~The Experience We Call Life~

Model Magic

2012-02-06T16:08:00.000-08:00

We got out the clay Marley got for Christmas. She made the cutest "island" sculpture! I was so impressed by her creativity! She says she wants to be an artist when she grows up, then a teacher, then a doctor, & finally, a ballerina!!

Discovery Gateway Museum

2012-02-06T16:06:00.000-08:00

Sadly, it's been TOO long since I took the girls to the children's museum. So after Marley was done with preschool, we went over for about 1 1/2 hours. They both had such a great time!! Grace was just thrilled to be running around pretty much uninhibited (apparently no one goes to the museum after noon because there were very few people, which is actually perfect! It wasn't overwhelming & teaming with so many people!)

Prayer Time

2012-01-28T12:06:00.001-08:00

I started to notice when we would say our prayers, Grace would fold her arms...but she does it just a bit differently than everyone else!

Make-up Time

2012-01-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

It looks as thought it's now Grace's turn to get into the lipstick! It was really hard to get a picture of her because she just won't sit still, but hopefully the fact that her face (not to mention all over her hands) is covered in lipstick comes across.

Bitty Baby

2012-01-28T08:54:00.000-08:00

Marley came into the kitchen & said "mom I finally got the baby to sleep!" It was so adorable because she kept rocking & hugging her Bitty Baby like it was her actual baby.

Little kid in a big coat

2012-01-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

Grace kept pulling at my coat & finally I realized she wanted to WEAR my coat! She thought it was so hilarious to wear it around the house. The coat looks massive on her!!!

Look at me!!

2012-01-26T08:50:00.000-08:00

I don't know where Marley got the idea to do an early attempt at a handstand but one day she said "mom look at what I can do" & she got into handstand-like position on her own!

Nappy Hair

2012-01-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

Marley rarely takes naps, let alone
long ones. This is her hair-do after a 3
hour nap on the couch! She was more
concerned about the wrinkles she go on the skin of her arm from laying on it!

Hat Change

2012-01-17T16:04:00.000-08:00

Grace has this weird obsession with hats. She wants me to put them on her, then she wanders away, comes back shortly, with the hat off, wanting me to put it back on! She'll do this numerous times in a row.

A Real Snow Day

2012-01-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

This is the first time in 2012 it has snowed & actually stuck!! When Marley saw that it had snowed, she BEGGED us to let her put on her snow suit & go outside.

A Real Snow Day

2012-01-09T14:21:00.000-08:00

I don't have a snow suit small enough for Grace but I had to let her go outside. She cried the most heart-breaking cry when she saw that Kevin & Marley we going outside without her!!
She had so much fun she didn't want to go back in!!

Annual Cooke Family Bowling Party 2012

2012-01-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

Marley was so excited for the Cooke bowling party Jerry & Ruth have held
for the past several years at Fat Cats. Kevin was dying to battle it out with his bowling nemesis, Guy (his sister Kristen's husband) as Guy is the only real bowling competition, as far as adults go. (The children battle it out for a trophy of their own!) Guy took home the trophy last year but, alas, Kevin was not destined to take it to our house this year! Guy bowled an unreal 210 his first game, which pretty much took Kevin & everyone else out of the running.

Annual Cooke Family Bowling Party 2012

2012-01-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

Mascara

2011-12-31T16:39:00.000-08:00

Marley came in wearing her version of "mascara". It never fail to make me smile when Marley attempts to put on her own make-up!

Benihana & The Nutty Nutcracker

2011-12-30T19:08:00.001-08:00

After Benihana's we went to the Capitol Theater to was The Nutty Nutcracker.

Benihana & the Nutty Nutcracker

2011-12-30T18:54:00.000-08:00

Grandma Ruth & Papa Jerry invited us for dinner & the Nutty Nutcracker. We had taken Marley to a tepanyaki grill before, but she was only 1 1/2 to 2 years old. She cried when we went last time & they started the fire on the grill. This time, fortunately, was different...she loved it!! She got to use the chopsticks they made her & she was pretty good at using them!

Laundry Hamper

2011-12-29T18:54:00.000-08:00

Marley often likes to play hide-and-go-seek before bedtime...she continues to try to find unique places to hide. Tonight it happened to be our empty laundry hamper. When Grace realized that you could actually get inside the hamper, she was begging to get in as well. She didn't want get out of it!!
As a side note: Marley makes me laugh because as she's finished counting she says "ready or not you shall be caught!"

Kylie & Marley

2011-12-29T08:33:00.000-08:00

We went to visit Kylie (whom Marley adores) & they both got dressed up...so cute!

HOMEMADE CUPCAKES

Marley often makes treats when she is visiting her Grandma Ruth. They made cupcakes & Marley really enjoyed the end product!!!

PLANKING

So "planking" is the new thing to do. People find odd places to lay face down, stiff like a board & snap a picture. Of course we all had to try it! Even though I don't have the picture to post, we got Miranda's daughter Sadie to get into it! She's so funny!

Marley's plank is so hilarious!

Laid-back

2011-12-26T13:37:00.000-08:00

I thought it was so adorable when I got Grace on the couch, just laid-back & lounging, casually shaking this rattle toy! So cute!!

Sheep headdress

2011-12-26T09:12:00.000-08:00

Marley put this sheep blanket/pillow on her head & wore it around like a hat. She's so goofy!!

Gotta have the hood!

2011-12-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

We left Marley's regular coat at church so she has had to use her snow suit coat that has a hood. For whatever reason, Marley decides that when she's in her car seat with that coat on, the hood needs to be on! She was freaking out at me when it was stuck behind her back & she need help getting it on.

Master bedroom

2011-12-25T16:01:00.001-08:00

A few years back we went to a parade
of homes in St. George, Ut, & one of the rooms in the houses was completely silver...& I LOVED it. So now, finally, we're almost finished making our master bedroom "silver". We just need to paint!

Hands off my olives!

2011-12-25T15:57:00.001-08:00

Midway Ut

2011-12-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

During the first weekend in December, we spent the weekend at the Zermatt because I was at the crater to certify for scuba diving. Kevin's brother, Ryan, & his family are going to Cancun for Christmas. Since Ryan is certified, he wanted his family to be as well so they could all go diving. His wife, Trina, convinced me to go with her daughters, Emorie & Isabelle, because then they could pick their own day/time for the classes. Diving at the crater would be considered our first open water dive. The diving was ok, I didn't like some of the exercises we had to do (like emergency accent--ugh!), it was FREEZING, & much to crowded for such a small space (Emorie & Isabelle weren't feeling it either). But I ended up getting certified anyway. I'm sure the ocean is much more fun!

While we were up there, the Homestead was having displays from mangers around the world (a crèche, I think). After looking at those, we went upstairs for some craft time!

Midway Ut

2011-12-25T15:51:00.000-08:00

Midway has fun little Christmas activities & since we were up there for my scuba diving certification, we decided to check out the festivities!

Midway Ut

2011-12-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

Along with making ginger bread jouses, we also got to make a Christmas tree ornament (a candy cane) & she was so excited that Kevin helped her out!

Christmas Eve with the Cooke Family

2011-12-24T23:55:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Eve this year, we went to Jerry & Ruth's house. Kevin's sisters Noelle & Kristen were there with their families (Kevin's brother, Ryan, & his family are in Mexico!) We had a wonderful dinner (as always, Ruth does a fabulous job), played Left Right Center (even though it's like "gambling" on Christmas, no one seemed to complain when Ruth was handing out dollar bills to everyone & guess who won all the money in the middle? Ruth! So classic!), and opened gifts that we had given each other. Marley had such a good time. Even though Seth & Luke Bennett are a few years old than her, they love to hang out with her & she thinks it's a great time.

Grace got PJ's, I got a bracelet, Kevin got a snow ball shooter, & Marley got just what she loves: crayons, scissors, markers, & paper!

