El Tour de Mesa 2012

Shane road in the Tour of Mesa again this year.  He took a nasty spill about 10 miles from the finish line but he hopped back up busted helmet and all to finish the race.  We're proud of you Shane!

 

Waiting for Daddy

Shane riding toward the finish line

Good looking crew!

Way to go Shane!

Easter 2012

 Hope your Easter was as lovely as ours!

Easter fun

We have been excited for Easter to come as Molly loves to hunt for Easter eggs. In preparation, we went to Bass Pro Shop for a Easter Bunny Photo. Bass Pro Shop is awesome...you can buy guns, fishing tackle, camping gear and even enjoy a nice seafood meal in their restaurant.

We also went our Stake Picnic on Saturday where they had bounce houses, food, cotton candy and activities for all ages. Molly was a bit nervous at first in the bounce house, but soon got the hang of it as she has remembered practicing on Grandma's Trampoline.

Passing on traditions...

When I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (www.lds.org) in Paris, France, I was introduced to a sweet nectar called "Nutella". It has become a staple in our household ever since. Of course, only in moderation!

Fun with Grandma!

Last week my Mom came down for a few days to visit.  We were so excited to have her come see us before she and my dad leave on a mission to the Philippines for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in May.  We had so much fun sharing with her some of our favorite things...especially because we had her all to ourselves! 

Molly woke up the morning after picking Grandma up from the airport, ran into my bedroom and asked,"Where Grandma go?"

"I think she's in her room sleeping." (as was I).  It was barely 7am so I had her get into my bed for a few minutes while I woke up.  What seemed like only a few minutes later she asked if Grandma was awake.  I checked the clock and it was almost 8 so I told her she could go check.

The next morning and every morning after Molly didn't bother checking with me before making a beeline into Grandma's room.  She'd take some books and they'd begin the day reading and talking together.  Molly loved her special time with Grandma!

Here are some of the other highlights from her visit:

 Bike riding - "a first in ages" for Grandma but she left wanting to buy herself a beach cruiser.

 We went to the zoo

 Molly had fun brushing the goats

Of course we found time to do some projects!

What a great visit! Thanks for coming Mom!!

Valentine's 2012

Happy Valentine's Day! We had fun week celebrating love, 

hearts and all things pink and red!

Our much anticipated sugar cookie decorating contest was a huge success and Shane was awarded the gold medal for the 10th year in a row.  I gave myself a gold star for coming up with a new gluten free sugar cookie recipe that is hands down our favorite.  Shane isn't a huge fan of sugar cookies but he kept sneaking into the kitchen for more- Best compliment ever!!!

 He says the ideas for decorating just come to him when 

he looks at each cookie, but I think he spends all 

year thinking of new and creative ways win. 

 Molly is pretty good at spreading frosting on cookies and 

she's a pro at dumping as many sprinkles as possible onto each cookie.

Deciding which sprinkles to add to her masterpiece...

 She's also content to sit and eat frosting while we decorate the cookies!

(we go through a lot of knives!)

Bye Bye Binky...Hello Bed!

 The past 2 weeks have been busy for Molly.  Not only did she throw away her binky but she moved out of her crib and into a "big girl bed".  Getting rid of the binky has been on our minds for a few months, but we knew it would be hard.  Even though we weren't letting Molly have her binky outside of her crib, she had come to rely on it to help her fall asleep.

I planted the idea of throwing the binky away 2 weeks ago before Molly's nap.  At first she was completely against it.  I talked to her about being a big girl and that she didn't need her binky anymore.  "No throw away!"  So I told her she didn't have to do it right now but when she was ready she could have a treasure in exchange for throwing away the binky.   I thought this might go on for a day or two ending with a trip to the toy aisle.

About 30 minutes after our discussion, Molly asked for some m&m's.  It was getting close to lunch so being the good mom that I am I told her no.  She thought for a second and gabbered something like,"throw binky m&m's?"

Come on now, who in their right mind doesn't say yes to that?  We hurried upstairs to grab the binky before she had time to think about it.  I talked about what we were doing and gave her the binky.  She threw it in the garbage and I made a big deal about saying "bye bye!"  Then, for good measure, we tied up the kitchen trash bag and Molly helped me carry it outside to the garbage bin.  We said our goodbyes again and went inside where Molly made a beeline for the m&m's.

With naptime came the hard part.  Molly asked for her binky and I reminded her that she had thrown it away.  Then she cried.  She cried for 1 1/2 hours.  I cried a little too.  It took everything I had to not get the binky out of the garbage and comfort my baby!  She didn't nap that day and bedtime was almost as hard.  She was so worn out that she finally fell asleep.  She had trouble sleeping for the next 2 nights but she didn't ask for her binky again.

"So hey, since we're working on this binky thing why don't we transition Molly into a big bed too.  Change is hard enough so let's do it all at once!"  I don't know if that was smart on our part or if we were completely out of our minds.  We had Molly start sleeping on a twin mattress the day after she threw away her binky.  Truth be told, Shane was out of town and I was using this as a ploy to get her to take a nap.  I'd bring the big mattress into her room if she'd stay on in for her nap.  Genius! (or so I thought).  She had a great nap.  We decided to buy her a bed.

That night she figured out that she could get out of bed and come into our room.  I walked around like a zombie for a week from waking up so many times every night to take her back into her room and then cried my way through the next week from sheer exhaustion.  I was just so tired!

I think our consistency is beginning to pay off.  Molly only woke up once the last 2 nights and she's back on her schedule of 12 hours of sleep.  I'm going to trow a party the first night she sleeps through the night in her new bed!

Big Girl Bed!

Busy Molly

We often find Molly in some very serious situations...like this where she was very interested in her favorite movie "The Princess and the Frog".

Molly is also a pretty good "sous-chef" and she was very excited to help us make some pudding as our treat for Family Home Evening.



This is a random picture of Shane on a recent business road trip through New Mexico. He stopped by the White Sands National Monument and took some pictures of the sand dunes.

Christmas Pictures

We had a great time visiting family in Utah for Christmas. Here are a couple shots from our adventures...along with a visit to InstaCare for Molly...her first ear infection. Luckily we got some antibiotics in her and she was playing with cousins in no time.

Having some Christmas candy with Grandma Jill, Charlie and Macy.

Molly and Meredith frosting sugar cookies.
Don't you love Molly's "cheetah" pj's from Grandma Edie!

Happy Birthday Shane!

We love you and all of your alter egos!

 Handsome business man

 handyman

 

sous chef

 marathoner

 playground pro

 BYU fanatic

 All- round class act

Happy Birthday to the best husband and daddy in the world!