Christmas Traditions

This is actually the first year we've made gingerbread houses, so it's not exactly a Christmas tradition yet. My sister in law came up with the idea, she thought we should try to make real gingerbread for our houses. It was surprisingly easy, somewhat time consuming but worth it in the end. We had so much fun decorating the houses, thanks to my sister in law for such a great idea!

Arli had a good time just sitting and watching ( well most of the time). Her cousin Ryleigh did a great job at taking care of her!

A visit with Santa

I was so sure that Arli was going to flip out when she met Santa Clause. But to my surprise she actually sat on his lap, she barely moved a muscle but she did sit on his lap! He was however, a very good Santa Clause, real beard and all. Santa probably asked her about 4 times if she wanted a baby doll for Christmas, but all Arli could do was stare at his beard. Finally after the 4th time of asking she quickly said "Yes" and lunged for me! I think she would have said yes to just about any toy at that point!

This is the only picture we could get without her staring at his beard. And isn't he a cute Santa!

A belated Halloween

#2 and #3 reason's I haven't updated my blog

#2. I'm obviously not much of a multi-tasker, Arli has been sick several times in the last couple months and I haven't managed to do much else other than take care of her. Sick kids are exhausting! I guess it really makes you appreciate the times when they are healthy! She is finally getting better and seems to almost be back to her normal happy self, so now I can maybe get a few things done, like updating my blog!



#3.
Marcus and I have spent the last several evenings watching television, I don't know exactly how many hours we have wasted sitting in front of the television! It's really pretty sickening!!! Marcus decided to rent the DVD's for Season 1 of the television show Lost, I really didn't want to get addicted to another series, we spent one too many hours watching the 24 DVD's! But it looks like we've done it again, I actually asked the clerk at Blockbuster when the 3rd season would be out on DVD, I'm pathetic!!! Fortunately and Unfortunately the 3rd season won't be available until the end of December, so it looks like I have few months to be productive with my life and keep my my blog updated!

A trip to the Zoo

For some reason I have been wanting to visit the Hogle Zoo for such a long time, I just love the Zoo! I was hoping that Arli would be old enough to really enjoy seeing all the animals, but she didn't seem too impressed. We quickly found out that she only loves monkeys when they are in a picture in a book or stuffed, staring back at her through a thin sheet of glass isn't her idea of a good time. She did love seeing the Rhinoceros and the Elephants, I guess large animals don't scare her, just the small furry ones! Her favorite thing at the zoo was a large granite ball that looked like it was suspended in water, you could push it and it would roll through the water, this was the highlight of the trip.



















Arli had to first check out the map to find the best route through the zoo.


















Her favorite thing, Arli could have spent the entire afternoon playing with the ball.


















Staying VERY close to Dad!


















Even though Arli was scared of the monkey's she did manage to give her best "Oooo Ahhh"(that's "Hi" in monkey)



*Our trip to the Zoo took place about a month before we got our new camera, so these pictures are taking from Marcus' phone.

The "Incident"

The #1 reason I haven't updated my blog

Lisa: "So when are you going to be home, normal time? Around 6 or 7?"
Marcus: "Oh no much sooner, we're almost at the top of the mountain"
Lisa: "Sure you are, no really when do you think you're going to be home"
Marcus: "Really, we're almost there and then it should only take a few hours to get back down"
Lisa: "So we will see you around 7...(chuckle, chuckle)"
Marcus: "We will definitely be home before 5.......there was a little accident......I....um.....
Lisa: "ACCIDENT, WHAT HAPPENED, ARE YOU HURT?!!!!!
Marcus: "Oh no, not that kind of accident, I'm fine....it's just that.......um...the camera....well it went for a little ride down the mountain...
Lisa: "WHAT, what do you mean ride, where is it?!!!!
Marcus: "Well, I had it attached to the front of my backpack and I was climbing up a rock...and it it sort of fell off......and rolled down the mountain..."
Lisa: "Well wasn't it in the case? Did you see where it dropped, you should be able to go back down the mountain and get it!"
Marcus: "It was in the case for the first few hundred feet... then it started spinning and flew out of the case... and then CRASH! Lots of little camera bits shot out everywhere and a little camera spirit with a harp in hand started floating up to the heavens."
Lisa: "Are you serious Marcus?! Why would you have the camera strapped on the front of your backpack and not INSIDE your backpack?!
Marcus: ".......Well if I strap it on the front of my backpack then I have easy access to it, otherwise I would have to stop to take my pack off so I could get the camera.....I've always strapped my camera on the front of my pack.... I didn't realize it would come off that easily..."
Lisa: "... ... ...well there goes my blogging, and a few months of Arli's childhood... ... "
Marcus: "Did you by chance do a recent save of the photos on the memory card?"
Lisa: "Of course I did! I'm always one step ahead."
Marcus: "Good... I won't try to climb back down to it then... Just kiss it good-bye... just kiss it good-bye"
This picture (courtesy of mountainalbum.com) is of the guys looking down on the falling camera:(