Grace opening her present.

Back row, Left to Right: Papa Jerry Cooke, Aric Bennett, Aaron Fowlks, Alyssa Fowlks, Grandma Ruth Cooke, Grace Cooke

Front row, Left to Right: Ethan Fowlks, Luke Bennett, Marley Cooke, Ryan Bennett, Seth Bennett, & Dickens

Baby Booty!

2011-08-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

Grace just must have a thing for chairs. She is always climbing in her recliner. She often escapes just before I'm putting her in the tub to go play on the chair! How cute is that little baby-body-booty!!! I love her so much!!!!!

What a Mess!!!

2011-08-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

We are in the process of getting new master bedroom furniture (Paula Deen style--Hallelujah!!!) So we used Grace's room as a place to store all of our stuff until we got the furniture situated (poor kid!) Anyway, Kevin decided it would be nice to take a picture of all of us wading through the mess...ugh! Makes me feel like a HOARDER!!!

FAUX HAIR

Grandma Ruth is ALWAYS finding these interesting/cute things for the girls. She was at a baseball game when she saw a little girl wearing this & wanted Grace to have one!! A fake hair piece!! I can't get over how goofy it looks!! Makes me laugh every time I look at it!

Then I got Alece to wear it....

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GREEN CHAIR

So we have this soft little green chair that EVERYONE loves to sit in, especially Grace. I often catch her going into Marley's bedroom so she can lounge around in this chair!!

Pioneer Day In Good Ol' Mt Pleasant

2011-08-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

My brother's wife, Tina, is from Mount Pleasant. Every year her family & some of her friends that live in Mount Pleasant, UT do a month long "camping" trip (they live so close to where they camp, her family just leaves the camp site up & goes home whenever they need to). It's a tradition for their family for the past 20 years to do this camping thing every July 24th, Pioneer Day. Jono & Tina invited us to come along, so we spent a few days with them at their camp site. We rented some four-wheelers & just hung out! They were so nice & welcoming!

On a 4-wheeler day trip around a mountain loop that no one seemed to know the name of (& Tina was nice enough to watch our kids for us.) It was really fun, even though Kevin & I had to share a 4-wheeler.

We made a little lunch stop at this really cute fishing pond.

These are some of Tina's family, on her dad side.

BUBBLE BABIES

I know that I have posted lots & lots of bath pictures, but here are some more of them. I just think they look so cute! I got Marley to make all sorts of faces!!!

Pushing Stroller

2011-08-03T16:10:00.002-07:00

Grace still is not walking on her own, but I remember when Marley was at this point & we got her a little stroller to push. So I got out the stroller for her to push. It is so darn adorable to see her push that stroller around (even if there is no control in the steering aspect & she is continually running into things). She really loves pushing it around!

The Hoggle Zoo

2011-08-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

We went to the Hoggle Zoo with Janarae & her daughter Kylie, and Rachel Wilkerson (who I hadn't seen since high school) & her cute little daughters. Marley had such a good time...like I've said before, it's so nice for her to hang out with little girls her age. Especially since there are so few little girls that live close by for Marley to hang out with!

Just Lounging!

Grace was laying on a pile of laundry I was folding eating a little snack. I just thought it was so cute that she just kicked back to eat her snack while I worked on the laundry.

Grand Tetons & Yellow Stone

2011-08-03T15:34:00.002-07:00

We've been wanting a tent trailer for a long time...& we finally broke down & got one! I really like camping & we've done the tent camping thing before. We even went tent camping when Marley was about 1 1/2 years old, but now that we've camped using a tent trailer, I don't know if I can go tent camping again (especially with younger kids!)

Our maiden voyage in our "outfit" was a trip to the Grand Tetons & Yellowstone National Park. We spent the first night in a motel in Jackson, Wy because Kevin thought sending up the tent trailer for the first time camping would be too difficult in the dark.

We camped in Coulter Bay campground. It took some time, but Kevin managed to get everything set up ready to go. We had some issues with the water...we filled up the tent trailer with water but didn't realize that the shower wasn't turned off, so all the water leaked out. So poor Kevin had to close down the whole tent trailer (because we hadn't thought to buy & bring large water containers) & driving a short distance to the watering area of the campground to fill up the tent trailer with water again. Even though there were a few things we forgot, overall, I think we were really prepared for our first time camping.

Ashley & Dusty Stephens & their daughter Evey, met up with up the first night we were camping. Needless to say, they almost left because they were so cold! We didn't realize that you couldn't run your generator past 8 pm & they didn't bring too much in the way of blankets etc. But we had lots of extra blankets & sleeping bags, so they were able to keep nice & warm the subsequent nights.

Since bears are all over the place in that area of the country, the campgrounds are really meticulous at making sure that EVERYTHING with a scent is put away appropriately to discourage bears from entering into areas with humans & ravaging human food stuffs. We learned this lesson the hard way. When we came back to the camp after being out & about, we couldn't find our soap, citronella candle (which we desperately needed because the mosquitos were so rampant), and a few other items. Then we saw a little note that said our things had been confiscated because we had left them out & left our camp. We managed to get our stuff back with only a warning!

I LOVE that tent trailer & we will be using it often!!!

Breakfast time!

Even though people often see bears & bear cubs, it's still so cool to see wildlife like this!

No shame! No matter where you are in your RV, you can still sun yourself wrinkled!

Again, so cool to see a heard of elk up close.

What, what!! It's Dusty! Ye-ah!

I love Evey's make-shift hat!

Our kids look really comfortable, don't they?

Seems like Old Faithful when up higher in the air when I was little...not sure if it seemed that way because I was younger or if it really was higher.

Morning Glory seemed bluer when I was younger & those bison was were really cool.

What a mighty-fine tent trailer!

We stopped for lunch on the way back in Jackson, WY & ate some really good fish tacos!

We drove home from the Tetons on July 4th. So we did some quick fireworks in our front yard (which I didn't realize were illegal in our neighborhood because we're in the foothills)

Grace was NOT a fan of the fireworks!!

Discovery Gateway & Kylie

2011-08-03T15:34:00.001-07:00

Marley LOVES the children's museum, Discovery Gateway, so she had even more fun when we went with Kylie! Marley wanted to do everything that Kylie was doing.

Porter & the Ball Pit

Marley's really adorable little friend Porter Miller came over to play for a bit. Marley often will not play in the ball pit by herself, so having Porter over was great because she has someone to play with. They had such a wonderful time playing together, that when it was time to leave, Porter shed some tears! He's so cute!

Lambies

Aunt Alece gave Grace the cutest onsie with a little sheep on it (as Grace's room theme is centered around little lambs). Finally Grace is big enough to wear it! I think she looks really adorable in it!

Virginia Tanner Dance

One of my neighbors daughters' take ballet through Ballet West. I think that it's lovely that they are so good at dance & started dancing at Virginia Tanner Dance before they moved on to Ballet West. So I enrolled Marley at Virginia Tanner & she LOVES it. She likes it more than gymnastics, so I definitely think that we will be doing dance instead.

Marley in her little leotard trying to do an arabesque.

It's Me

2011-08-03T15:33:00.001-07:00

One day after her bath, Kevin held Grace in front of the mirror & she started point at herself. She was completely entertained by it!

Time to Lower the Crib

2011-08-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

After her nap, I found Grace standing up in her crib...I think it's time to lower the bed in the crib now that she can pull herself up on things.

My little muchkins

2011-08-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

These are just some random photos of Marley & Grace. Grace has old-man hair...it's coming in so slow on the top of her head!

What's that?

2011-08-03T15:28:00.002-07:00

Marley came to me with a big reddish spot on her leggings. I honestly had no idea what she spilled or got on it, but I'm wondering if she just colored her leg with a red marker...

