Parade, anyone?

This year to the 4th we stayed in Tooele to play. Sophie started dance this summer and so she had the opportunity to ride in the parade with her dance company. I think she had fun...let's just say that I got recruited to throw candy because she cried ever time I tried to leave. Note to self, don't wear flip-flops when you have a child that might not let you out of their sight on a parade day! Here are some pictures of the fun we had...in reverse order since I forgot how blogger uploads them and I don't want to do it again.....

Here are the girls and me waiting for Tyler to set off the few fireworks that we got. Mind you Zoe very rarely sees this time of night, so pardon her zombie look, that and she didn't like the flash.

My cute girlies!!

Grandpa Dan took Sophie and Zoe to the park after the parade and let them try a few games. Doesn't Tyler look excited that Zoe just won a fish for us to take home!!! Poor Sophie needs some more practice for next year. Oh and Sophie named the fish, Slinky, he almost kicked the bucket the day after we brought him home, but he pulled through, tough little fish!

Here we come to Sophie riding in the parade. Don't the girls look so stinkin' cute in their pink dance outfits? I just LOVED them! Sophie is the one on the bottom row, left side, second one in. She really enjoyed watching the big girls dancing behind the trailer.

I think that this is the only smile I got out of this girl the whole time....she's the one in the middle. I think that it turned out quite cute!

Well that was our fun weekend. A little different than past years. We are usually all watching the parade, but only Daddy and Zoe got to enjoy it. I was bummed and decided that I need to cameras because I didn't get any of Zoe watching the parade...bummer!!!

Swimming and the Zoo

Last week my mom came to Utah and we had some fun. First off we went to the pool on Wednesday. Talk about a cold choice. It was overcast....completely overcast, but at least it didn't rain. Zoe had Grandma Cheryl by the hands and made her walk all over the kiddie pool. She LOVED the water, even dunking her own head under the water several times. Although she didn't last more than 45 minutes in the water before she started getting cold and tired. Sophie on the other hand could have swam for hours. Her and I were soaked from head to toe because she wanted to go down the slides. I was freezing and didn't want to get out of the water because that was what was keeping me warm. Sophie loved splashing and sliding! After we got out of our swim gear we headed to do some shopping. Zoe was so tuckered out that she slept in the car, in the stroller and the whole way through the store. Poor girl.

Thursday we were disappointed to wake up to pouring rain. We were hoping to go the zoo. Reluctantly we decided to go to Discovery Kids at the Gateway, but when we went to pick up my mom on the way into Salt Lake there were blue skies. So we headed for the zoo determined to see some animals. Sophie would have been so disappointed had we not gone. She was so excited! Both of the girls love the animals. Zoe kept saying "an-iml" the whole time, she loved the monkeys, orangutans and giraffe. Sophie loved everything! We even got to sit in on the bird show and have birds fly right over our heads. That was so cool and Zoe love it for about 10 minutes and then wanted to run around so we had to make our exit. Sophie love the train and was bummed when she had to get off. Grandma each let them pick out a souvenir, Zoe a stuffed giraffe and Sophie a necklace and bracelet (she is such a girly girl!).

Here are some pictures of our adventures with Grandma Cheryl:

My three monkeys....no wonder my house feels like a zoo sometimes!


The best picture I got of Sophie on the carousel.



Zoe on the carousel.

Sophie loving the monkeys!

Zoe, Grandma Cheryl and Zoe's cousin loving the monkeys. Don't you love Zoe's face, it's priceless!

Our attempt at getting a family picture...hello....look at the camera!!!

My sister, the girls and Grandma after swimming. So much warmer!

Crappy turned Gorgeous

Now before you think that I am being mean, and calling Sophie crappy, think again. I am talking about the piece of furniture on the left, in both of the pictures, she just happen to be in the pictures with the said crappy turned gorgeous. I forgot to take a before picture so these are what I found to show you how it looked before. My mom bought this stand for me when I was still in high school and it was used to store some of my clothing. I took it with me when I left home and got married. It was used to hold dish towels, the microwave and pots and pans. When we moved into our new house it was pretty much useless as a kitchen accessory so I decided it was time for a make over.


Oh, isn't Sophie adorable in all her 18 month old glory! I love this picture of her.

Here is the after:

I removed the doors, sanded it, added some moulding, changed the hardware and painted it RED! And I must say that I LOVE IT!!! It is now placed along the wall between the kitchen and the hallway to the girls room. It will be used as a message station/writing desk. I am going to add some baskets to the shelf in the bottom to hold odds and ends, and put a charging station on top.

More Pictures of the House

Well, we are pretty much settled in the house. All I have left to do is hang up pictures. I am really lacking in decor and so it might take a while to make the walls look less bare but it will eventually happen...I think anyway. So here are some more pictures of the house that you guys asked for:

This is the front room, I know that you already saw a picture of it but Tyler thought you needed to see it with our stuff in it:

This is the girls bathroom:

The girls bedroom:

The playroom, and yes I am the mean mom that makes my kids share a room. It is so nice to have all the toys out of the bedroom and in a separate room that I can just shut the door when the mess is overwhelming!

The laundry room:

The entryway with the stairs to the unfinished basement...oh and the girls parading around with their purses:

My bedroom looking out from the walk in closet:

Finally, my oasis...also know as the master bath. It has a separate tub and shower, and the toilet is in a separate little room...funny, huh?

Well, that is about it...well except for the garage, but all garages look pretty much the same so I didn't this I should bore you with a picture of it and the basement is concrete and insulation wrap. Not too exciting...well except for the possibilities!

Jessica, the house is on the south end of Tooele, right before the salt shed and where they keep all of the school buses. On the west side of main.

A Large Purchase!

I finally feel safe in saying that Tyler and I are soon to join the ranks of home ownership! We started looking for houses in March and soon fell in LOVE with this beauty. It has been a long process but on Tuesday we will sign ourselves to 396 months of payments. It is a scary thought, but also nice to know that we have somewhere to call home. So without further adieu, here it is:



I couldn't show you just the front of the house and call it good. I need to show you my favorite room in the house....the kitchen:


Isn't it B-E-A-utiful! All those yucky kitchens I have become accustomed to from renting are suddenly erased from my memory! I can imagine cooking and baking with ease now. No more stacking things on top of each other due to lack of counter space, no more burnt food because the oven is wigging out, a mounted microwave....are you KIDDING ME!!!! I am so EXCITED!

Thanks for letting me boast, I will quit now! We are so excited for this next step in our journey as a family. Oh and did I mention it has an unfinished basement...OH the possibilities!