Care Bears.....Stare!!!!

Austin's new favorite movie is Care Bears. His fascination with it has calmed down some but for a while he was asking daily to watch it. While walking throug the mall one night Craig found these cute care bears in the toy machine and so we had to get some!!! They make for some great reward incentives and something Austin can get with the weekly quarter he accumulates from his Grandma's letters.

And when it's raining....

It nice just to be lazy once in a while.

Enjoying the Spring Weather!!

This year the spring weather has been perfect!! Last year it rained so much which kept us indoors and then when the rain finally stopped it was already hot. This year we have had rain here and there but plently of nice spring sunshine in between. So we have been outside trying to enjoy the weather as much as we can.

One night we borrowed bikes & took the kids on a ride to the park.

We have been to the park several times already this Spring. Mikayla is big enough now that she can climb up and get around the playground pretty well and she loves the slides. However she is not big enough to be trusted alone so I still have to stay close by. But Austin loves having her there to run around with. They are getting to be much better friends now that Mikayla is older.

We also enjoyed Go-Karting here in town. The first race was Craig with Mikayla and me with Austin. I thought Mikayla would cry but she actually made it through the race. She was probably just too scared to cry because the next race I couldn't get her to sit down in the seat. But Austin had a great time racing!! Craig went faster than I did....as evidenced in the picture where Austin is sliding out of his seat. There was a birthday party going on that same night and the b-day kids had fun racing Craig who of course egged them on. And Austin even scored big when they shared their b-day cupcakes.And just this last week we finally made it to the zoo!!! I had been a little nervous about going with the two kids, mostly because Mikayla doesn't like to sit in the stroller for long periods of time. And even though I did end up pushing an empty stroller for half of the time it was worth it because the kids had a fun time. And it was fun having some friends there with us.

The highlights:The train ride......always a favorite!!!

Mikayla also loved the rainforest because she could stand right up close to the fish.

And let's not forget the petting zoo!!!

A Hunting We Will Go

We started our Easter egg hunt at Papa Choo Choo's house. Austin took off and new exactly what to do. Mikayla however was a little timid even though I had practiced with her the week before. I guided her to one egg, put it in her basket, motioned for her to keep going but instead she stood there are cried. So that was the end of the hunting for her.

Opening their eggs... Austin found plently of eggs and candy to share with Mikayla.

Here are all the cousins that participated on the hunt (minus Elijah who did feel like picture taking.) Notice Mikayla holding our her candy wanting me to open it.
And because I was too busy taking pictures she decided to dig in herself---wrapper and all.

Later that afternoon we found our Easter baskets at Grandma Vicki's house.

Then we went for our next Easter hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Reid's house.
Mikayla did better this time. It was just the two of them so it wasn't as intimidating and fast paced and we could coach her around a little more.

Yeah....more candy!!!

18 Months Old!!!

Mikayla is growing up so fast. She definately isn't a baby anymore. In fact, just over the last couple of weeks her personality has started to shine and she has become much more purposeful and thoughtful in her play and mannerisms. She will place elmo, or bears, or babies in her stroller or high chair and just yesterday I noticed she put all of her socks in her stroller. She loves to pull out her bucket that is full of socks and pj's and toss them all around her room. And she loves to get into her shoe drawer also. Whenever I tell her "go get your shoes" she takes off running for them.

She is learning how to play with Austin. Sometimes she just wants to be a stinker and knock down things that he has built or created with his toys. But she also loves running around the house with him in a chase-like manner. Plus she loves to dance when daddy puts on the Wicked soundtrack CD. She has been talking for months in her own language but is now starting to use words. She says: momee, dadee, Austin, baby, Abby, nye-nye. She is able in her own way to communicate more than what she can say and she can be stubborn about things sometimes. She's a girl who knows what she wants.