Park City with the North's

2011-08-03T15:28:00.001-07:00

We got all fancy with the North family and booked a night at the Waldorf Park City & a night in Heber at the Zermat. It was so much fun to just hang out, shop, swim, & have dinner at Ruth's Chris. Marley had SO much fun with Sadie & Kinley!

Kevin kept throwing the girls into the pool & of course they couldn't get enough of it!

Marley wanted to play cards with the adults.

The Zermat was nice, but not as fancy as the Waldorf!

The carousel at the Zermat was probably Marley's favorite attraction!

They also had a fabulous time feeding the miniature goats!

The girls had so much fun playing on the play ground waiting for Justin & Kevin to get done with their round of golf.

Marley, Sadie, & little Kinley!

Fix that Window!

Marley felt that the french door window needed to be "fixed". Her answer: scotch tape! She put two little pieces on the window to fix it...if only things were really that easy!

I'm Trapped! (Again)

2011-08-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

Grace is constantly crawling/climbing all over everything, which in turn leads to crawling into spaces she is unable to get out of! Once again, Grace trapped herself, and this time it was under Marley's bed. Like the good mom that I am, I ran & grabbed the camera to get some pictures before I helped her out! She's such a little dervish!

Pulling Herself Up

2011-08-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks, around 8 months of age, Grace has been pulling herself up to standing from anything she can grab on to & using various objects to aid her in walking around. I cannot believe this little baby is old enough to be doing all these things! It's so bittersweet because I understand she needs to progress & get bigger & am glad that she is able to do that, but at the same time wish so bad that she would just stay little for a bit longer!!

For the Love of Bitty

2011-08-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

Marley makes me laugh. She sat in her little rocking chair, wrapped her Bitty Baby up in a blanket, & was trying to rock Bitty to sleep. Marley can be such a little sweetheart at times!!!

Bed Rail Trap

2011-08-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

Grace loves climbing around on Marley's bed, but, once again, trapped herself in the safety rail of the bed.

Of course, I had to snap a picture of Grace being stuck in the bed rails & Marley couldn't resist joining in the picture as well.

I'm Trapped!

2011-08-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

Lately (as this, and the next few posts will reveal), Grace has been crawling into all sorts of spaces she can't seem to manage to get out of, and underneath the pack-n-play is one of them!

Marley loves to snuggle with Grace, even if Grace isn't always too thrilled about it!

Packing Bitty Baby

2011-08-03T15:09:00.001-07:00

Marley loves her bitty baby, which came with a cute little back pack & Marley loves to pack her around.

I want to be a bunny

2011-08-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

One day Marley came to me with lipstick all over her face, which for her is not unusual (she loves to play with lipstick). Her reason for putting the lipstick all over her face, however, was. She told me she wanted to dress up like a rabbit & that some how translated into painting one's face with bright pink lipstick. Several days & baths later, the lipstick FINALLY came off!!

RUBBER DUCKIES

Marley has several little ducks that she plays with in the bath tub. One day she had put up all her ducks on the side of the tub & was talking to them & making them dinner. She's got a pretty crazy imagination!

So Not Into Shoes

2011-08-03T15:06:00.002-07:00

Warm weather time is Marley's feet favorite time of year. This is a time that they can breathe free & easy from the confines & constraints of shoes. However, this year has kind of skipped over spring & the weather has been all over the map. From luke-warm to snow & freezing temperatures. One day we were going out & it was NOT flip-flop weather, & I asked Marley to put on her shoes. When I came into her room, she was putting her shoes on, but she was crying as she did so because she did NOT want to wear them! Poor kid...I'd love to live in warm weather year around too!!

Diaper Wipe Wallpaper

2011-08-03T15:06:00.001-07:00

Marley is very imaginative & can play by herself easily as she loves to pretend! She had taken baby wipes, ripped them into strips, & put them all over the wall as wall paper! Some how she had managed to make them stay stuck on the wall!

Standing Up

2011-08-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

Around 8 months old, Grace started pulling herself up onto everything that she can grab on to. She's still so tiny & I think it's so adorable to see her standing up!

NAP TIME

As I've said before, I love my kids sleeping faces. So innocent & sweet!

LAS VEGAS

Toward the end of April, Jerry & Ruth invited us to Las Vegas to see Kevin's sister's son, Ethan, play baseball because they had an extra condo. Ethan is in a VERY competitive baseball league & is a VERY talented pitcher. We had a great time hanging out & getting a chance to take in some little league baseball. Marley loved it because of the pool...but for a couple nights, there was the "ghetto bird" (i.e. the night-time helicopter that spotlights & chases criminals) hovering around our condo & police running by the pool asking the patrons if they'd seen anyone suspicious run by. I guess it makes for an exciting trip! Overall, we had a fabulous time!!

Marley & Grandma Ruth at the top of the Paris hotel's Eiffel Tower.

This is in the shops of the Paris hotel, where Papa Jerry frantically coerced us into a dinner at the hotel's buffet!

PRETTY PRINCESS PARTY

Sadie invited Marley to her fourth birthday party...a princess salon party! The girls had their hair & nails done at a salon in Pleasant Grove.

Marley got a fancy up-do & Sadie got her curly hair straightened out. They all looked so adorable!!!

Marley got little flowers painted on her nails.

All the little girls compared their manicures!

Sadie opened all her presents.

Happy Easter

2011-08-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

(It has been a REALLY long time since I've posted anything, so the next 20 or so posts happened several months ago...haha!!)

Having little kids to celebrate holidays makes things much more fun & much more meaningful. It's fun to make little Easter baskets for them, but also helps me realize how grateful I am that the Savior made such a wonderful sacrifice for all of us in order to allow my wonderful husband & beautiful daughters to be together for eternity & that our bond is not over after we pass on to the next life!!

Marley loved her Easter basket but Grace wasn't as thrilled!

Once we put the lambies around Grace, she kind of perked up!

Oh gummy candy...Marley's beloved gummy candy! Just like her dad! Kevin cannot pass up gummy candies!

Marley has been doing her own Easter hunts, LONG before Easter. She often would hide eggs all over the house & go hunt for them. She was pleasantly surprised to find the Easter holiday involves an egg hunt. She had such fun running around the house tracking down all of the Easter eggs!

Sweet little Grace!

We got the cutest little stuffed animals from Pottery Barn & Marley loved hers! Poor kid, she was running & tripped over some one's shoe & smacked her poor little face on the floor, causing that lovely blood blister on the middle of her upper lip!

Later on, Marley got to go on an Easter egg hunt at Grandma Rimi & Grandpa Doug's house. She LOVES going on an egg hunt!!

Puppy Face

2011-08-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

I think kids have the sweetest faces when sleeping & Marley is no exception! I think her face is like a little puppy so soft & sweet. It's hard to believe this sleeping face can throw tantrums & sass with the best of them!

More tub pictures. I love that Marley & Grace can take baths together. They entertain each other & have such a good time!

Tubby Time

2011-03-23T16:08:00.003-07:00

Marley loves all these little rubber ducks & to watch her play with them & pretend is so fun. She'll talk to them, tell them stories & pretend like she's cooking for them!

Tea Party

2011-03-23T16:08:00.001-07:00

Marley has really gotten into tea parties. She set this one up all by herself & invited us to join her!

SWEET GIRLS

More pictures of some of the cutest little ones in the world!

San Diego

2011-03-23T16:07:00.008-07:00

We took a fabulous trip to a favorite place, San Diego, with Jerry & Ruth. We had a wonderful time!

SEA WORLD

As soon as we got off the plane, we rented a car & drove straight to Sea World. Fortunately, the weather pleasant, not too hot & not too cold!

We tried to let Marley feed the sea lions, but they got too close for comfort for her. She was more than happy to let us feed them instead.

Out of all the shows we watched at Sea World, this one was the best. They trained the sea lions & a little otter to do wonderful little tricks!

