Tutu Cute

So after finding the make it and love it blog I've been inspired to work on some super cute crafts and it helps that my sister Heather has been inspired too because if I had to do it on my own I probably wouldn't get around to it very quickly. So anyway today we made tutu's and they turned out so cute.I found a flower ribbon and chose the blue, green, pink, and yellow the go with it. I didn't get a picture of Heather's but hers was black, red and green with a lady bug print ribbon. Anyway if any of you are feeling crafty come on over and I hope to have more pictures coming soon of my projects!

Free Giveaway!

Giveaway!!
Everyone loves free stuff, right? Well, my friend Liz Farnsworth is sponsoring a giveaway of a free session and a CD of 15 images over at Make It and Love It (all the details are over there). You will absolutely love this blog and the darling and creative ideas by Ashley. She will blow you away with her simplicity and craftiness! She gives awesome and FREE tutorials on how to make super cute and handy items to spice up any home. I especially love her ideas on how to make a mom's life easier by her easy-to-do necessary baby items. Go have a look and enter the giveaway. (You will have to scroll down a post or two.) Hurry the contest ends on Friday June 26th at midnight, Good Luck!!
Click here to enter - http://www.makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/

Choosing a Name

Tonight's conversation:

Mom - "What should we name our baby brother?"

Paige - "Boy"

Mom - "Yes we are having a boy but what should his name be?"

Paige - "French Fries!"

Mom - "French Fries?, we can't name him that! What should we name him?"

Paige - "Hamburger!"

Well at least those are two options Mike and I hadn't thought of yet!

Free Nursing Covers - Hurry!

I just stole this off my sisters blog. Can't beat free.I just wanted to pass on a little bit of Free-Ness to my fellow mothers. If you aren't currently nursing - these make GREAT baby shower gifts!!www.uddercovers.com is doing a brand new promotion where you can get one nursing cover (regularly $32.00) for free! You just pay the shipping ($8.45)!!Once you get on the site, click on "Shop Now" and it will ask you for the promotional code. Type in "babies" and it will take you to what you are eligible to purchase. They do have some gift sets for a few dollars more, or the nursing covers of course!Hope it helps someone out there save a little bit of money! Hurry though...they are going quickly.

Drum Roll Please.........

WE ARE HAVING A BOY!!!!

I had my ultrasound appointment this morning and with in the first few seconds of the viewing our little guy sat right on the camera! Mike was so excited I think he was about to burst!

The lady said from the measurements she would push my due date back a week from the 23rd to the 31st so we may have a Halloween baby but other then that everything looked good.

So now I've got to switch gears and get in the boy mindset but we are all very excited, even our little guy, check out that grin!!!

So Sweet...

Last Sunday Mike was up stairs taking a nap and I realized Paige had gone upstairs too and I didn't want her to wake up Daddy so I went to go see what she was doing and found this... She was just sitting in her room, wearing Rory's Sunday shoes, reading a book to her baby! I asked her what she was doing and she told me her baby was tired and needed to take a nap. So she was doing our routine, she read her a story then sang her a song, rocked her, gave her a kiss and put her in bed. It was so sweet I could hardly stand it, I love this girl!

Preschool Program

Again I'm a little behind but I didn't want to do like 20 posts in one day so I'm trying to spread them out. Anyway Rory is done with Preschool and instead of doing a graduation they just do a little program where they sing the songs and recite the poems they had been learning throughout the semester. I tried to do video too but Paige decided to be a holy terror and scream her head off a random throughout the program so i had to keep taking her out! But the parts I did see were cute and Mike and Grandma Sally were there too so it didn't all get missed. So now if we could just figure out the kindergarten thing we'd be set!


Mrs. Axtell

The Fam

Mrs. Chu

Preschool Buddies - Mandy, Rory & Sadie

Growing up!

I braided Paige's hair in two french braids the other day (quite a feat for me) and then later she was sitting on a chair at the kitchen table and I was in the kitchen doing something and just looked up and saw her sitting there and she just looked so grown up to me!
Where has my little baby girl gone? There is just this cute little girl sitting there in front of me. They sure grow up fast but I love seeing her learn and experience new things!

