Here are the Pics!

 When we got back from UT, I was unpacking and cleaning up the house and came across a handful of Mackenzie's bows. She saw them, became insistent that I put them in her hair, and we ended up with this beautiful crown of bows. To think she used to never let me put a ONE in her hair!

 At the county fair. Caleb loved the big tractors! I guess we're living in the right state...

 All of the ones above are from when we went camping for 3 days. The older men camping next to us had these awesome motorcycles and tents that their motorcycles towed. Caleb, of course, loved the motorcycles and the men entertained his dreams by letting him sit on one. 

Then Justin's chimney for cooking with his dutch oven and me and Mackenzie enjoying eating it! And then the kiddos and me with the old-fashioned tent behind us.

 Mackenzie playing in the tunnel at the campsite's playground. I love her eyes here!! and the little half smile! :)

 Caleb's 3rd Birthday Party! Justin and I stayed up the night before decorating that awesome cake. And let me tell ya...if ya wanna do red icing...DON'T! or buy it red or something. We used up a TON of food coloring to get it that red. But, he loved it! As you can see in his face. I cant' believe he's already 3!

At the state fair they had this building of vendors, one had a Clifford character. Caleb was so excited to see him...and once we got in line we had to wait for about 20 mins. And then, when we were next up, Caleb had an urgent potty call...and on his way back he got his finger slammed in the bathroom door. Needless to say, his excitement about seeing Clifford deflated quickly. 

And as a side note, we finally bit the bullet and are paying for kids club at the gym. So, the membership that I get for free (since I volunteer in the kids club), I now finally get to use! It's been the best thing this week, and I've only used it twice! It's just wonderful!! Life is good!

Back to the 'ole Grind

Well, we survived MA. It was actually quite productive, we broke even from selling vintage toys, and we came back with a bunch of miscellaneous items (crafts, kitchen items) and many more to be mailed and even more bookmarked as future gifts. So, it was TON of work. Our 4 hour drive home from the airport took us 12 hours because Justin and I kept stopping to sleep. We were THAT tired! We finally made it home and went to the state fair!
Caleb and Mackenzie had a lot of fun with Grandma and Grandpa, despite being sick when we left them. They not only got used to them but now that Grandma and Grandpa have left, Caleb and Mackenzie are both still asking about them. Kenzie even says "Papa"!

Well, Justin went back to school on Monday. This year is going to be one crazy year. In addition to his crazy schedule of classes, he has research he's trying to finish up, Boards he's studying for, and an extra online class that he's doing. Not to mention US! lol He's gonna work hard, but it's been so nice to have a summer he's having a hard time diving in right now!

As for me, I'm enjoying getting back to routine. We rearranged our furniture a few weeks ago and I'm LOVING it! It's also finally cooling down a bit so we stand being outside. And we have friends. That's always good. :) I'm working on sewing my shirt, making burp rags, and just enjoying my kiddos. I'm still working with the Young Women at church and that takes a lot of time, but it's very fun, too.

Caleb is now 3 years old! We had his party before we left for MA. Justin and I stayed up late working on his cake (pictures later). We had planned to do a water-themed fireman-type party...and woke up to a drizzly day. So we improvised. But Caleb didn't really wanna play any games anyway. So we watched the rocket launcher Justin had made, ate cake, and handed out goody bags. It was fun...just not the fun I'd planned on! Caleb is my little sweet heart. He loves being a "big boy" and loves "having a watch just like you do." He loves his sister but also forgets that she's not a toy and not as big as he is. He loves to sing his ABC's and pushing his bubble lawn mower around.

Mackenzie will be 15 months in 2 days, so I might as well give a bit of an update on her. She jabbers. Mama, Papa, Dada, Gaga (Caleb), "Dach" is dog, as well as any other animal. She loves to dance to music, signs "please," "more," "all done," and "banana." She loves to scream. YAY. we all love that stage, right? She has finally slowed down on teething, so she is SLEEPING at night. woo hoo! I can do a dance just for that! She wants to be just like Caleb and will play with cars and follow him around and then scream at him if he gets too close.

I love moments when my kids play well together. Just this morning they were pushing various toys around the sidewalk square and Mackenzie would veer off the sidewalk, Caleb would straighten her out and beckon for her to continue, and she would follow his lead. I love seeing that she trusts him, despite how much they egg each other on. They are both at a fun age and it's great to see them interact and play willingly with each other!

Well, that's about it! Life is happening and we are all growing and keeping busy!

From Sea to Shining Sea...well, almost.

 We have done our fair share of driving this summer! We've had 2 oil changes in less than a month, and the last one was 100 miles late. YEAH! But before the road adventures began, we started the fun here at home.