She is a very good eater and has conquered using the spoon. Her independence shines through now because she only lets me give her a bite or two with the spoon before she insists on doing it herself. Her favorite TV show is still Einsteins which she watches in the morning in the Elmo chair while eating her cereal, pop-tart, etc.....She likes to play ball and kicks it around more than throws it (I think we might have 2 future soccer players in this house). She is old enough now that she gets to go to Nursery.....yeah!!! She loves it and finally we are back to being able to fully enjoy and listen to the last 2 hours of church. Along with getting older, she has started to test her limits. When we are outside she will try to run into the street or while at the playgroup see how far she can wander off. She also has started pulling out the hands as weapons. And of course Austin is also eager to let us know when she is hitting. Even though I'm sure some of it is just a little payback in her mind it still lands her in time-out which she does not like. She sits there and does a fake half-cry......it's like she is saying "I can't believe you put me here....this is not fair....remember all the times Austin hit/scratched me when I was little..."
She gets a little cranky and dramatic at times but usually is full of energy and loves to smile with her full set of teeth. She has been laughing and giggling more lately which sound is like music to a mother's ears. But she also loves to scream...must be a girl thing. She gets so many complements on her curly hair. It is crazy some of the time and I'm not very skilled at doing yet. She usually gives me about a 5 second window to try and get it clipped back. Hopefully she keeps her curls because it just seems to fit her personality. She is such a silly, sweet, lovable little girl and such a blessing to our family!!!

Hitting the Slopes!!!!

On monday, me and Craig tried something new that neither of us had every done---Skiing!!! My cousin's husband Tyler took us (me, Craig, Jordon, Jen) to Solitude Ski Resort and taught us the basics which was good because we had no idea what to do. My first run on the bunny slope went pretty good, I fell once because I was going too fast and couldn't figure out how to stop any other way. But after doing the bunny slopes 3 times we (the boys) decided to move up to the next level. Craig took off saying "I'll see you at the bottom" which is very typical of him---the daring, no fear type. Later I found out the he got going so fast and couldn't slow down which ended up with a wipe out and several rolls--ouch.
Me and Jen hung back as Tyler coached us down the slope. The first hill down was a lot bigger than the bunny slope and I was going fast and again didn't have enough skill to slow down/stop so I wiped out pretty good. After that I was pretty scared. We made it to the next hill which was even steeper and at that point all I wanted was to be at the bottom. I was too nervous so instead I basically side stepped down the hill in my skiis (along with Jen). And poor Tyler waited so patiently for us then led us on a side path back to the bunny slope. We decided we needed to practice more on the bunny slope.....which we did and practiced weaving and slowing down and stopping, etc.....I think after that I had enough courage that I could of tried the next level again but it was time to go. It is pretty sad when the little 5 years olds are better skiiers than you are. But hey, having no experience and only 1 day of practice I don't think I was too shabby. I had a really fun time learning and would love to do it again so I can move up to the next level.
While we were skiing my cousin Lisa was so nice to watch our kids. She has a little girl named Ava who is just a month younger than Austin. They had a great time together!!!

Going To the Temple!!

Saturday we spent the morning at the Salt Lake City Temple. This was Austin's first time to see and touch a temple and he was pretty excited about it. Austin is a pretty observant kid and the whole weekend as we would be in the car traveling around Utah, he would shout "TEMPLE!!" everytime he saw one, which was pretty often since we were in Utah.

It was nice to see my sister Jackie and Tyler's get married while surrounded by family in the sealing room of the temple. My grandpa was able to marry them. It was nice to be there with Craig and remember the promises that we made to each other almost 7 years ago. It was a nice wedding and she looked beautiful and so happy!!!

And the kids were so good--both while waiting for the ceremony and during all the picture taking.

Of course all the water fountains on Temple Square kept Austin pretty happy and entertained.

The reception that evening was lots of fun. They served crepes.....ah I was in heaven!!! The wedding cake was beautiful but wasn't exactly placed in the best location so my dad and Tyler decided to move it basically across the entire room....daring, but luckily it all stayed in one piece. Me and Jamie were the designated cake cutters for the evening.....definately not professionals, in fact it was a little harder that I thought, but the cake was so yummy that I don't think it really mattered.
Tyler and his group played the bagpipes which was really neat to see (no pictures :( but I'm sure Jackie may post some). It was so fun seeing all my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Here is me and my sister Jamie and our cousins Emily and Lisa. We spent many summer reunions chumming around and having fun together. It has been years (like 10 or so) since we have all been together at the same time so that was fun.
And what did Tyler and Austin do for 2 hours at a church during a reception. I actually have no idea......other then I would see them randomly for about a minute or two and then they were off again. Somehow their imaginations kept them entertained.