happy birthday aliyah!

Today my little Aliyah turned 2. I can't believe how fast she is growing up and becoming a child and not a baby anymore. We had a fabulous day. My parents came down last night so they got to be here. And Jalee and Kyle celebrated with us too. We went swimming and had a pizza party. We didn't do anything fancy. (I kind of went crazy on Xander's so Jace made me have a low-key get together for Aliyah.) My mom and I made an ice cream cake...it was delicious if I do say so myself.

The fabulously wonderful ice cream cake. Mmmm.

She got lots of presents. I don't know if she has a favorite because they were all fantastic. My sister, Amy, gave her a puppy book, notebook (to color), and a puppy that makes noises.
My parents gave her some blocks, a sticker book, and they gave Xander a tool box that Aliyah thinks is her own.


And we gave her a coloring book, a Dora ball, and a T-ball set.

Jalee and Kyle gave her bracelets, a Dora place mat, and some Flarp...they're both scared of it.

Nat and Ry gave her hungry, hungry hippo.

All the presents were a hit and we thank all who helped to celebrate Aliyah with us. We love this little girl. She's a little crazy, but it makes life fun!

When I get all my pictures scrap booked I'll have to post them. There were so many that I liked, but I didn't want to overload. :)

busy

So far August has been pretty crazy. Jace's sister got married on the 14th so we went up north for a week for that. Then, on the 23rd Jace's cousin got married down here at Staheli Farm so his whole family came down for that. In between Cody and Courtney came down so we got together with them. We went over to Courtney's parent's house and swam. The kids absolutely love swimming. (So good to see you guys!) We went swimming again when Jace's family came down...this time to the Rec. center. We've just been trying to keep busy with activities for the kids. Xander is having a rough time sleeping again and I think it's because I started getting lazy with things for them to do in the day. So, for Family night we went to the park, yesterday I took them to Main Street. And tomorrow is full of fun activities because it's Aliyah's 2nd birthday! YAY!
Well, here's the pics I've been taking to go along with all the business.

lizard!

Saturday morning I found this little guy in the kids bathroom right by the bathtub. I was taking Aliyah in to get her bath and he was staring up at me from the floor. I completely freaked out. It scared me...and I scared poor Aliyah. I think she's going to have a phobia of all creepy things because of how I react. Anyway...Jace and his little bro Jaxon tried to get it, but it ended up crawling in between our bathroom cupboards and the floor.
I have been completely wary of that area and tread lightly so the animal wouldn't run out right when I walked by. Ooh, it just gives me the creeps.
So...today when I got out of the shower I happened to look in our tub and look what I found! He was just sun bathing in the bottom of our tub. What creeps me out the most is that he went all the way across the house to get there. What if my foot was mere inches away from him at one point and I had no idea. That's gross.
Well, I text Jace and told him to come get it, but he was stuck at work for a while. I didn't want it to leave and hide somewhere so I decided to "Lizard sit." That didn't last very long because every time I peered over the tub I was scared he was going to come running over the top. So, I just went about my business. I checked later and he was gone. I was nervous he ran into one of the jets or down the drain. But by the time Jace got home he was back to sun bathing. Jace grabbed him and set him free far from our home. Aah. Relief at last.

My Frankenstein

He is officially on the go all the time! The only time he is stopped is if Aliyah knocks him down or he wobbles a bit. Then he has to crawl to a wall or chair or something so he can stand back up. He's pretty funny with his hands when he walks. As you can tell, he's Frankenstein. He also has some wrist action which makes Jace question his man-hood. But he's only 1, give him a break. :) It's been good to have the kids be able to run around together.

the checklist

Every night before Aliyah can go to sleep she has a checklist. Once she gets in her crib it goes something like this:

Where puppy at? ... where binki at? ... where blankie at? ... and so on down the list.

It used to just be her binki and blanket...standard. That's all she needed. Then when she was about 7 months old she discovered the little puppy that my grandma gave her when she was born. She cannot be put to sleep without it now. Then just a few nights ago the 2 babies were added to the mix. I'm thinking if this keeps up I might as well just let her sleep in her closet. Then she'll have everything.

She was so funny when I went in to take the picture she looked at me and said "BEE." (That's how we get her to smile because she couldn't say cheese.)

Vernon Family Photo

While we were up north we were able to get a family portrait of the Vernon side of the family. Jace's uncle came into town for the Summit County Fair so everyone was actually there. We had quite the time trying to get everyone to smile and look at the camera at the same time.




In the end at least one turned out pretty decent. And you know what...there's always photo shop. :)

Up North

Well, we're up North for the whole week. Jace's sister is getting married tomorrow. I am so excited for her and her future hubby.

It's been pretty eventful up here. Aliyah and Xander went to the dentist for the first time on Monday. My mom works for a Pediatric Dentist so she was determined that my kids come in. Aliyah did so good. My mom brushed her teeth and even got x-rays. Xander had fun in the waiting area. Even I got my teeth cleaned because it's been far too long since I've been. And I'm not very proud to say that I had 2 cavities. :( Luckily they fixed it right then so I don't have to worry about it. My kids were fabulous...no cavities. (I'll post pics when I get home.)
Yesterday Jalee went through the temple. It took me back 4 years ago when I went through. What an awesome experience.
Today we have a day off of wedding stuff so I think we're visiting my grandma. And then Thursday is the wedding. And Friday we can finally come home. Don't get me wrong...I love being up here, but after a couple days my kids are done and ready to be home. That makes me want to go home.
Anyway...it's been fun and the weather has been nice...still hot, but nice. We're looking forward to the wedding and having Jalee and Kyle move down to St. George. All you Coral Canyoners are gettinga new couple. Treat 'em good. :)

Ouch!

So, I've decided that I am going to the gym in the mornings now. My friend, Jessica, told me that she has been going at 6 am for the last 2 months! That is pure craziness. But I decided that I need to get my butt in shape. After taking pretty much all of July off it has been hard to get going. I went on Saturday...not at 6 am...but still early in my opinion. And then Monday I started at 6. I did it! I felt so good the rest of the day too. Tuesday I went as well, and this time I saw Jess. It was so much better with a friend there. Wednesday morning my alarm went off. I rolled over to turn it off and I could barely open my eyes. It was SO hard. I ended up not making it. So, I had to redeem myself today. I got up at 5:35 am and headed to the gym. I did another class and Jess and Dion were there. Yay! I think I'll be able to do this if I keep going with people. It makes it a little easier when you are accountable to someone. We'll see how long I can keep it up, but for now I love it. I already feel better about myself. :)

future cheerleader!

I'm glad she got my skills. :)

happy birthday dad!

Well, it's not that I forgot...it's that yesterday was so crazy hectic that I didn't get a chance to post. So, I just want to tell my Daddy happy birthday. We all love you.

Aliyah, Dad, and Mom before the 4th of July parade last year

Dad and Xander in Cancun in October