Hair, Alligators and Bugs!

We bought a season pass to the zoo and have enjoyed using it!

Katie loved the camel she was a little bit afraid at first but she warmed up to him quickly and then she didn't want to get off.  Typical kid!

Riding the carousel

Still riding while I was taking the picture and had a strange tingling on my head....

Right after I took the above picture a kind woman at the zoo said, "Please don't panic but you have a large insect on your head!"  Of course I started panicking! Not that I like to think of myself as one of those whimpy girls but I really don't do well with bugs, especially when an unknown one is on top of my head!  I was too afraid to reach up and touch it and thankfully Stephen had come off from the carousel and he hit it off of my head.... after many attempts!  So here it is a HUGE cricket, I think that is what it is.  Needless to say I was very happy that it was off from my head and back on the ground.  Geez these bugs here in Florida are getting the best of me!

compared to Stephen's hand

Here is a picture of something we don't have to go to the zoo to see!

I just really liked this picture of our nations symbol.  At the zoo they have rescued eagles that have been harmed in the wild.  It was neat to be so close to one and get such a close up shot. 

Here are some shots of my Annie jumping away in her bouncer.  She does not love her bouncer like Katie did rather I think she just tolerates it!

Disney on Ice!

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I am still playing catch up but we are only about a month behind now! last month we took the girls to see Disney on ice here in Tampa! it was a blast! We bought the cheapest tickets possible and we still had good seats! Katie simply loved watching all of the characters come to life! It was a spur of the moment event and I am very glad we decided to go. Katie still asks me when we can go again.

Amy's Wedding/ Utah Trip

Amy and Landon!


I love Amy in this picture she is simply gorgeous!


The family with out us in laws or kiddos


The whole family


Amy and her brothers


Katie and Kaden at Kaden's house! These two are so cute! They have been friends for a long time check out the pictures below! I think it is fun to see these kids growing up together!

Flash back:
Katie and Kaden Easter 2008

Katie and Kaden around Christmas 2007 (I think...Andrea am I right was this in November or December?)



Okay back to the Utah Trip of 2010! We got to see Grandma and Grandpa Pehrson too!


Troy, Katie, Jaxon, and Kaden eating donuts!


Thank you Aunt Emily for cutting Katie's hair!


Kaden, Anna Belle, Emma, Katie, and Reagan


My Sweet Annie!


Katie and Reagan playing outside. They have been friends for a long time too!


Flying to Utah





Okay that about sums up our Utah trip with pictures! We had a great time seeing all of Stephen's family (which considering how big his family is that is no small task)! Thank you to Spencer and Andrea for housing us. Thank you to grandma and Grandpa Pehrson for coming all the way to Utah to see us! Katie LOVED playing with all of her cousins and I really loved it too because she was basically occupied the entire time! Some funny and memorable things were that Katie and Kaden's names sound very similar and since Spencer and Andrea were kind enough to let us drive with them in their car (so we wouldn't have to rent a car) the two kids would get confused often! I would tell Katie not to do something and Kaden would respond with, "I'm not!" Super funny! Amy was more than beautiful she looked radiant and it was so great to finally meet Landon he is such a great guy! I am very happy for them they seem like a perfect couple! We had a blast staying up late and playing games! I wish everyone lived closer (especially us) so we could see them more often! My greatest regret of the whole trip was not taking more time to take pictures. I really wish we would have gotten a picture of all the grandkids together. I am horrible at remembering to take the camera with me everywhere. So to all the Smith's come on out and visit us soon so I can take more pictures...the weather is getting much better!

My Annie 0-3 month update

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Annie is a beautiful and special little girl. I just love my baby. She has such a sweet spirit. Annie can now roll over both ways although she mostly will roll over from her tummy on to her back because she isn't a huge fan of "tummy time". She reaches for toys now and tries to put everything into her mouth including mommy's hair and her own toes! She loves to watch her big sister Katie do anything. Annie smiles all the time and she melts my heart with each little grin. Her smile is so precious her entire face lights up and she has this sort of shy look about her when she smiles. She gets this special twinkle in her eyes when she smiles. Annie laughs but sometimes she is difficult to get a laugh out of her. It is funny because I will try and try to get her to laugh with no success and then other times I won't even be talking to her and she bursts out laughing. When she does laugh I don't think that there is a better sound in all the world. She makes lots of noises now and "talks" to us quite a bit. I love my little baby more than I thought would be possible. I am so thankful everyday for my two beautiful daughters!

