of state like I was very much dreading!), then we had our little Jacob. And now, we have been so blessed to have a job so close for Jared, where he comes home for lunch most days! We really can't ask for much more, and I could go on and on...

I love you, J! **I've saved all the ooshy gooshy stuff for Jared's card...I figured you'd want me to spare you the details!

**USU roomies, Jared and I watched our wedding video today and we wanted to thank everyone up in Logan who helped this marraige come about! Thank you for being so patient with, "The Cave!" and "Mom & Dad!" We love you kids, you really hold such a special place in our heart. We love you all!**

She's back home!!

Yeah, Sunday couldn't come soon enough for us. Jared, Jacob and I were really missing our little Alayna. We knew she had such a fun time, but we were ready to have our happy extra active personality back with our family here at home! I've included a few pictures from their super fun vacation. THANK YOU MOM & DAD!!

La Jolla Beach. Their first fun activity...If you can read Alayna's body language she was afraid of the waves and the baby crabs! She enjoyed just playing in the sand, but not playing in the water...says Grandma Lou.

Then they were off to an Oceanside tradition...we must eat at Joe's Crab Shack right on the beach!

SeaWorld...the girls had several matching outfits, they looked so cute together!

Hello, Legoland! This is what these little girls looked forward to for so many years! My parents learned a few things. One, a three year old...does throw tantrums! Two, a three year old isn't tall enough to ride all the rides. Three, that these little girls are so fun together! Oh...and we can't forget that they learned my daughter is VERY independent! (I tried to warn them!!!)

Enjoying their favorite Apple Fry's?? I guess we have to go to Legoland to find out what they are!

This was one of Alayna's favorite rides!
Do you notice that the people in the background are made out of ALL Lego's? I just thought that was hilarious!
The other part of the trip, was my cousins wedding at the San Diego Temple. Kylie was married on Friday. The girls thought it was so neat to actually go inside the doors of the temple. This temple has a special waiting room that they could go in. Alayna said, "Mommy this temple was sooo pretty!"

I think these two little girls had such an enjoyable time together! I hope my parents will be able to relax this week and take a vacation from being parents. THANK YOU so much. I know that it was a tough week remembering what a three year old can bring to life, but they will talk of this vacation forever. THANK YOU we are so lucky to have you be such great grandparents who want to spend time with our children!!! We love you.

Memories...

Memory Lane...I got this from a friend's blog. I thought it would be fun! I hope you will play along.

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

Something that got me thinking...

Yesterday Jared and I had a very quiet Sunday morning. Mainly because Alayna is gone to California, but Jake was also napping. So I picked up the new July Ensign. The cover was very intriguing to me. So I read the article that went along with it. I found it very interesting that Elder M. Russell Ballard actually mentioned blogs. He said...

"Talk honestly and sincerely about the impact the gospel has had in your life, about how it has helped you overcome weaknesses or challenges and helped define your values. The audiences for these and other new media tools may often be small, but the cumulative effect of thousands of such stories can be great. The combined effort is certainly worth the outcome if but a few are influenced by your words of faith and love of God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ has no doubt had a powerful impact on your life. It has, in part, shaped who you are and what your future will be. Do not be afraid to share with others your experiences as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. We all have interesting stories that have influenced our identity. Sharing those stories is a nonthreatening way to talk to others. Telling those stories can help demystify the Church. You could help overcome misperceptions through your own sphere of influence, which ought to include the Internet."

As I read this, I realized that's why I love to blog. That's why I love reading your stories and experiences. I love to share my experiences and stories of joy with others. I simply didn't realize that this is one way we can impact the lives of others. So if I happen to share a few more personal feelings and details, just know that I'm trying to reach out to others just a little bit more. I actually saw on a friends blog "52 weeks of Gratitude" I thought, that I also could do something like this. Well, lots to think about, but I just loved this angle to sharing the gospel using the Internet. What do you think?