We stood in line for one ride at Sea World & that was enough. It took FOREVER to get through the line!

Even though Marley was a bit leery, we managed to get her to touch the star fish in the tide pools at Sea World.

This is our drive by picture of the San Diego temple. It's still so beautiful, even in this poorly taken photo!

Marley's first roller coaster ride was in Lego Land. We had a two day pass, so we went twice. It was really nice to break it up a bit. When I was younger, my family tried to do all the rides in Disneyland in one day & it was a bit grueling & took away some of the fun!

Since Marley was actually steering the boat & we got stuck...A LOT!

Grace looks so goofy! Lego Land really is pretty neat. Most everything is made out of Legos!

So this little ride was a car that Marley could drive all on her own. She didn't get very far before she decided she wasn't going to drive anymore. She got off the ride early!

Marley said that this was one of her most favorite rides & spoke of it a lot!!

This was a little theater that they did plays in. They asked for volunteers & Marley said she wanted to do it. Once it came time to get on stage, though, it took a little coaxing to get her up there. And once up there, she kind of froze & wouldn't dance or anything! She still looked cute!

Even though it was rather cold, we couldn't make a trip to San Diego without going to the beach. Marley had a wonderful time!!

Hey the Jolly Green Giant! Oh wait, it's Jerry!

These cute little doves were building a nest on the balcony of our hotel room.

Once there was a snow man, tall, tall, tall!

2011-03-23T16:07:00.007-07:00

Marley absolutely LOVES to play in the snow. She doesn't seem to care how cold it is outside, she just wants to be out there playing in it! Kevin helped her make this snow man & she had a wonderful time!!

The Canyonlands Half Marathon

2011-03-23T16:07:00.005-07:00

Being a smart & sensible person, I thought it would be a great idea to sign up for a half-marathon. I also thought it'd be a great idea to rope some others into it. I got my brother's wife, Tina to train for it; also my friend Jen Davis & her husband, Jeff to go (for Jeff it wasn't a big deal as he's already run lots of full marathons). We decided to rent a condo in Moab & go down for the weekend, maybe doing a little hiking & what not...hmmm not quite. I started doing cross fit (which I love) November of 2010, but only ran once, maybe twice a week. I was thinking since cross fit was doing such a great job kick my booty into shape, I figured it'd be enough. So the day of the race, I was completely amped-up to run. Little did I know, we'd spend time shivering in the cold, waiting for the race to start. They had to bus us up the canyon to the starting point...and that's where we spent TWO HOURS waiting & waiting before they'd let us run! It was so awful! Even though I was wearing a jacket & pants, it was in no way near good enough to keep me from being cold. My fingers started to turn purplish-blue!! They had no heaters to stand around or anything to keep warm. It seem so unorganized with everyone milling about waiting & freezing to death! Finally we were able to start running. I didn't de-thaw from being cold until mile 6, which wasn't horrible to deal with, but that's when the ankle pain began. (Tina & Jeff shot off the starting line super fast & were long gone.) Jen & I were keeping the same pace, but I told her to leave me behind & to not let me slow her down. I have no idea why my ankle started hurting. I had done long runs in practice (longest was nine miles) & I never had any trouble with my left ankle. I didn't want the wagon that sweeps up the stragglers to get me, so I just ground out the race, stopping only once-in-awhile for water. The miles kept getting longer & longer. At mile 9, I was thinking how horrible this race was & I couldn't get it done soon enough. They had no mile marker at mile 12, & with me feeling so horrible, I was not happy that I didn't know how close I was to the end (you had to go around a corner before you could see the finish line)! Then about 1/2 mile before the finish line, my legs literally stopped working. It was like my muscles were done moving for the day. I had to stop & shake my legs out to get them working again. After I crossed the finish line, I thought, "I never want to do that again" (even though I had signed up for a second 1/2 marathon with Meriann Parker the same time I had signed up for the Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon, so I was planning on running another a month later. Which I didn't end up running because there was a huge snow storm the night before the race & there was slush & ice everywhere. I even had Kevin drive me all the way done to the race, but when I saw the course, I refused to run it. I DID NOT want to freeze like I did for the Moab half marathon. I truly would've run it had the weather not been so awful! Poor Meriann, she still ran it!!!) & "I can't imagine only being half way done if I was doing a full marathon". There were all these booths & activities to do after the race, but all I wanted to do was go back to the condo & take a relaxing bath. I made sure I rolled out my muscles & really stretched because I didn't want to feel horrible the next day. And there would be no hiking that weekend! All in all, I still LOVE to run, but I want to keep it at 5-6 miles....thirteen point two miles once was enough for me!

Hey look at me crossing the finish line first! Boy am I a fast runner! Oh wait, yeah, I could barely make it across the finish line!

Top left & bottom right are Jeff Davis crossing the finish line. Bottom left is Janet King (our neighbor). She had just had a baby & couldn't run it, but Ray, her husband did.

Poor Jen! She said that running the half was horrible!

Bottom left is Tina & she felt the same way as Jen...that the race was horrid!

Then there's me struggling to cross the finish line at about 2 hrs & 44 minutes!

LITTLE MISSES

Having Marley & Grace are so much fun! I really hope that they will play together well when they are older! Having a sister that you are close to is a WONDERFUL thing!!

Marley's Third Birthday Bash

2011-03-23T16:07:00.003-07:00

We didn't do much for Marley's second birthday, except invite some family over for cake & ice cream, because she still didn't quite understand the meaning of a birthday party. But she now definitely understands what birthdays are all about, so I wanted to throw a fun party for her at Gymboree. She invited all of the kids in her nursery class & a few other neighbors & friends. I was shocked that almost all of them attended!! (and of course, I had to take a ton of pictures!) We got a variety of cupcakes from the Sweet Tooth Fairy (delish). Marley & the other kids had a wonderful time. In fact, one of the kids didn't want to leave & started to cry when they did! The only thing I regret is forgetting to put "no presents" on the invite! Marley got WAY too many gifts!!!

Sisters

2011-03-23T16:07:00.001-07:00

Marley & Grace have such a good time playing on our bed. Marley loves to kiss & snuggle Grace.

Build-a-Bear

2011-03-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

Marley's Grandma Rimi (my mother) thought it was so cute when she saw all the little kids at the mall holding their Build-a-Bear boxes, so she decided to give that to Marley for her birthday.

Marley picked out her 'bear' (which was a Hello Kitty).

Then she got to pick out the noise it made (which was a meowing cat) & put it in the Hello Kitty's foot.

Then she got to help put stuffing in the Hello Kitty.

Before finishing putting in the stuffing, she got to add a heart.

Then she gave it an 'bath' with a blast of air.

Then she picked out some clothes, shoes, & underwear.

It turned out so cute!

She typed up a birth certificate for her Build-a-Bear & named it 'Marley'.

Then she got to ring the birthday bell.

Even though she loved Build-a-Bear. I think her favorite part was playing in the mall's play area!

Sunnies

2011-02-09T15:10:00.005-08:00

Marley found these sun glasses that I got her awhile back when she was much smaller. Of course, she had to try them on, and they really look goofy! Much too small!

FIRST BABY FOOD

This is Grace's first experience with food, other than breast milk. I made some pears into baby food. She seemed to enjoy it a lot. However, she, like Marley, skipped over baby food. She really didn't want to eat baby food much when she realized that she could eat more 'regular' food. So after the first few times of eating baby food, I gave up & started feeding her more table foods that were small & more soft.

Since I was taking pictures of Grace eating, Marley thought she need to have her picture taken as well. She's so funny! I love this girl!

MOPPIN'

Mack will come over every once-in-awhile when his mom, Maren, has to go somewhere. Both Marley & Mack saw the mop & broom (aka what Marley calls her 'sweep'), and they had to go around the house & pretend like they were cleaning. If only they would really clean! That would be lovely!

