Nauvoo Pageant

Mike's family applied and was accepted to be part of the family cast of the Nauvoo Pageant this year! They leave on Wednesday, and rehearse for a week before getting to be in the actual production. They are so excited! We wish we could go see them in it! But since we can't, we wish them the best of luck. I can't wait to see pictures of them in their pioneer clothing.

If anyone is going to be in the Nauvoo area and is going to the pageant between July 11th and July19th, go say hi to them.

Grandma and Grandpa's Fun New Toys

Just some pictures from our visit with Grandma & Grandpa S. this weekend. They bought some fun things for the grandkids to play on when we visit, and Charlie got to break it all in. This airplane/teeter totter was so much fun! It fits 7 kids on it, but Charlie and I had a blast, just the two of us.

I Love My Yard

I've said it before. The reason I decided this was the house for me was because of the yard. I love every bit of it, and it constantly surprises me. Last week, an ugly thorny bush exploded in red and orange and yellow. It's so pretty! We play in the yard all the time. Peter lounges on a blanket while Charlie and I run through the sprinklers. The trees and bushes provide the perfect amount of shade and color. We are going to outgrow the house long before we get sick of this yard. It makes me happy every time I go outside.

Another Wonderful Weekend!

Busy but great. My cousin Linsey came to visit with her husband, Lamar, and their 4 little girls. We had a blast together . . . playing in the yard, walking to the dairy for ice-cream, going out to dinner . . . and then when the kids were asleep, Linsey, Lamar, Mike and I played a little boys vs. girls Hand and Foot. Of course, the girls won. Don't we always?


On Saturday, I threw a baby shower for Patti. She's having a girl this time around and is due in just a few weeks.
A HUGE thank you to my cousin for helping me get the decorations up for the shower. I couldn't have done it without you!

On Sunday, we gave talks in church on Eternal Families and that evening we had Mike's little sisters over for a movie night while his parents spoke at a fireside. We made popcorn and watched Enchanted. It's a completely cheezy movie, but I love it because it's so happy. Mike enjoyed it too as you can see . . . After having so many girls around, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if he never saw the color pink ever again!

I'm Aurora . . .

These were my results . . . but I'm not sure I agree . . . so I changed some of my answers and it told me I was Ariel. Then I decided that I shouldn't cheat, :-) so I put Aurora back on here.


You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

How much can I fit into one day?

Last Saturday, we got up at 6, drove for 3 hours, stopped to see my sister-in-law, drove another hour, went to the zoo, drove for another hour, attended a baby shower/welcome to the family party for Mindy and Kristel (the birth mother who picked her), drove another 1/2 hour, visited with my cousin, Linsey, and her family, drove another 1/2 hour to IKEA where we bought at toddler table for Charlie, and then drove 4 hours home, arriving at about 1am. It was busy, but it was also a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the only place I took pictures was at the zoo. I feel bad that I didn't get any at Mindy's party. I don't know what I was thinking! But it was fun to see her and her family . . . and to meet Kristel and her family. Mindy and Kristel even look alike. I can't wait to see that cute baby girl!

Charlie's favorite parts of the zoo were the elephants, the giraffes (jeffs), and this big marble ball fountain.

Happy Birthday Mindy!!

I forgot to send you a card, so I thought I'd post an embarrassing picture on my blog instead. Hope you have a great one!!

Bath Time

Peter LOVES baths. He was about a week and a half old when he had his first one and he just sat there with this content look on his face, wiggling his fingers and toes in the water. The past couple of nights, when he hears the water running and I start undressing him, he has started to giggle. It's the cutest thing! He was smiling so big tonight, until I turned the camera on. Then he just stared, but I thought I'd share the video anyway.

Charlie also loves baths, but only if he has lots of toys and lots of bubbles! He loves his foam letters and lines them all up on the wall, shouting out their names as he goes. With Charlie, the alphabet is not a quiet thing.


And by the way, thanks Alita and Mindy for the comments about Adobe Photoshop Elements. I did decide to keep it and I love it. I haven't done a ton with it, but the quality of the red eye removal alone is worth it! Can't wait to figure it all out!

A Visit With Grandpa E.

My dad showed up late Monday night for a visit. He was only here for a day, but we had fun. He bought Charlie this Pirate Pop-up game which is now his new favorite. Thanks Dad! It was great to see you!

Charlie's New Haircut

I got tired of paying $10 every time Charlie needed a haircut. And Great Clips just doesn't do near as good a job as Lisa did in Moscow. (We miss your haircuts Lisa!) So I grabbed the clippers and buzzed him. I think that if Charlie ever had any of my genes in his appearance, they are now gone.

Digital Scrapbooking: Give me advice please

(I so need to start proof-reading my posts before I publish. Every time I open up my blog, I see another spelling error that I have to edit.)

I've been using Microsoft Picture It for all my creative digital endeavors. Well, for my birthday, Mike got me Adobe Photoshop Elements 6. Does anyone know what the difference is? Is Elements something that will work a lot better for me, or is it pretty much the same as Picture It? I was going to download a free trial before I opened the box to make sure it was something I would use, but the free trials are down until next month. And if it's the same thing, I don't want to spend all that money on it . . .

Anyone know anything about this?