Mike's Birthday

So Mike and I are the same age for about 2 weeks then his birthday rolls around and then he is a year older then me again. So this year for his birthday we just got together with his family to celebrate and had pizza, carrot cake and homemade ice cream. See even though we said we weren't going to do anything for birthdays I still pulled this shindig together for him but I guess that is because I am a girl and he is a boy so what can you do!
Anyway it was nice to have everyone together and I thought I had a group shot on my camera but I guess it is on his mom's instead (our cameras are the same kind) But here are a few pics of the event, he got a new racket ball racket which is nice since he as been playing almost every Saturday morning for the past several months.
So I think this is 8-9 birthdays we have been together and the first one he invited me over to his sisters house to "hang out" and when we got there it was a full blown family birthday party for him...boy did I feel awkward! We'd had barely started seeing each other at that point! We'll I guess they didn't scare me off cause I'm still here! Happy Birthday Babe!

Rachel is 30! and then some...

I actually turned 30 almost a month ago but haven't gotten around to posting about it until now. Both my birthday and Mike's are about 2 weeks apart and we ended up going on the cruise right in between the two so that was mostly what we got for each other. I did however go to lunch with Him on my birthday because my friend Claire suggested it and offered to watch the girls for me...Thanks Claire! Then later that afternoon I was able to go get my hair cut and highlighted so that was nice but then when I got home I asked Mike if he had any plans for dinner and he didn't (sigh) so I told him I didn't care if he went to a drive through but I was hungry and wasn't going to make it myself. I was feeling a little down even though we decided the cruise was our birthday thing but I though he would do something!!! But all was not lost because his parents came over and brought me a present and then his sister came by and brought cupcakes and we ended up going out to dinner with them and when we got home my parents came by with their present. So as much as I love Mike I was sure thankful for family that day!

Mad Skills

Little Scare

Today I am thankful that I am a good swimmer and Paige well ... read on and see! Rory and Paige started their swim lessons this morning and Paige being the adventurous little thing she is got out of the pool while we and all the other little kids were on the step and ran to the middle of the pool and jumped in. I yelled her name before she jumped but that didn't stop her. I swam as fast as I could to her and pulled her out! She didn't really even seem to be phased by it all she said was that she got water up her nose. I love her adventurous spirit and that she isn't afraid of everything but this is one thing I wish she had a little more fear of! So today I am especially thankful to have my little Paige here with me!

Cruise to Catalina Slide Show May 2009

Cruise'n

So I'm way behind but I finally have some of the pictures loaded from our cruise so it's picture time! We went on a 3 day out of San Diego and were supposed to go to Ensenada but with the swine flu scare ended up going to Catalina Island instead but it was still way fun. We went with my parents, my oldest sister Shelley and her husband Nathan, my youngest sister Joanna and her husband Jared and some friends from our ward Brig and Ali Hall, we had quite the group!




If any of you have been on a cruise before you know the main attraction is the food it is fabulous and more then plentiful but as much as the rest of us ate Brig put us all to shame! I think he had enough for 3 people at each meal and that doesn't include the 24 hour buffets and ice cream! He definitely got his moneys worth and probably for the rest of us too!




We drove over Thursday April 30th and left port that evening and that night they had a comedian come in for the entertainment. Then Friday May 1st we spent in Catalina where we walked around the shops and Brig, Ali & my Dad went on a glass bottom boat tour while the rest of us went snorkeling in the 60 degree water, thank goodness for wetsuits! It was cool because there were so many fish all around not to mention the other sea creatures our guide pulled up for us to see. That night they had a hypnotist for the entertainment. Saturday May 2nd we spent at sea and actually went to Ensenada but just sat our in the water for a couple hours to comply with their charter so we could see it but just not touch. It also got quite foggy most of the day so we hung out and played card games and mini golf in the 50 mph wind. That night we decided not to go to the show and went out to hang in the hot tub instead since the whole outer deck was empty for once it was fun! Then Sunday morning we were back in San Diego and got off the boat and headed home. Over all we had a wonderful time and wish all of you could have come too...next time right!