NEIGHBORS & FRIENDS

This year has been a hard one for our church ward. We have had several people near & dear to our family pass away. Even though I love our ward & the friends & neighbors we have, it is very hard to have so many more funerals than baby blessings!!! One particularly lovely lady was Marge Nelson. When we first moved in she immediately came up to us & told us that she was a Yeates as well (Kevin's mother's side of the family are Yates, spelled a bit differently that Marge's). So we always called her 'Sister Yeates'. She had a fiery personality & we loved visiting & talking to her!! We will miss her so much!!

One of our friends who passed away this year came as a shock. Even though Wendall was older, his death was so unexpected. He developed a cough that turned into pneumonia & within a week, he was gone. I was so shocked to hear the news that I broke out into tears. He was such a wonderful person. He was always so sweet & conscientious with his lovely wife, Eda. He had a great sense of humor & always had a Werther's candy for Marley at church. When we'd visit, he had great stories about the various things he did through out his life. We loved him so much, & will miss him so much (I close to tearing up as I type this...)

Booty-licious!

2011-02-09T15:10:00.003-08:00

Marley has doing pretty well at potty-training & is really good about making sure she washes her hands, but not so good at putting her pants back on after using the restroom!!

Play Time

Since Marley's room has most of the toys & it makes the messes more easily contained, we play in her room a lot!!

Miss Puppy Girl

I just love how easily Grace is to smile. It rarely takes a lot of work to get her to smile, unless she's tired or hungry. Otherwise, she is so willing to smile! I sometimes call her a 'puppy' because she's as cute as a little puppy!

Marley & Grace

2011-02-09T15:10:00.001-08:00

Does Grace look super surprised? I don't know why she looks so surprised!

Looking as these pictures & pictures of Marley at this age, I can't believe how bald Grace is compared to Marley! She doesn't have nearly as much hair as Marley did!

Since I was taking pictures of Grace, Marley wanted me to take hers as well!

Sweet Girl

2011-02-09T15:09:00.003-08:00

I love my darling little Grace. She's so sweet & adorable. It is so easy to get her to smile & laugh! I love it!!

Pretty Lips

Marley isn't new to the application of lipstick. Ever since she was really little, she has always liked putting it on & I have lots of photos of that. But I had to take a picture of this particular lipstick application because I couldn't believe how well she had put it on. Most it made it onto her lips versus the rest of her face!

BITTY BABY

Marley will often play with her Bitty Baby. I found her carrying it around & giving it hugs & kisses!

Egg Boobies

2011-02-09T15:09:00.001-08:00

As with most kids, Marley is always doing goofy, silly things. She has several plastic eggs that she is always playing "Easter Egg Hunt" with by hiding them all over the house & taking a little Easter basket around to find them (she sometimes likes me to hid them so she can find them or she wants to hide them so I can find them). Well one day, she though she'd play a little differently! She put plastic egg halves under her shirt so she would have "egg boobs"! She never fails to make me laugh!

SLEEPY-TIME

Occasionally, Marley will put herself down for a nap if she's feeling tired, even if I don't ask her too. Since it was so quiet in her bedroom, I had to investigate, & this is what I found!! She fell asleep among her dolls & stuffed animals!

A HAIRY MESS

I love Marley's hair after a nap! It get so messy and unruly!

Pretty as a Picture

2011-01-26T15:50:00.001-08:00

My friend Meriann has all of this fabulous camera & lighting equipment that she was so gracious enough to let us utilize for pictures of Marley & Grace. Some of these pictures turned out well! Some are a bit goofy!!

This was Marley's version of a 'surprise' face...doesn't she looked surprised?

Marley looks cute, but I wish her smile was more genuine & not so phony looking!

This smile is much better!

I don't know if it's how she's positioned, sitting, her face or a combo of everything, but I LOVE this picture of Grace!

This is a cute one as well!

Meriann took SEVERAL pictures of the girls together, and this was the best one there was! I guess I can't expect the girls to cooperate as much as I'd like!

I really like this one of Marley!!

This is Marley's version of a 'sad' face...very cute!

THUMBSUCKER

Marley attempted to suck her thumb when she was an infant, and it looks like Grace is trying to do the same. Even though it looks so cute, I refuse to let them suck their thumbs as it can cause so many problems as they grow older. Grace HATED the binky but I persisted making her use it and she will now use it for sleep, but for sleep only. She refuses to use it any other time, which is fine for me because I really only want her to use for sleep anyway!!

WATERING CAN

Marley got a new little watering can. The large one that we actually use for the garden was much to bulky for her to use so I got her a smaller one, since she loves to water the garden. Apparently she likes to water other things as well. She had filled up her watering can and was watering all the dried flower that I have downstairs by the fire place because she thought they needed to be watered!!

MY LITTLE GALS

I caught Marley playing with Grace on the bed & thought, photo op! These gals are so cute, although I'm a bit biased!!

JUST LOUNGIN'

Even though Marley likes to be girlie and dress up, she's also all for comfort & relaxation. She loves to lounge in her mini recliner!

BASKETBALL LEAGUE

(where has-been basketball players attempt to one-up each other in a stuffy, sweaty middle school gym!)

My brother Seth got Kevin to join an adult version of Jr. Jazz Basketball league. I didn't get to go to many games because it was always in Provo & the games were always around 8 pm, which is too late with the girls (I mean how old do I sound? Eight o'clock being too late? Oi vey!) It was fun being able to watch them play. They made it to the 'finals' but unfortunately were barred from finishing due to an unfortunate issues with uncontrolled anger (and, no, it was NOT Kevin who got them tossed!)

Pretty Princess

2011-01-26T15:49:00.000-08:00

One day Marley roped Aunt Tina into her dress up world & got Tina to make an 'up-do' with Marley's hair & put on make-up. Then Marley added her own accessories: heals, skirt, fairy wand, & a necklace! She adores dressing up & has such a wonderful imagination!

PETER PAN

Since Marley absolutely loved the play "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" (and still talks about going again), Mandi invited us to join her & Sadie to BYU's, "Peter Pan". I knew "Peter Pan" was a bit longer than "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" so I wasn't sure how well Marley would do watching the whole thing. I was completely surprised how well she paid attention & how much she really loved it! She now talks about seeing "Peter Pan" again (even though she had some concerns about "Pirate Hook"), as well as "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie". Looks like I have a lover of the stage!

Paleo...perhaps not!

2010-12-31T07:00:00.014-08:00

For the past several months, I've been going to Crossfit. Part of Crossfit, is following a Paleo diet meaning no grains, beans, added salt, dairy, or processed foods (do know that I'm known to cheat! I try to follow it at least 85% of the time!) My wonderful neighbor, Marcie gave me some almond flour to try & make a Paleo chocolate cake. Needless to say, as you can clearly tell by the picture, it didn't quite turn out...the taste was fine but the presentation left much to be desired! I'm a horrible cook as it is & when I attempt things like this that take time & effort, then turn out badly, it just reinforces my distaste for cooking!!

Time in the Tub

2010-12-31T07:00:00.013-08:00

Miss Marley is such a good big sister! She wanted to help bathe Grace! She's usually so helpful with Grace...I can only pray that such an attitude will continue as she grows older!!!!

Playtime

2010-12-31T07:00:00.011-08:00

It's so fun to watch Grace's mechanics & movements improve & get better. She was being so cute playing with this toy, but I kind of failed to take a decent pictures. I love that she is learning something new everyday!!!

Banner

2010-12-31T07:00:00.009-08:00

Marley found this scrap of tissue paper. But for a 2 1/2 year old, it's no ordinary scrap of tissue paper...it's a "banner" that Marley wrote some sort of "message" on, then proceeded to hang it on the fridge for everyone to read. Sometimes I can't believe the imagination of this child!!