School Days!

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Katie goes to preschool for three hours every Monday, Wednesday and Friday now. This is truly been such a great thing for me and for her. Katie is a demanding little girl and back when she had me and grandma all to herself it wasn't so bad but now that she is stuck with sharing just mommy it has been a bit of a struggle. Preschool has been great because it has given her that time to have some structure and activities and it has given me time to spend with just my sweet Annie! Her preschool is GREAT we just love it. Her teachers are very kind and Katie loves them. She is making new friends and learning lots of fun and new things. In my mind the cost of preschool is worth every single penny! It keeps both Katie and mommy sane!

"Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo"

A scrapbook design by Smilebox

Hello Florida!

Well I wish I had some pictures of us on the air plane or of the HUGE moving truck but I didn't have it all together to take such pictures during the craziness so here are some pictures of some real signs and my girls in Florida although, nothing about the pictures actually show that they are in Florida but they are!






Hello Florida! Yes we really do see signs that tell us not to feed the alligators which let's be honest I DONT NEED A SIGN to tell me to keep my distance! Although I guess it is common for people (not the most intelligent people) to actually feed and PLAY with the alligators. Really... they are not ducks people! The closest I have come to the alligators since I have been here is at the zoo which is as close as I EVER want to be! Honestly these animals are HUGE here. Stephen has seen one out in a lake behind our apartments but I have yet to see one out and about although... the other day I did see an Armadillo on the road!

Now if you can imagine a swamp... gross water festering with mosquitoes and other strange insects, hot, sticky, humid, greenery everywhere, wild animals everywhere... ok now you have a pretty good idea of where I am living! Maybe it isn't quite that bad but honestly pretty darn close! There are literally ponds (well that is what the locals call them I personally would refer to them as swamps) all around us and driving on roads even busy roads we see huge birds and wild animals everyday...this is Florida! What an adventure we are having! Florida has often been called "heavens waiting room" due to the large population of elderly people coming here to retire and...well you know wait it out until the end! As of now I think a better nick name for Florida is "Hell's waiting room"! Alright so I am being a little silly but you get the idea so far I don't know why anyone would choose to live here. However, It is fun to see and to have a new experience living in a completely different part of the country. It has been quite an experience for the entire family. Every Floridian tells us that we are here during the worst possible time and that it will only get better. Our ward so far has been very kind and accommodating and we both already have callings. The church is not as strong here as it is even in Fresno. Our stake building for example is 45 minutes away from us! This is new for me! When we first moved Katie loved it because it rains A LOT. She loved getting her umbrella and going outside in the rain now when it rains she says, "Ahh it's raining again...dangit!" Our apartment is actually perfect for our little family. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The kitchen is the only down side in that it is super tiny but we have an attached garage and a laundry room inside the apartment so it really is pretty nice. Well that is all I am going to say about Florida currently because I have other posts in which to tell more! Thanks for reading...if anyone made it this far! OH and again please come visit we would love it and you have to admit it sounds lovely! Don't I do a good job of convincing you to come and visit??

Last days in Fresno

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Here are some pictures to summarize our last days living in Fresno. We were able to take some family pictures which was great. We sure do love our family and miss them more than I can say. I know that Stephen being in this program is the best thing but it doesn't make it any easier! Katie misses everyone so so much (especially Ellie). She is constantly talking about everyone back in Fresno. All I have to say is come and visit family we need it!

Can you guess the baby?

Which one is Annie and which one is Katie? I have to say they look like the same baby to me and I am their mother! Anyway I am curious as to if others can tell the difference so take a guess!

Happy 4th of July...in September!

My beautiful patriotic daughters!

Happy 4th of July! Don't judge me! I know way way late but I have to catch up before I can post the new stuff. Yes I have been living in Florida for about two months now but I haven't had time between moving to Florida, setting up the apartment, taking care of the kids, and then going back to Utah for a family wedding (post to follow) to be involved with the blog. I have decided that blogging is like working out or reading your scriptures it doesn't get done unless you schedule time for it! I have decided that I will blog AT LEAST once a week on Sundays. But until I catch up I plan on blogging everyday! We will see how well this goes. Any way the 4th of July Stephen had flown back to Fresno to bless Annie and to see us. It was a lot of fun! We made homemade ice cream and did some fireworks with Katie's boys! It was a fun 4th of July!