M is for...

Mountain, which we will soon have surrounding us... Maddie enjoyed scribbling and gluing while I drew.

Maddie, Mundo, Munch... it was fun to have a mini-lesson on how to spell Maddie's name. The letter M was the first one she ever recognized because she loves M&M's. In fact just today she told me a story about how she went to M&M world (2 months ago!) and got green M&M's from a big wall and dumped them in her bag. She has also learned to recognize the golden arches as the place to eat ice cream cones!


MOVING. Notice the thumb sucking above? Well, it has gotten worse in the last few weeks of general upheaval. Maddie seems to know there is something big brewing. She got upset when Mike empied a shelf and moved the globe. I guess I can't blame her, since it was that way her entire 2 years of life and suddenly changed. She talks about moving to Utah to live by Dana, but I think she'll be surprised by what that entails!

Happy Father's Day!

We sure love our Daddy. He's a pretty fun guy.

On top of that, he GOT A NEW JOB!!!! We are so proud of him! He is accepting a great offer from H. Mott MacDonald, a bridge engineering firm in Draper, Utah and will begin sometime after July 4th. That means we're going to be pretty busy around here... so ta ta for now. If you need me, I'll be packing, stressing, playing with friends one last time {sniff}, having emotional breakdowns, and everything else included in moving away from one home and finding another!

On the road... again...

Most of the pictures are on my Mom's camera, so I will have to add more later.


Maddie and Emrie had a pretty good time together, mostly terrorizing the cat.

We had a bridal shower for my lil' sis Emily!!! I can't believe she is really getting hitched. It was a garden shower in my mom's gorgeous backyard. Again, tons more pictures later...

The little bride looking all domestic! (I just have to say I made the apron and was pretty proud of myself!)

Dana and I celebrated our 27th birthday together. Sheesh, I'm gettintg too close to 30. Dad gave us both awesome shocks! :)

And I had to share this! Maddie is so good at making Ella laugh. I love it when they entertain each other!

Sawtooth Mountain Relay

So my Dad had this crazy idea that we should run a family relay. It sounded pretty fun, and I was already into a running program so it was nice to have a goal to work toward. The race was a 62 mile relay with 6 runners, 2 legs each. It began in Stanley, Idaho and ended in Ketchum, right near Sun Valley. You couldn't find more beautiful country.

I was pretty stoked for the race! I had been running 4-5 mornings a week and felt pretty confident that I could run both my legs. My left knee has been hurting a lot (frustrating--I'm still young, right?!?!) but with a break in between I though I could do it.


Some crazy person decided we should start at midnight and run through the night. While my kids slept in a hotel with Mike and Grandma and Aunt Dana, the relay team (Dad, Landon, me, Noelle, Emily, and Shelbe) piled into a suburban for an all-night adventure. Unfortunately, the weather was bad--40 degrees and rainy. Let's just say it was interesting... cat naps, Porta potties, warm ham and cheese sandwiches, and 4 am pick-ups to go nurse my baby... it was definitely interesting. I was so proud of myself though--I ran both legs without stopping! My first was 5.83 miles beginning at 2:45 a.m., and my second was 4.64 miles around 8 a.m. My awesome Dad did the summit and everyone else did so well! We were all very sore and very tired afterwards, but it was a bonding experience! Thank goodness for hot tubs and warm beds.

GO SEVENSPUDS!!!

Me n' my girls

We have been learning the song "I Love To See the Temple" so we experienced the real thing for FHE last week. (If you look closely we are at the bottom!)

My girls are getting old enough to play together! Maddie is so patient and loving with Ella. In my dreams it will always be so.

Once in awhile Mommy takes a turn with the rough-housing (Daddy usually dominates).

I think I have me some yummy girls.

They both thought this was soooooo funny! The next day Maddie was giving her baby dolls shoulder rides.

For the love of MUD

We stayed with Dana and Landon for 12 nights. Hopefully we repaid them in some small way by helping them finish their yard! Landon did the sprinklers himself... very impressive I must say, especially when all the neighbors were hiring crews to do it lickety split. It may have taken longer, but it's quite the accomplishment!

Maddie LOVED the dirt, mud, and rocks. She lived outside, pushing her little stroller around the cul-de-saq and making mud pies. Let's just say she left a few rings aroung the tub.

We helped them spread a layer of topsoil to prepare for sod... I must say, it was a workout but I enjoyed getting down and dirty!

Maddie loves Aunt Dana Banana (she also loves to rhyme... Landon Pandon, Mommy Pommy, you get the idea. I think it stemmed from Ella Bella.)

Daddy and Ella drovethe Bobcat! Really, Landon's dad did all the work and Mike just posed for a picture.

Okay, so this is a before shot...

And after!!!!! Isn't it gorgeous??? Maddie wants to move in Monday, so have the bath ready.

ZOO

Z is for Zebra!

As Mike's 93 year old Grandma Johnson would say, "the zebra's got all dressed up" for us!

She also said, "I'd hate to have a sore throat if I were a giraffe..."

Black bears

Elephants

Hugs for the monkey!

The lions were hungry! Maddie enjoyed the zoo, but she enjoyed pushing the stoller and running around like a wild animal as much as looking at the animals.

1/2 Birthday Suit

Ella is 6 months old today! She is entirely edible.

She is Daddy's acrobat-in-training.

And she is so good at sitting and playing independently lately! What a big girl!