Grandma and Grandpa visit...March 2011

I am so happy Grandma and Grandpa got to come and play with us! Grandma and Grandpa went on a cruise and then they got to come and spend some time with us.  We did a lot! We went to the beach, zoo, children's museum, and Disney World! I sure loved having my parents here and I know the girls loved having Grandma and Grandpa to play with.  I wish they could have stayed even longer but I am thankful for the time we did have.

We played on the beach!


We played at the zoo


We went to the Children's Museum








Katie went into a Dr. Suess book!






More time on the beach


and of course DISNEY WORLD!


Grandpa's favorite ride


A little down time at home


More Disney World

Destin Florida April 2011

We went to Destin because Stephen had an Anesthesia conference he had to go to so the kids and I tagged along! We had so much fun! Honestly one of the best vacations ever! If you ever get the chance to go to Destin Florida you should! We stayed in one of these resort areas where they had the beach and everything else you could ever need within biking distance. It was a definite bike town and we rode around everywhere (even though I was incredibly worried about riding around with Annie being so little..I did make her wear a helmet!)and it was so much fun! We played on the soft sandy white beaches and had a blast! One of the nights we had horrible thunder and lightning and tornado warnings while the rest of my family slept through it all I stayed awake praying we would survive! Other than that it was the best vacation spot ever and I really hope we get to go again to Destin!

Coco Beach 2011

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Sometime earlier this year (maybe March?)we went to Coco beach for a weekend. Stephen and I decided we won't be in Florida for very long so we should see some sights. We had a wonderful time playing in the Atlantic Ocean. Katie and Annie both love the beach. Annie was just walking and so she seemed to prefer crawling on the unfamiliar turf. We took walks on the beach and simply enjoyed the time together. We found an amazing beach where we were practically alone with so much space to play. It was such a great little vacation and one that (even though it is so late) I didn't want to forget about!

Easter 2011

As I was looking back over the blog I realized I never posted anything about Easter! We had a great Easter Katie and Annie were both adorable. Annie started walking right around Easter and so she was quite good at finding the Easter eggs too. We started the Easter weekend off by going to Katie's preschool party on Friday. Then we decorated our eggs on Friday night. Then on Saturday we went to the ward Easter egg hunt and there wasn't a great turn out which meant that the kids got to find a lot of eggs! On Sunday morning the girls first found their Easter baskets and then they found their Easter eggs. I don't quite know why but for some reason I never took a picture of the two of them in their beautiful Easter dresses their dresses were coordinating colors and very girly! I sure loved the holiday and I sure love my girls!

Kids say the cutest things!

I just had to post this before I forgot about the adorable things my Katie bug says now a days! Stephen and I took the girls to the local pet store just to let them pet the kittens and puppies (not our brightest idea).  We made it clear to Katie that we were not going to buy any pets that day because we do not live in a house and we are going to be moving in the near future.  We just wanted to look and pet the kittens for a little bit.  Katie said she was fine with that and she was excited just to see them.  Well once we got there it was obvious that this was not our best idea! She instantly fell in love with one of the kittens and she REALLY wanted to take it home.   After explaining again that we couldn't take the kitten home she started to cry and when I reminded her of our earlier conversation she said to me, "But Mommy (sniffle)  that was before I realized how cute and soft they were!" Stephen and I laughed and laughed we thought that was pretty good reasoning for a four year old but alas we still only own fish!  One day I will have a house and we will get a puppy or kitten too.  

So tonight I was reading Katie a Bearnstein Bears Book about Telling the Truth.  In the book the mom tells her cubs that trust is fragile and it isn't something you can just put back together again.  After we finished reading the story Katie said, "Mom my piggy bank is made out of trust because it is fragile and you always tell me that if it breaks we can't put it back together again."  Oh how I laughed! I can't believe she is four! With every birthday I feel joy and sadness. I am so happy to see her grow and learn for another year but I am always sad to see the previous year go.  I am going to miss my three year old but four is turning out to be pretty good too!

My girls both had birthdays! Katie is four Annie is one!

Katie's slideshow!

Picture slideshow generated with Smilebox

 Annie's Slideshow!

A digital slideshow by Smilebox

Here are the girls birthday slideshows! I have been the worst at blogging this year and when I think about blogging I just think of how much I have to do and then I get to overwhelmed and so I don't do anything.  SO I am just going to start blogging the new stuff that we are currently doing and maybe one day I will be able to go back and do some catch up blogs. After watching those slideshows I really think my girls look so much alike...do you?

Annie Updates:
Annie is one! I can't believe it! It is so true what they say about time going by so quickly.  My girls are so big now! Annie is so darn cute (if I do say so myself)! She has a very fiesty personality she is a very determined little girl.  She is very smart and she warms our hearts everyday.  She likes to bring us books and then she slowly walks backwards to sit on our laps so we can read to her.  She can tell you what the cow, dog, and elephant say.  She says mama, dada, bye-bye, ball, and ba-ba for milk or bottle or bath or sippy cup (depending on the situation)!  She blows kisses and waves bye-bye and she will give hugs and kisses too.  She also folds her arms and mumbles when we say it is time for prayer which is honestly the sweetest thing! Annie is a very independent little girl she is able to entertain herself and have fun all day long. We just love out little Annie!


Katie Updates:
Katie is doing great.  She is such a sweet little girl and she tries so hard to be a good big sister.  Katie is so bright and I find myself trying to find ways to keep her busy these days.  She is learning to read and can already read about 45 different words!  Katie is going through a bit of a sneaky stage right now.  She is having a difficult time always telling the truth (something we are really working on) and she likes to hide things and try to get away with things that she knows she shouldn't get away with.  I think she is just testing us out to see what her boundaries are as she gets older.  She is a very good little girl overall though.  She loves church and she makes sure that we read her scriptures every night before bed.  She often reminds me of the correct things we should be doing and will amaze me with her tender and sincere prayers.  She is always looking forward to getting older and I keep telling her to enjoy being four because it won't last long enough!  She cares a lot about her little sister and is usually willing to share her toys and help Annie whenever possible. We sure are thankful for and love our Katie bug!