Arizona and Taft's Blessing

We love going down to Arizona to spend time with Cade's family (Grandma and Papa ASHUR as Emma would call this side of the family :) ). This trip was so we could be there for the blessing of baby Taft. It was a wonderful blessing and the trip overall was REALLY good. We enjoyed all the time we got with our family and Emma had a blast! Grandma and Grandpa have made it so wonderful for their grand kids to come visit. In the basement they made a playroom with a play house, slide, little table and chairs, books, toys, etc. It was such a fun trip!

Lots of fun pictures with the grandparents and great-grandparents:
Great Grandma and Grandpa Jones:





Emma and I made valentine's and Emma thought it was SO fun to stick the extra stickers all over great-grandma :).



Grandma Close:



Grandpa Close is amazing at playing with the toddlers as well as getting the babies to sleep :)





Reading books with great Aunt Debby:



Cuddle time with Aunt Tara. We love her!



One of the greatest times of the week was when we drove to Phoenix and had dinner with most of the extended family on Dale's side. Cade and I had been talking about how we don't get to see them very often except for the holidays in the fall. So I called a lot of the family to see if it would be possible to get together while we were in town. I was so happy when mostly all of them were available for dinner! It was so great to catch up with them and enjoy their company!





Cade and I have become really close with cousins Tamara and Eric. It was so fun to see them. Tamara and I text all the time, but it was fun to actually talk in person :). They just got married last December. Since I delivered Reese 4 days before their wedding, we were not able to make it and were extremely sad we couldn't be there.





Also one of my favorite times was on the trip back to Prescott from Phoenix. Tara and I drove together to keep each other awake and it was one of the first times that she and I have been able to just sit and talk for over an hour without being interrupted by our kids. I love talking with her and and grateful for her friendship.

Another great part of the trip was seeing Emma and Ashur play together. They had SO much fun running around and chasing each other and being devious little toddlers :). You would hear them giggling in another room and wonder what they were up to! Emma still talks about Ashur. She definitely misses her little buddy!









While we were there, the girls got some gifts for Valentine's Day. And Emma was ecstatic when grandma gave her Sleeping Beauty figurines! She LOVES them! She even shared them with Reese...because Reese won't take them from her :).






One of the days we took the kiddos to the Prescott zoo. Emma LOVES animals (like most toddlers, I guess).



The "Nemo" snake :)





Overall, the trip was really good with both girls. Much better than we expected! Reese did really well. We only had to stop once from here to Vegas and once from Vegas to Prescott. The last hour of the whole trip was a little rough but once we finally arrived back in Utah, Reese laid on the floor for at least 20 minutes and stretched and stretched and stretched. It was really funny to watch how happy she was to be out of the carseat. I felt like doing the same thing :).

First haircut wasn't THAT devestating :)

So clear back when we were attending the BYU married student ward, we had a Relief Society activity where we attended classes of our choice. I learned how to cut hair (just by sitting in a class where they demonstrated on husbands). Ever since that class I've wanted to cut Cade's hair, but he has always been pretty nervous :). Finally he said if I brought one of my friends over (Kelsie Egan) and she showed me, then he'll let me do it. Well, she came over and an hour and a half later I completed my first hair cut! And after words he told me (and I believe him because after being married almost 5 years, we're really honest with each other:) ) "that is the best hair cut I have ever gotten before!" I was pretty happy with the results. We'll see if I continue to cut it every time...it takes so LONG in the beginning! But it will be worth it eventually :).

Sis. Pedersen's Wedding

It has been almost 6 years since I went to Nauvoo for a summer to perform as a church service missionary. i can't believe it has been that long! It is so wonderful to see what has happened in the lives of those I had the opportunity to serve with. I love those 9 sisters with all of my heart. We became so close and I will forever cherish their friendships. Half of us still live in Utah, but the other half have moved out of state for schooling and jobs. Most are married and last month we had the opportunity to attend Sis. Pedersen's wedding in the Bountiful temple. I love that girl. Just like each sister I got to know, I learned so much from her and what a strong person she is. It is so amazing to see how each of the Elders and Sisters I served with have married in the temple and have married such wonderful people. I wish we could all live together in the same neighborhood forever...obviously that's not going to happen. But it's a good reminder of how important friendships are in this life and how we need to cherish the time we have with people that influence our lives.

Here are some pics of my lovely sisters:






A little bachlorette party at Olive Garden for her (don't worry about the scary eyes):

Definitely saying something...

Reese loves talking and it's SOOO cute. I just have no idea what she's saying :). But listen to this video....she's definitely saying something.

Love my girls!

I love being a mom of girls! Is there sometimes a lot of drama? You betcha! But girls are SO much fun and I wouldn't trade it for the world! Emma is such a girly-girl. I mean if I'm going to have girls, I'm glad they like girl things :). She LOVES purses, painting her toes, playing with dolls, and putting on her own play make-up. She is also crazy, but it makes it fun! She loves being thrown around and loves getting a thrill out of it. So even though she is a girly-girl, Daddy still gets to wrestle with her and throw her around the room (until she gets hurt or cries over something little :)).





I carry Reese around in a pack so Emma wanted to as well :)



Emma is pretty good about sitting still while I cut her hair. My favorite now is her bangs with the pigtails. So cute!




She is so Cade's daughter. He would organize toys and things at a very young age too!


Emma's favorite parts in Enchanted and Sleeping Beauty is the dragon. Most toddlers are probably scared of that part, but it's Emma's FAVORITE! We pretend to be scared of the dragon that lives in our basement. She loves running away from the dragon and hiding :).




Emma also loves to wear my shoes. The boots are hilarious though...they go up to the top of her legs.



Reese is such a darling baby girl. The last couple weeks has been SO much better- she is starting to sleep more and I am starting to understand her cues more. Reese is a whole lot like Emma was as a baby, but it's just getting through the first few months of sleep deprivation and then things begin to be so much fun! Last night she ate at 10, 2 and 6!!! So every 4 hours I can definitely handle! During the day, she is a very happy baby. She wakes up, eats, plays on the floor for about and hour or two and then gets cranky and is ready to sleep again. She also is VERY social. Whenever she is on the floor by herself she'll talk and when I come over and talk with her, she immediately smiles and coos. It is so cute! However, Reese also lets you when she is hungry or tired. She'll be smiling away and in a matter of a second be screaming. It's pretty funny. She is a bundle of joy :).








Emma is learning to love Reese more and more. She is getting better with spliting the attention with someone else. I love my girls so much and am excited for them to be best buds as they get older!