BLANKET TENT

Marley loves to make this make-shift fort out of blankets & the mini-recliners. In fact, she'll sometimes insist that she eats lunch in there or that Grace lay down in there with her!

Coloring with Markers

2010-12-31T07:00:00.007-08:00

When Marley showed me that she had been coloring in her Hello Kitty activity book with markers, I was absolutely shocked that she had colored nearly the entire Hello Kitty face & stayed within the lines. I'm sure it's a fluke & I probably won't see her color like that for awhile!!

MY SWEETY PEAS

I love little baby bodies! They are so little, cute & soft!! Grace doesn't normally like to lay on her belly, but since she seemed to be tolerating it alright, I was able to get a couple of non-crying pictures!!

Pillow Pet Dreams

2010-12-31T07:00:00.005-08:00

I was doing something like folding laundry in the other room when I realized that it was too quiet in the living room. This is how I found Marley! Asleep on the floor with her 'snugly' blanket & her beloved Pillow Pet!!

ANNUAL COOKE NEW YEARS BOWLING PARTY

For the past 3 or 4 years, Jerry & Ruth book several lanes at Fat Cats bowling in order to host the Cooke Family Bowling Party!! It's always such fun to get together. I'm the worst bowler possible (this year, I broke 100 in one of the four games I played...a record for me!) but I enjoy getting together, especially now that Marley's old enough to participate.

Kevin's sister, Kristen & her hubby, Guy (Kevin's bowling competition), Kevin, & I.

Marley was going nuts with the air vent thing on the bowling conveyor belt thing (I'm sure there's a technical term, but I'm not that nerdy!) or as her Aunt Trina called it, bowling "Flash Dance".

Marley took home 1st prize in her lane! She beat out Papa Jerry!! She was pretty happy to get that medal!

Kevin's bowling nemesis, Guy, won the Grand prize this year, which includes bragging rights, your name engraved on the silver bowling trophy, & being able to showcase the trophy for an entire year! Next year, Guy. Next year!

My Sweet Baby Grace

2010-12-31T07:00:00.003-08:00

There's no particular reason I'm posting these photos...just love my sweet baby Grace! She's so darn adorable!! I want to constantly kiss those cheeks!!!

IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE...
My mother-in-law Ruth thoughtfully decided to give me tickets to the play "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie". It is based after those fun "If You Give.." books. So Marley & I, and Miranda & her two daughters, Sadie & Kinley went together. I was a bit nervous that Marley wasn't going to sit through the entire play...but she LOVED it & sat through the whole thing. She talked about wanting to see it again weeks afterward!!

Kinley, Marley, & Sadie on the set of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie".

Snow Day

2010-12-31T07:00:00.001-08:00

Marley got a new snowsuit & sled for Christmas. Since there was lots of fresh fallen snow, Marley & Kevin decided to try it out in our front yard!

Then we decided to move to an elementary school down the road that has a great hill for sledding!!
I stayed warm in the car with Little Miss Grace!

Marley LOVED, LOVED, LOVED playing in the snow & using her new sled! She was a die hard & didn't want to stop even though she was so cold!!

Marley also had to take a minute to play on the playground equipment as well!

I LOVE this snow suit on Grace! You can see several hours of sledding was enough to wear Marley out!!

BROKEN RECORDER

Marley has this extremely cheap recorder that she got for free somewhere. One day she was trying to play with it & ended up breaking it & her heart apparently. This is how I found her...sulking over the broken instrument!!!

MARLEY, GRACE, & A BALLOON

Like every little kid, Marley adores balloons. In fact, she won't want to part with them & let me throw them away, even when most of the air is out & they are nearly all shriveled up!!

Marley is always wanting me to take pictures of her & Grace. To bad I can't get a decent picture!!

IT'S A PILLOW PET!

One of Marley's favorite things she received for Christmas is a lady bug Pillow Pet. Whoever came up with this idea is a marketing genius because she is obsessed with hers & it was one of the cheapest things she got for Christmas!

CUPPY-CAKE

Marley is constantly asking to make cookies & cupcakes. So we gave her this cupcake-maker for Christmas. She had loads of fun making them, but mostly because I did all the work! There are so many cracks & crevices to clean on that thing! It's ridiculous!!!

Marley enjoying the fruits of my labor...but I really enjoyed spending time with her & she loved it!

CHRISTMAS...IT'S FINALLY HERE

Marley checking out her Christmas haul...of course she goes right for the Pillow Pet!

Marley insisted we get a bumble bee Pillow pet for Grace (she also keeps insisting that I need a unicorn Pillow Pet.) What a nice big sister!

So as you might be able to get from the pictures, Marley & Grace got a whole bunch of stuff. In fact, probably TOO much stuff! It got so overwhelming to Marley & she didn't know what to play with because there was TOO much!!! I think we went over board! It's so darn fun shopping for them, but next year, I'm determined to cut it, at least, by half! This was out of control!!!! No kid needs this much stuff!

COOKE CHRISTMAS

We met at Kevin's sister Noelle's clubhouse for a Cooke Christmas get-together this year. Mr. & Mrs. Claus made an appearance. It took some coaxing, but I got Marley to sit on Santa's lap!! Having little kids makes Christmas so much fun!!

ACKROYD CHRISTMAS

Marley with her Aunt Tina; Grandma Orimi with Grace.

Kevin, Seth, & Jono

Of course Marley had loads of presents to open. This kid gets way too many things from all her family! She doesn't even know how lucky she is!!!

You may wonder what my brother Seth is doing...having a seizure, a short bout of palsy, or just being a weirdo.

We had so much fun hanging out with the family! It's always a good, relaxed time!

SLEEPING BABY

I love looking at my kids when they are asleep. So innocent & peaceful! Grace looks so cute sleeping that I have to resist the temptation to pick her up! Love this kid!!!!

Laker Colors

2010-12-31T06:59:00.000-08:00

Kevin allowed Marley to get dressed one morning & she came out wearing this...

Laker colors! She loves these purple yoga-type pants because they are comfortable & the shirt was just whatever she could reached in her closet. She's such a nut!

HO, HO, HO...

Marley was enthralled with the Santa hat when we unpacked it from the Christmas boxes. She wanted to wear it around the house this time. She came down the hall saying, "ho, ho, ho...Merry Christmas!"

GRACE GIRL

Of course I just think my little Grace Girl is the cutest thing ever, so I just had to snap a few pictures of her...even though in some these photos she looks frightened! I love this kid so much!!

TRIMMING THE TREE

As Marley has gotten older, she has really looked forward to getting out the Christmas decorations & decorating the tree. This year she was able to actually hang up the various ornaments, even if they were all at her level near the bottom of the tree.

Marley got a little manger scene ornament kit from Grandma Ruth that she was dying to put together. Then found a Santa hat from our Christmas box, of course, had to wear it around everywhere.

We also have this 'snow man kit', that Marley got out everyday while we had it out to dress up in it. Oh to be a kid & have the simplest things entertain you...

Marley was so thrilled to hang up all the ornaments!

FRIENDS & DRESS-UP

After going to dinner with the North family & exchanging Christmas gifts, we spent some time hanging out. Marley, Sadie, & Kinley came out all dressed-up & it was absolutely so adorable to see them all together!!

CHRISTMAS CARD 2010

HIGH HEELS

The heels Marley is wearing are nearly 4 inches but she loves to go through my closet & get out my shoes & purses. She is a complete girlie-girl. I have a little make-up bag filled up with various lipsticks & lip glosses that I don't use any more & she is constantly getting in it to put her "make-up" on. I love this girl! She's so much fun!

SLEEPY-TIME

I love looking at Grace when she's asleep. She's got such a sweet innocent face that looks so at peace when she's sleeping!

PLAYING WITH DUPLO

We signed Marley up for a Pottery Barn class where she was able to build things out of Duplos. She was the only girl at the class but had such a wonderful time.