It took a couple of months before we finally got a new camera, after the accident Marcus did his typical in depth research to find the best camera within our price range; fasted and prayed for a week and FINALLY was able to decide which one we should purchase. Well, the camera came and we found that the memory card didn't work; ahhhhhh! So we sent back memory card, ordered new memory card, new memory card came, tried out camera again, realized we didn't like camera......so we sold camera on ebay and purchased new model of old camera! Why we didn't do this in the first place, I do not know! New camera is here!!!! And we are very happy to be able to take pictures on something other than Marcus' phone.

*More blogging to come, it's been awhile; I need to take this slow and easy:)

The Aquarium

I've been wanting to visit The Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy, so we decided to avoid some of the heat and head to SLC. It was fun to spend some time as a family, but I don't think I would probably visit again. As far as aquariums go in Utah, it was I'm sure, the cream of the crop, but it still left much to be desired! However, Arlington did seem to enjoy herself!





(We only had a phone with us to snap some pictures, so the quality isn't great!)

Arli doing her best "fish" face.

It's hard to tell but this is a picture of an octopus, I was pretty fascinated by it! I've never seen one before, I didn't realize how creepy they look!!!

These little guys and gals are my favorite, unfortunately they only had a few! I think seahorses are so unique and pretty!
Arli loved this tank, there were so many colorful fish and coral! I know it's hard to tell from this fabulous picture, just look close!Arli was trying so hard to be brave and touch the star fish!
Arli again trying to be brave and climb through the cave with her Dad, but she just couldn't do it! Arli seems so fearless about some things, like going head first off a couch or stairs! But when it comes to animals and loud noises( and now it seems dark caves!) she becomes extremely cautious!We decided take a detour to see how the Draper temple was coming along. While we were there we thought we should probably check on our new home! It's not much but it will have to do!

Tagged!

Sorry this isn't super exciting!


4 jobs I've had: (Oh my where to begin, I've had one too many!!!! I'll list the somewhat interesting ones)
1. housekeeper at a dude ranch in Spanish Springs, California ( found an appreciation for country music and wranglers!)
2. Hair stylist at the Brick House Retreat in Sandy, Utah
3. Worked at a place called TriConnections in SLC , helped people with disabilities find employment. ( This was a fun job, something new everyday!)
4. Server at Johnny Carino's in Texas.


4 Movies I could see over and over:
1. Little House on the Prairie ( I know it was a television series, but I have 9 seasons on DVD, so I consider this one a movie, I just can't get enough of the Ingalls family!!!!!!)
2. Anne of Green Gables ( and Anne of Avonlea, of course)
3. Little Women ( the new one with Winona Ryder, well I guess it's not really new)
4. Harry Potter ( the 1st and the 4th one)

4 Favorite Movies:( This is a hard one, there are a lot of good movies out there)
1. All of the movies above
2. Pride and Prejudice ( the Colin Firth one)
3. Billy Elliot ( the edited version)
4. The Royal Tenenbaums ( the edited version)

4 Places I've lived: ( Not too exciting!)
1. Ogden, Utah
2. Morgan, Utah
3. Northern California and Texas ( just for a summer)
4. Logan, Utah and of course Orem, Utah


4 Favorite Television shows:
1. Anything on HGTV
2. Little House on the Prairie ( of course!)
3. Little People, Big World
4. The Cosby show


4 Favorite Reality Television shows:
hmmm... this is a hard one...I'm not a huge fan of reality t.v.
1. American Idol ( is that reality T.V.?)
2. Survivor
3. A Model Life ( a new one on TLC, it's pretty good)
4. John and Kate plus eight ( I've only seen this a few times, but I love it! This family has twin girls that are six years old and sextuplets that are 2! CRAZY!!)


4 of my favorite places I've been ( I'm not much of a world traveler)
1. Germany
2. Portland, Oregon
3. San Fransisco
4. Denmark ( that is when Marcus and I finally go there!)


4 Favorite foods:
1. Chips and Salsa
2. Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate
3. Cafe Rio veggie salad
4. Dilly beans ( Marcus' grandma's canned ones, delicious!)


4 websites I check daily:
1. Email
2. Blogs
3. Baby clothing websites ( old navy, naartjie, janie and jack...not usually buying just browsing)
4. Realtor.com ( I'm really ready to buy a home!!!)