FREE COUNSELING

Most of you know Mike is working on his masters in Counseling but what you may not now is that he is now officially done with the class portion of the program and is about to start the practicum portion and what that means is that he will be working with clients at the University of Phoenix Counseling Center under the care of a licenced counselor to get the practice he needs. So here is the part where you come in. They need more clients!!!

It is FREE of charge and you get to talk to someone about anything you might want or need to. Now of course Mike would not be seeing any of you because he knows you but there are lots of other counselors available. It is completely confidential and FREE! There is an panic button in every room and they do video the sessions for training purposes so that they can go over them with their professors but then after that they are destroyed and clients can come as individuals or as couples and be anyone over the age of 12.

Some of the reasons people come in are:
*reduce stress and anxiety associated with balancing work, school, and family
*explore ways to reduce stress related to personal, work, or family relationships
*career development
*build and strengthen problem-solving skills in areas such as employment, parenting, and inter-personal relationships
*reduce anxiety related to public speaking
*depression
*anger management

So I'm not posting this because I think you all need counseling but I have to admit there have been times in my life that I wished I had someone to talk to and with the world the way it is there is a lot of extra stress popping up all around us. So think about it and tell your family and friends about it because you've got nothing to lose besides it totally FREE!

For more information contact:
Alia-Camille Mackins (602) 557-2217
Alia.Mackins@phoenix.edu

Thoughts

I just got this email from my mom and liked what she had to say so I thought I would share it with you.


Some thoughts I had yesterday.I was watching TV and I don't remember if it was at the beginning of a movie or at the end, but as it showed the world rolling through space the thought came to me "that is what our Heavenly Fathers sees when He looks down on earth,' then I thought "how heartbroken He must be seeing the wickedness that is so prevalent on this earth." Then as the picture continued a rainbow of lights started emanating from the earth ( and went into the logo of the production company of the movie) I likened the light emanating from the earth as the goodness and light that emanates from those who are trying to do right and be obedient. I had a great desire to recommit to my Heavenly Father to do those things I should do but am not, and do better those things and am doing, but need to magnify." I don't want Heavenly Father to look down on the earth and see a black spot where I am, I want it to be bright with light. I love you all, and appreciate the light I see when I look at and think of you. Love Mom


I too look at what is going on around us and it is heartbreaking but not all hope is lost there are so many people doing so many wonderful things, and I too hope to bring some light to those around me.

The New "Pretty Please"

Lately when Paige wants something this is her new way of asking for it and it doesn't matter what it is she is asking for food, a movie, toys, to go somewhere it all gets asked like this...

"Mom I want ...... Please, I love it, it Sparkles!"

I don't know why everything sparkles but it is sure funny and dang cute!

Lucha Libre

This is what Mike aka El Guapo, really does at work all day...and I thought he was an insurance adjuster???

The Hunt is On!

My friend Natalie hosts an Easter Picnic every year at the park near her house and it is usually the first egg hunt my girls get to go on and they love it! Not only to they get to hunt eggs but they get to be with friends, have a picnic and play at the park what more could you ask for! So here are a few pictures of the event.

I tried to get Rory to search near Paige so I could take their pictures together but it mostly turned out that Paige was just running behind her.

Here is the gang checking out their haul! It was funny,the kids were so excited to eat their candy they just shoved it all in their mouths then couldn't even chew so more then one ended up having to spit it out in to Natalie's (the one in red) hand, nice huh!

My Little Funny Bunnies!

Introducing ....

Our little Kumquat!

Yes that is right we are having another kumquat ...I mean baby! I am 10 weeks along which means baby is little over an inch long and weighs less then a quarter of an ounce but already has finger and toe nails growing! I'm due October 26th and have been feeling pretty crummy but other then that we are very excited! Both Rory and Mike think it's going to be a boy so we'll see. Just wanted to spread the news!