Big Day!

The long awaited for day finally came!  Mackenzie and Collin went off to preschool and had a blast.  They have been begging to go for months now, since we drive by it every day.  And I have been excited for them to go for months now as they fight and cry when they are together at home. :)  So it was a happy day for all of us!  Actually, I was feeling a little sad, but glad to have a little free time.

The best part about it is that Collin goes to a toddler pre-school, and Mackenzie goes to a pre-K class, but they are at the same time and same place, three hours a day, three times a week!  So here's hoping we all have a fabulous year and enjoy our space. :)

All ready to go!

And Happy Birthday to Mackenzie (the first day of preschool was her actual birthday)!

Come Under The Sea!

I can't even believe it!  Mackenzie is turning 4 already.  Somedays I want her to grow up more, but most days she is so, so sweet and smart and very goofy!  We love her!  This is the first 'real' birthday party we've thrown with kids that aren't part of our extended family.  It was super fun, super crazy, super exhausting, and we loved it.  I'm just so glad I get to be her mom to do such fun things for her!

We had an Under The Sea theme, not mermaids, but lots of fish since she is quite obsessed with fish.  It was soooo cute!

The invites...

The Under The Sea Decor...

The Long-Awaited-For Fish Cake...

The games...we did this fun fishing game (with prizes of course), a treasure hunt...

...and we had to have a fish pinata!

Happy Birthday Mackenzie!

The Wedding

Our last trip to Utah was for the wedding of Chantel (our neice) and Trevor.  It was extra special to us since it was our 11 year anniversary that day, and we were able to attend their sealing in the St. George Temple, which is where we were married as well.  The sealing was so special, and Chantel and Trevor looked amazing that day (just like every other day).  We are so happy for them!

I was kind of the 'unofficial' photographer that day (it's a good thing they had a real one for the pictures that matter!), so needless to say, I took a TON of pictures, so here are some of my favs!

Chantel and Trevor....just married!

Cousins

 

The Bride's Family

Sisters

So cute together!

Us

My munchkins!

Love this boy!

Natalie's Family (minus Blaine)

Julie's Family (with Cade missing)

Love the colors!  It was beautiful!

And the food was awesome!

So pretty!

Part of the line...this is when my kids thought they were going to be part of the line because they had found a new best friend, Taya.

And this is the grumpy face I got when I told her she wasn't part of the line. :)

David's Family

Sisters, Julie and Shelly

Collin, Tyson, Shelly, and Tyler

Me and Tyson

Sweet Baby Myah

Ready for some cake in the face!

Daddy-Daughter dance.  They made me cry watching them dance to Butterfly Kisses.  It was so sweet!

This girl loved to dance!

And so did Collin!

Doing a little boogie!

Everything was so nice!  Congratulations Chantel and Trevor!  We wish you the best!

Mountain Time

During the last two weeks of July, we made three separate trips over to Utah for a bridal shower, the 24th of July, and a wedding.  We made our midnight trips back home only to work a few days and do laundry so we could get packed up again.  It was exhausting, but fun!!!  We made a trip or two to the Beaver mountains while we were there, even camped two nights (which I had been bracing myself for with my little monsters).  It was all good and here's some highlights of the madness:

A portion of the crew (Tyson's family) at the 24th Parade in Beaver.  It's the biggest event of the year, and its actually not too shabby.

Celebrating the 24th with a great game of 'Big Bubba'.

Dallin was the king of Big Bubba that night.

This is taken from a hike above camp on the Skyline Trail.  Check out my lovely hair! :(

This is how Mackenzie managed most of the hike, thanks to Uncle Tyler!

Or when she was supposed to walk, she ended up just giving up on the trail. :)

And this is how Collin managed most of the hike, thank you Daddy!

The Camping Kids

And we had to make a few trips over to Puffer Lake to do some fishing and goofing around in the raft.

Dallin trying to fish in peace, with Mackenzie right at his side.  Her crush hasn't died, even after not seeing him for a year.

Somehow I have no pictures of us actually camping, but I have to say we actually managed quite well with the kids (we've purposely avoided camping since having kids) and we are really looking forward to some camping trips next year!

Out With the Old, In With the New

If you know Mackenzie, you know that she has a beloved blanket that she takes everywhere.  It means the world to her.  It is hard to leave home without it (actually we did once on a big trip and had to turn around and back track an entire hour just to get it). 

This blanket has seen its day...it has been falling apart all around our house with little gobs of cotton laying around, little strings, and creating bigger and bigger holes in it. It was beyond repair, and I have repaired this thing several times.  So while my mom was here, we decided to make her a replacement (she requested the exact same one, and although possible, I told her it wasn't). :) We were going for a big girl blanket, but something that would still provide comfort for her.

So 'Thank You' Heather for making such a wonderful blanket for Mackenzie when she was born!  It's been loved (and now it is hidden far, far away in a closet and asked about a lot).

This is the new rendition.  She didn't really take to it at first, but I got so mad at her one day that I hid the old one.  I know, I'm mean...but she knew that she was in so much trouble that when she couldn't find it, that I had taken it away for good, and she's actually been ok with it.