4 Favorite hobbies:
1. Reading
2. Attempting to make cards ( I really enjoy making them, but I'm not so great at it!)
3. Cooking ( I'm really starting to enjoy this one)
4. Organizing things ( Sounds strange I know, but I just love when things are organized! Such a satisfying feeling! I would love to be a professional organizer!)


4 Friends I would like to tag:
1. Brooke Mortenson
2. Brynn Homer
3. Christen Millburn ( I think you've done something like this before, but this one is a little different)
4. Joleen Romo















4.

Relaxing with Dad

Arlington has always loved to be with her Dad, but the older she gets the more obsessed she has become with him( which is a good thing, It gives me a little break now and then)! She just loves when he's home and always feels the need to be with him!

Animal Sounds

Please ignore my cheesy voice!

Randomness

The Big #1

She made it or should I say I made it! Arlington has been such an easy and pleasant baby, however, a day or two after her birthday she realized that now she was 1 years old and a force to be reckoned with! She understands how to throw a good fit, yell if she's told not to do something, stretch out her bedtime routine as long as she possibly can and get just about anything to go her way! But in addition to that she is still a very sweet, and funny little girl! We have loved seeing her personality blossom, she is such a crazy little girl and we are so grateful for her. We look forward to many exciting years to come!The birthday girl!

We had a small family party at
the church pavilion to celebrate the big day,
thanks to all of the family that were able to come!
Arli loved all of the attention!

Arli didn't really get into the whole unwrapping present thing, but she did love the bags and tissue paper!

Thanks for all of the great gifts, And a special thanks to Brynn and Jeff for the cherry coke! It may take Arli awhile to finish it but she's well on her way!( Kidding!!!!!! Uncle Jeff likes to tease me about my small obsession with Arli and sugar, I'm one of the mean mom's that doesn't like to give there kids sugar! Well not forever just while they are babies!)

I got this great idea to make flower cupcakes from a friend of mine, they were pretty easy to make and very delicious! ( Ashley thanks for the idea even though yours looked much better than mine did!)


* Sorry we have no traditional " tear into the birthday cake picture" there was really not much to see, we do have it on video but still haven't figured out how to post videos! Arlington didn't seem to excited about the cake, she stared at it and poked it with her finger! I did make the cake without any sugar, maybe that was the problem!

Moab!

We did it! Our first time away from home for more than one night since Arlington was born. Despite a rough first night, a nasty cold, one sick mom, a $90 speeding ticket, swimming pools that weren't open, and an uncomfortable futon... the trip was a blast. (That was a group collective list, not our experiences alone) Thank you Meyers, Hornes and Cooks for enduring the adventure with us.
















Arli and Michelle out at the sandbox first thing in the morning.
















There is a park in Moab with all kinds of musical tubes, bells and chimes to play with. After a little practice the group performed Mozart's 5th movement for a local crowd.
















Our com padres at the same park.

















Last picture from the park... I promise. I kept forcing Arli to hang from the bars. Her face shows that she was obviously tired of it.
















Starting a hike up Negro Bill's Canyon. Thanks Hornes for loaning us your baby backpack.
















Lisa and Ashley cooling their feet in the water.
( and no Lisa doesn't have to use the restroom, she's just trying to keep her pants out of the water)
















We stopped at a shallow pool and let the little ones swim. One of Arli's little friends even got completely naked!

The time between these photos was spent napping, eating, napping, playing games, and napping. I think with a little more practice we'll get the hang of this trip thing :)

Swim Time

We visited the Lehi Legacy center on Saturday for some swimming, thanks Andrea for suggesting the place, it was so much fun! I think Marcus and I enjoyed ourselves more than Arlington did! My Aunt Sue and her girls were in town for a tennis tournament and Chandler was pretty bummed that the hotel pool was closed, so I thought we could all try out the Legacy center and it was well worth it! Sue forgot to bring her swimsuit so she was able to take the pictures and babysit Arli when she was ready get out of the pool, and the rest of us were able to really have some fun in the pool, THANKS SUE!

Taylor, Marcus, Arlington, Me, and Chandler posing for Aunt Sue.

Arli really does love swimming she just not sure how she feels about being on her back in the water!

My two little cuties!

They had such fun toys in the pool, Arli loved splashing in the wading pool, just after this shot was taken the big bucket of water drenched us all including Arli she fortunately didn't seem to mind much, I think we have a little water baby!

Happy Birthday Marcucius!

Happy Birthday to a wonderful husband and father, we couldn't ask for better!

And still just as Handsome!

He still pulls that face when I wake him up in the morning!

Not much has changed since 1980, Marcus still likes to make sure he is well groomed and ready to greet the day!

His Biggest LITTLE Fan! Happy Birthday Sweetie, WE LOVE YOU!