So...get ready...here's a quick whirlwind of an update.

 

Hiking in Northern Iowa, swimming at the Reservoir with friends, and a visit to the City Park mini-theme park with friends (Caleb so brave to go in one of those ferris-wheel-style basket rides...with his dear friend M. Just now he started crying when I told him she had moved away...aww!)

For Father's Day we all gave Justin a dutch oven. On our first camping trip for the summer, he made us breakfast! It was so yummy and it totally looks hard core! The kids loved camping, too!

Then we drove 15 hours to Gatlinburg, TN. LONG drive, short visit, and then LONG drive home. BUT, it was great to see my whole family (this was the Hart family reunion), and to meet my new sister-in-law, Thaciana! She's such a gem and so sweet! She doesn't speak much English, and I don't speak Portuguese, but late night hot tubs parties cross all language barriers! It was so much fun! And the scenery was beautiful! After we made it back home...we continued on to Utah to see Justin's family (18 hours drive time)!

Once in Utah we had fun with the Bountiful Fourth of July Parade and then a visit to Hill Air Force Museum. So impressive, so much fun!

We even got to meet up with some good ol' friends!! I love reunions, friends and family alike! Good to see you folk!

Caleb LOVED his cousins, on both sides.On my side, A is rather rowdy...and Caleb is a shadow. He picked up a few tricks from him. On Justin's side, A (odd that it's the same letter, lol) is also very rowdy...enough to eat dry wall when he was younger. Caleb loved playing with him, but since they are 2 months apart, the squabbles only increased by the minute they were together! 

We were blessed to be able to attend cousin J's baptism, too! Such an exciting time for him! 

We also went shooting (I have decided I really like a .22 revolver...), but I don't have any pictures of it! You can't go to Utah without visiting Temple Square, and it was so pleasant to take Caleb and Mackenzie there. 

After about 10 days of action packed fun in Utah, we started our drive home. That included a slight detour to the Dinosaur Museum...but then we decided to go through Colorado instead of Wyoming (why torture ourselves anymore?), and that also allowed us to go through Manti, where we were sealed. It was lovely to see the Manti temple again!

And the lower right picture, of our car next to...yes, you see it right! it's Mater! A random real Mater somewhere in Southern Utah! And just to spice it up even more...

And that's the condensed update! More adventures to follow, to be sure!

From Baby to Toddler

Mackenzie had her first birthday May 25, 2012. I can't believe she's already one year! I was coping and dealing with the idea at least a week before the celebratory day; I kept crying at the thought that she would no longer be my baby! Thankfully, I kept myself under control during her "party." I just made a simple cake and iced it with blue icing and put rubber duckies on it. Caleb loved being able to help her blow out the candle, too. No matter the size or extravagance, Mackenzie loved digging into all that sweetness!

 

Afterwards we opened presents. She loved the gifts from both sets of Grandparents and Caleb and she still enjoy playing with them together. She was especially thrilled to receive her very own helmet! YAHOO! I love this picture with Caleb and her signing "hat" to each other as if she's saying, "Look! I have one now, too!" She also had her first ride on an animal on the carousel, and she freaked out. 

Grandma Hart gave us numerous cute bows and barrettes and Mackenzie has since decided that they are cool. She loves me to put them in her hair; even if she pulls one out, she'll hand them to me insisting I put it back.

She also had her one year check up appointment recently. She was so brave: 3 shots and a blood sample! Here are her stats:
Head: 46.5 cm; about 85%tile
Length: 30.71 inches; 92%tile
Weight: 21 lbs 9 oz; 58%tile

So she's still pretty tall, but not very heavy. I'm not sure how, since she eats all the time! She took her first steps on Thursday, June 7. She's getting better and better! She loves bikes and loves being outside; she loves bears, especially Care Bears (yes! a girl after my own heart!); She loves balls, too, and Justin found her carrying around my soccer ball last week. We're getting close! She's also cut two more teeth this past week. It's been an eventful few weeks for her!

I love my Mackenzie. She is such a cuddle bug and will just give me hugs; she LOVES Justin and cries when he leaves the room; she gets so excited when he comes home from school!;  she hates me holding books for her but she loves reading books by herself; She loves Caleb and loves playing with him; and she loves putting her feet on the table. She is our darling baby girl...who is now a toddler! I can't believe she's already 1!

Happy Birthday, our precious daughter!

Delayed Post = Frustrated

So, I just spent time working on a post about Mackenzie birthday...and somehow the text didn't save from Picasa to online...LAME! so, that post will have to wait, because I'm too frustrated/annoyed to try and recreate it right now.

Don't you hate it when that happens??