PANDA DOUGH

One day Marley brought me some white fabric batting & wanted to get out her rolling pin so she could make some cookies out of "panda dough". I wasn't really understanding what she meant & I couldn't figure out where she was getting the batting from. Finally I realized that this white bear she has (that she refers to as a "panda bear") had a little hole in it's belly & she was pulling the stuffing out of it. I have know idea why she thought she should call it dough...such a goofy kid!

COWBOY BOOTS

As usual, Marley is into putting on my shoes. Today I left some of my Frye boots out & she managed to get both of them on & wobble around in them. It makes me laugh because she looks so goofy in them!!

GLASS ART

For my birthday, Ruth & Jerry, set up a glass blowing class for Kevin & I at Thanksgiving Point. Apparently, having the facility & equipment can be quite expensive, so the next closest place to take a class like this is in Washington state!! In order to keep the glass in a liquid form, the kilns are kept at approximately 3000 degrees, so the glass blowing room is extremely warm (fortunately, it was rather cold outside, so that helped some). Plus, you have to wear cotton long sleeves, cotton pants, gloves & a handkerchief around your face while the kiln is open.

Although we turned out some glass paper weights, we did manage to make some vases & other forms, with the assistance from our instructor. Glass blowing is fun but very challenging. I was a bit fearful at first because you are working with some pretty serious materials at insanely high temperatures. There's even a whole little dance-step type thing you do to sit down on your bench in order to blow some bubbles into your glass. It's very tricky because you constantly have to keep your liquid glass moving, otherwise, gravity takes over & you end up with a piece of glass you've gathered that you cannot use unless you reheat it again! Our instructor informed us that some people come out empty handed in their first class as they are not able to make anything other than paperweights! Fortunately, that was not the case for us! We made some pretty cool pieces!!

PHOENIX IN NOVEMBER

Even though I sadly didn't take any pictures, we got to attend my friend Suzy Hardy's daughter's wedding reception. We left the day after Thanksgiving & got to see the awesome job Suzy did with her daughter's reception!!! It was so cute & you could completely tell Suzy had put it together! It was nice because I got to see a physician & a nurse that I used to work with. It was good to catch up with them! Suzy's daughter converted to Mormonism thanks to her wonderful now-husband & was able to get married in the Mesa Temple. Even though Suzy couldn't attend, I was so happy that she had such a good attitude about everything! She's a great person!!!

The Cooper family was nice enough to let us stay with them. Even though it was crowded, we had a good time (and I hope they did as well)! Charlie & Marley got along better this time (except when Charlie zipped Marley into the trampoline so Marley couldn't get out!). However, our fun was cut short as the day after we got there, Marley got horribly sick & started throwing up. Needless to say, we weren't able to go out & do much of anything since Marley wasn't up to it. Using lots of bleach-cleaner & hand-sanitizer we managed to keep everyone else from getting sick (thank heavens!!) Marley didn't start feeling better until the day after we got home! Poor kid! She managed to make the plane right home without anything horrible happening, but that meant trouble because as soon as we buckled her into her car seat, she threw-up all over it! It was a big mess that we couldn't clean up until we got home, after we dropped Kevin's mom, Ruth, off at home since Ruth had picked us up. So Marley had to sit in that puke-covered car seat for nearly 30 minutes before we got home!! Fortunately, we did manage to clean the car seat well enough with a power-washer & there is no residual smell/vomit on the seat anymore!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2010

This year we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with Kevin's parents, and, of course, Ruth did her usual fantastic job of putting everything together! She works so hard & it always turns out so fantastic...who could ask for a better mom/mother-in-law/grandma!!!

FAMILY PHOTOS

We managed to recruit Amber again for yet another photo session. We wanted to give my parents & the in-laws a good Christmas gift & what's better than a picture of ourselves (are we narcisists or what?)

What a lovely couple!

Oh heavens! Grace is so adorable! I love to kiss that little face & I love her out fit in this photo!

Love these photos of Marley! Love the hands in the pockets & the position of her feet! She's my baby doll!

I know I'm tooting my own horn, but I really love this picture of us all together! I think that it turned out so well & we all look really nice in it!

TEAM PICTURE

This was the first year that they offered season ticket holders of at least 20 years a chance to get a picture taken with the entire Jazz 2010/2011 team. Even though it was an assembly line of people all getting their picture taken with barely a chance to smile for the camera before we were shuffled off the blue carpet. But you better believe that if you even thought for a second about stepping off the blue carpet on to that wooden floor, they swarmed you like a S.W.A.T. team! Kevin of course was messing around while we were waiting in line & stepped off the carpet on to the wooden floor trying to get one of the player's attention & a serious looking usher in a formal looking jacket came rushing over to ensure that he wouldn't step on that floor again! When Tyrone Corbin saw Grace, he said "Oh hey a baby!" And Deron Williams was texting or doing something on his phone the entire time until the camera man said cheese, then he looked up briefly, pasted a smile on his face, & was back to his phone again...definitely a multi-tasker that obviously knew he had LOTS of pictures to take before he could get out of there! It was a cool experience...thanks Jerry for hooking us up!!

Grace's Blessing Day

2010-11-09T13:07:00.001-08:00

I love the day we bless children. It is so nice to listen to the blessings they are given to start their lives & those that are meant for them throughout their lives. Babies are so precious & lovely...soft, wonderful, & new...a great way to come into this world! It's wonderful that Heavenly Father gave us the capacity to be able to open our hearts wider than we ever think would be possible to in order to love & cherish these precious children he entrusts to us! I love both my daughters immensely! I truly never knew I could love this much!

Top left: Tina & Alece. Top right: Great grandma Orie, Tina. Bottom Left: Mandi & Kinley.

Top Left: Kevin with Wendall Iverson & Wayne Glaus. Top right: Ethan. Bottom Right: Alyssa

Papa Jerry, Kevin, Aron, Grandpa Doug, Grandma Ruth, & Alyssa

Top Left: Bill, Aunt Kathy. Top Right: Alyssa & her dad, Guy. Bottom Left: Aron & Great Grandma Yates. Bottom Right: Wendall & Eda Iverson

Grace & Grandma Orimi

Sadie, Marley, & Kinley

Leslie & her daughters.

My sweet baby Grace!

Isn't Marley so lady-like?

Grace's Announcement

2010-11-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

We are all so excited to have this lovely little girl in our lives!

Very First Tea Party

2010-11-09T12:56:00.002-08:00

Marley & Sadie went to a tea party hosted by the Pottery Barn. Marley was really excited (but probably not as excited as me...I love this kind of stuff! It's so darn fun!) to go & see Sadie (but was really concerned that Kinley wasn't going to be there since Kinley wasn't old enough). They had sugar cookies with pink frosting, little cans of apple juice, talked about their dolls names & pets, had story time, made some paper flowers, and even got a little tiara. It was so lovely!!

First they "hanatize" (Marley's word for sanitize) their hands.

Then chow down on cookies & juice while they discuss their dolls & pets.

Story time consisted of "Fancy Nancy" & "Pinkalicious"...two of Marley's favorites.

With a little assistance, they made these adorable flowers using pipe cleaners & paper cut-outs of their hands.

And course, playing with toy kitchen! So much fun!

Blueberry Face

2010-11-09T12:56:00.001-08:00

Marley has really started to like eating frozen blueberries. I'm glad she's eating them because they are healthy but they dye everything they come in contact with...like her hands, lips & tongue!

Is this how you wear a crown?

2010-11-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

Marley has these princess items that she loves to play with/dress-up in. She came to me & asked me if this is how she wear her tiara!

Trapped in a Shopping Cart

2010-11-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

I was in the kitchen making dinner when I heard, "mom, help me!!!" When I saw her she told me "I'm stuck, I'm stuck!" And, according to Mandi, I was a good mom & ran & got the camera first instead of helping my daughter! hehehe! I couldn't help but laugh! This kid makes me laugh every day! But she was really stuck as it was hard for me to even pull her out!!

