Mixed Feelings

These girls do LOVE each other, but there are moments where this love is put to the test. Brett just so happened to have the camera at the right time for this 'Series of Unfortunate Events.'
Hmmm...I wonder what was happening?!

 Abby's face is classic in the picture above. She wants the rocking chair and Kate's in it.

 She knows what will make Kate mad and goes for it.

Baby down. 

Abby trying to look innocent like nothing happened, secretly happy about her success.  

Little does she know Dad is peering over the couch.

One sad Kate. 

Abby staking claims on the rocking chair that she originally wanted.

This series of events is quite a common theme on and off during a day.  Ironically, the reason why Brett had the camera ready is because two seconds prior to this scene was a sight of two girls hugging and giggling together.  

Ahh, the joys of sibling love. I do hope these girls become best friends and love each other through thick and thin someday.  They do have many sweet moments that melt my heart like the picture below.

(Note:  My children do wear clothing.
Kate is half way there in this photo.)

So, what did your siblings do to you as a child? 

Disaster

As you know, I accidentally erased all of Kate's 1st Birthday pictures.  Well, a girl has to have documentation of how she LOVED her cake, so I tried to replicate the moment and grab some photos.  I had seen some cute 1st Birthday Cake Photos on a few photography blogs so I thought it would be fun to try some shots.  Ha! Um, maybe not.  I made sure the floor was covered in old blankets to keep it clean and thought it was going to be great. Yeah, right?!  Of course, I somehow forgot the fact that babies MOVE much further than a 3-foot radius, especially this one.  What was I thinking? What a disaster. Oh well, she sure enjoyed her 2nd cake and had a great time.
Nothing that a little water and rags can't clean up.

 Mission accomplished. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

We had the chance to go see the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial this weekend thanks to our awesome friends who watched the girls.  This memorial has become one of our favorites.  They have his statue as, 'a stone cut out of a mountain' with some of his famous words surrounding the memorial.  It's a great tribute.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.  

Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." 

-Martin Luther King Jr., 1963

A Year

Phew!  A New Year already?!  

This year has been an eventful one. We are grateful for all we learned and experienced.

The Year 2011

Bring on a New Year - 2012!  

(My friend Cali makes a collage of the year and I loved the idea, so here is my attempt.  It really shows how much can change in a year! Thanks Cali.) 

Highlights of 2011:

Outer Banks Trip

Big Blue

Spencer and Nadine's Wedding

Utah/Colorado Family Visits

Richmond Visits

Aunt Sippy working in Virginia

Abby potty trained
Kate's Baby Blessing
Abby started ballet

Kate walking

Happy New Year!

Now I need to start working on those resolutions. 

2011 Videos

As I was going through the pictures of 2011 I found a few videos that I never posted that are fun.


Dave teaching Abby the 'Pops Ear Lift'.
My dad always use to joke around and pretend to lift us by our ears.

Abby does a flip, thanks to the assistance of Dude and Lissa.

I found this one of Brett and the girls.  The girls love to play with Daddy before going to bed. I love the giggles.

(On a side note, you'll notice in the video that Abby's bed is standing up tied with Brett's bathrobe.  She was caught jumping on the bed and broke it right as we saw her.  It was actually a pretty funny sight, though she did get in trouble. I must say that wood glue works wonders.)

Abby riding her first Tricycle in May 2011.  She couldn't totally figure out how to pedal forward and not backwards. Pretty cute.

Kate's first bites of rice solids. 

(I can't remember if I posted this, so here it is just in case.)

The Gardens

We had to make our traditional trip to the Christmas Gardens this year.  I went with my good friends on Friday and Brett was excited to see it so we went again on Saturday.  It's always beautiful.  This year was particularly crazy though with 6,000 people going through on just Friday alone.  The highlight is always the trains.

Congrats Spencer and Nadine

It's offical. Spencer and Nadine are now Mr. and Mrs. Ashton.

They are a great couple, we are so happy for them.  We were glad we were able to come be a part of the big day.  We love having Nadine in the family.  She was a gorgeous bride and Spencer was grinning ear to ear all day. 

Congrats! We love you two.

Some faces from the wedding.  It was pretty chilly outside.  

 The girls loved being dressed up and seeing all the Christmas lights.  Abby was particularly excited about the whole event.  While we were at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building waiting, she would glide up and down the granite steps, holding the ends of her dress like a princess and would curtsy. 

My talented Aunts Marged, Kim and Sue were the amazing creators of the wedding cake.  They did a fantastic job, it looked beautiful.  Abby watched their every move as they put the cake together at the reception center.  The cake looked stunning.

 The cute couple.

Katelyn LOVED Lincoln!  She couldn't get enough hugs from him.  They are only 2 days apart and had a great time together.  

Fun with Aunt Shano

The whole gang.

Sisterly Love...