Hairband

2010-11-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

Marley has this insane infatuation with my hair/headbands. Every time she sees one in the drawer she wants to wear it. If I'm wearing one, she wants me to take it off so she can wear it. Sometimes she just seeks them out to put them on. I think she looks pretteeeeeee stylish!

Sweet Heart

2010-11-09T12:52:00.000-08:00

I'm constantly taking pictures of Grace. One, because babies change so darn fast. And two, because I find her face so stinking cute! I could look at this little face all day!!!

I vant to suck your blood!

2010-11-09T12:50:00.000-08:00

Marley is obsessed with putting these vampire teeth in her mouth & running around going "arrrgh". She also tries to speak with them in, which makes me laugh every time she does. She messed around with them so much that the teeth broke in half at the joint. She desperately wanted me to tape them together, but when I told her they were beyond repair & had to be thrown away, she sadly took them & slowly walked to the garbage to dump them. For whatever reason, just looking at this picture makes me laugh so hard!

Wig Out

2010-11-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

We borrowed this wig from someone, and, of course, Marley tried it on. She can be such a goofball sometimes!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

Marley was really excited for Halloween this year. I had gotten her a princess costume that said 2T, but I couldn't even fit it over her head. So she's either really large or the sizing was really weird. Even though costumes for kids her & Grace's age were super hard for me to find, fortunately, I was able to get this little poodle skirt outfit for her. I think she looks so adorable in it!!!

It was so hard for me to find Grace a cute costume, but Kevin found this at Pottery Barn (so I'm sure there were lots of infants dressed as bumblebees this year!)

My brother, Seth, & my parents, wanted to got Trick-or-Treating with Marley, especially since this year, she really started to get what it was all about.

Kevin went as Alan from the "Hangover" & I made the mistake of wearing this ill-fitting vampire costume (that I tried to turn into a witches costume). Lesson learned: Don't buy a costume that you haven't tried on, even though it's on sale!

Instead of going door-to-door in our neighborhood, we went to Foothill Village, which is this outdoor bi-level shopping center, that hands out candy to Trick-or-Treaters. Fortunately, we went early when the weather was still nice enough to be outside. Later it started to storm & rain!

A dentist office in Foothill Village put on this really cute spook alley for the little kids & then gave out vampire teeth & toothbrushes as the end!

We typically have very few trick-or-treaters, maybe 15 or 20 kids come by. But this year we only had two trick-or-treaters, Porter & Mack, & they only came over because they knew we were home & decided to brave the bad weather!

Chulo

2010-11-09T11:53:00.000-08:00

Marley found this bandanna & wanted Kevin to put it on her...well of course he had to make her look like a little Chulo!

Spooky Cupcakes

2010-11-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

While Kevin took me out to dinner & the music & dance stylings of Thriller this year for my birthday, Ruth & Jerry came over to tend the kids. Ruth & Marley made these adorable cupcakes! I love that Ruth has all of these fun little ideas & allows Marley to participate in them!

Vital Signs

2010-11-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

Our friend Amie gave Marley this adorable play doctor kit for Marley's birthday this past year. Lately, she's taken a real interest in it & is always getting it out to take our blood pressure & temperature. I caught her trying to doctor our dog, Oscar, one day! She is such a nut!!

Before and After

2010-11-09T11:38:00.000-08:00

We finally moved all of our stuff out of our Room of Shame (but don't let us fool you into thinking that we got rid of the Room of Shame...it sadly just moved locations!) It was the room that we put all this stuff we needed to store somewhere in, but we needed to turn it into Grace's bedroom. Kevin did HUGE, HUGE amounts of work in that room. He put up the bead board, painted the room two different colors, added crown molding, changed out the closet doors (which was a pain since the closet door frame wasn't standard, so he had to do all this finagling to shave off 3/4 inch from one of the new closet doors to make them fit), and ripped out the carpet & weird shelf thing in the closet. He was actually putting the finishing touches on it after I had Grace & was still in the hospital. But finally it was done!!!!

BEFORE....

...AFTER

Marley, Sadie & Kinley

2010-11-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

We had dinner with the North family at Mo Betta Steaks (yeah, I didn't think that was the actual name either) primarily because Kevin said they served shaved ice that can compete with Matsumoto's Shave Ice in Hawaii. Sadly, we weren't able to test the shave ice for comparison as the machine was "closed for winter"...really?!

Anyway, they came over to our house to visit afterward, & I to take photos of the kids!

Sadie cracks me up because she was straining so hard to see through that telescope (which I don't even know if you can actually see through it!)

The way Marley & Kinley kept having a tea party & drinking out of their tea cups was SOOO adorable! I had a wonderful time just watching them play! So cute!

Swing, Swing, Swing

2010-11-09T11:32:00.000-08:00

Kevin took Marley to the park to do one of her favorite activities, which is swinging. He got these photos with his phone, which I thought looked pretty cool!

A monkey & a ladybug

2010-11-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

I have called Marley my Monkey (amongst the many other nicknames we have for her) since she was a baby. Now, for whatever reason, she calls Grace a "ladybug", which is actually a cute nickname. Even with morning hair & PJ's, Marley begged to hold Grace. She will actually hold Grace for quite sometime before she gets bored & wants to move onto something else.

Nap Time

2010-11-09T11:28:00.000-08:00

One day Marley got out her "snuggle" blanket & her "twin babies" & a blanket for them, & sat with them on the couch. She was sitting there so quietly that I didn't even realize that she had fallen asleep until I glanced at her. She must have been really tired, since, typically, Marley will not take a nap anywhere but in our bedroom or in the car (if we happen to be driving long enough). What a sweetheart!

Let's Read

2010-11-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

Wonderful "Aunt" Eileen sent Grace a fantastic homemade quilt & was also kind enough to send Marley a book. Immediately after opening her present, Marley wanted to sit down & read the book!

Story Time

2010-11-09T11:24:00.000-08:00

One day we had left the girls in our bedroom momentarily & when we came back, we found that Marley had picked up some books & was "reading" to Grace. Marley absolutely loves to read & adores books. I will often find her "reading" books to herself. She had most of her books at least partly memorized. It is cute to find her by herself reading out loud!

My Two Girls

2010-11-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

I started taking pictures of Grace &, of course, Marley didn't want to be left out!

I love Grace's eyes. The "Katy Perry" look is what I like to call it!

My goofy gal

2010-11-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

Marley was running around without pants on & just being cute with her phony smile, so I had to snap a few pictures of her! I love this little girl & her hilarious personality!

Marley & Grace

2010-11-09T11:12:00.000-08:00

Even though there are moments of jealously, overall, Marley has taken on the role as Big Sister & loves Grace. She will frequently asked to hold Grace & will help me change her diaper & give Grace her binky! So fun to have two lovely little girls!

Cabin with Jerry & Ruth

2010-11-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

For conference weekend, we were lucky enough to go Kevin's parent's cabin in Flaming Gorge with none other than Kevin's parents! The weather was LOVELY & we had a fantastic time relaxing & just hanging out!

Marley with her Grandma Ruth

Gun Slinger! Kevin thought he was so tough prancing around with his gun slung around his waist. Love the hat & the Fivefinger shoes!

Marley LOVES her Grandma Ruth & to cook (especially to crack eggs) so you can imagine her delight that she got to make breakfast with Ruth! Fortunately, there were no eggshells in our food!

Marley was playing with the "mama" & "daddy" and posed them like this...I guess they're supposed to be kissing!

Even though we've been to Flaming Gorge numerous times, I've never made this stop to look at this view. I think it is beautiful & wonder how many miles away the horizon is!

How sweet! Jerry napping with Grace.