Monday, September 23, 2013

August

 
Lilia turned 10 months!
 
 
And, she decided that she wanted the camera instead of me... 



 
And, this is why the majority of my pictures are now taken with my camera.
 
...
 
We don't live near a beach, but this lake is close enough.
 
About two weeks before school started, we decided to take one last family hurrah, and go to the lake.


 
Swimming,
 
learning how to roll in a kayak,

 
trying to beat the thunderstorm,

 
and, wind-surfing (pretty dang good in Wyoming with all the wind.)

 
Lilia had more sand in her mouth than on her toes.

 
...
 
Lilia and Jovie trying out each-others' binky.

 
These two are so cute together.
 
Cousins and friends.
 
...
 
A few things that happened at home every day...

 
We had some impressive storms almost daily.

 
Only thing is, you could see them coming all day, then they would hang around for about a half hour before moving on.

 
I love having a backyard.
 
Here's a video mash-up that I put together to give you a peek into our lives with Lilia:
 
 
...
 
In preparation for school starting, we went to Kindergarten orientation where Porter got to practice getting his lunch for the first time.

 
He's the one in the Waldo shirt.

 
...
 
We don't own proper chairs or even a proper dinner table yet.
 
You don't get rich right when you get a job...sadly.
 
So, I had Lilia's space-saver high chair on top of the table.
 
She decided one day that it was a good idea to try to get out...

 
Needless to say, we got a foldable chair that we could strap the space-saver to so as to avoid a repeat.
 
First bump.
 
...
 
Capitalism at its best... 

 
Only in America.
 
Spotted this on our way down to Utah for family pictures!
 
I'll post them when I finally make some decisions on my favorites...
 
...
 
Porter's first day of Kindergarten!

 
Nervous and excited...

 
...and super smiley at the end of the day!


 
...
 
Seth and I were pretty popular that month...

Well, mostly Seth was...
 
But, we were in the paper,
 
 
on the radio,
 
 
and on TV!

 
...
 
Lilia loves phones!! 

 
 
I don't even talk on the phone often, but she now makes everything a phone...

 
 
 
You can hear her chatter at the end of that video...love it.
 
...
 
We boycotted a boycott at Starbucks that month.

 
We aren't even Starbucks fans.
 
Just anti-boycott.
 
Especially when it comes to the 2nd Amendment.
 
Porter even brought his gun.
 
...
 
Can you spot Lilia?

 
She likes to explore.

 
She still hadn't figured out how to go down the stairs quite yet.

 
So, I would follow her around some more.

 
She's not a fan of the gate when I'm on the other side of it, so that didn't really work.

 
 
You basically had a tour of the house from Lilia to get a little peek into what we've been doing since moving in!
 
(Painting, if you didn't catch it.)
 
...
 
Lilia is a bit of a kleptomaniac...

 
But, she sure loves George.
 
 
 
...
 
And, college football season has started! 

 
 
...
 
That's August!!
 
(I kinda like this whole month thing in one post, but it's super time-consuming, so now that we're a bit more settle with a schedule, we are going to try to update much more than once every three months...after I post about September.)

Sunday, September 22, 2013

July

In July...
 
We moved into our HOUSE!!!!!!!!
 
...
 
Lilia turned 9 months!

 
...
 
We were finally able to use this jumper because we finally had doors with the correct hardware, and Lilia LOVED it!

 
 
...
 
Lilia experienced her first Independence Day!

 
To celebrate before fireworks, we decided to go here...


 
Lilia and I didn't climb up.
 
It was seriously a scorcher that day.
 
...
 
We witnessed the Drum and Bugle Corps play at NCHS!

 
Did you know that Casper has its own?
 
The Troopers.
 
Pretty sweet.
 
...
 
For exercise, Seth and I would go to the river...

 
He would play, and I would run with the kids.
 
Usually, it was as nice as this, but one of the days, a severe thunderstorm crept up on us.
 
We made it back to the cars right before it hit where we were.
 
Multiple lightning strikes hit right by as we drove home.
 
Ah, the plains...
 
...
 
Lilia and Porter have been helpful...




 
...
 
Lilia had her first pedicure...

 
...of which I learned to paint her toes when sleeping next time because this was the "good" foot.
 
...
 
Lilia started climbing up the stairs!

 
She hadn't quite mastered going down, so I would have to follow her up.
 
If I didn't follow her, I would hear her whine and hit the top stair in demand for me to come get her.
 
...
 
Lilia like to save things...


 
...
 
Lilia dancing...
 
 
Seth and Clark decided to compete in a mountain bike race!


 
No prizes, just happiness and bruises from crashing.
 
Porter liked riding around while they raced...

 
...cutie.
 
...
 
Porter and Wyatt helping with the building of a fire pit at Mama and Pops' place.

 
It looks like they're fighting, but they're not.
 
It was pretty cute.
 
...
 
And, that's July!!

June

I had been hoping to write a post about the twins, since it has now been two years since their passing.
 
But, now that I am so far behind, this will suffice.
 
On Jilinda's and Alayna's Angel Day, we took blankets to St. Mark's to keep up with our tradition.
 
 
We have gone through so much, and yet have had so much healing because of Lilia.
 
Of course, it is still a "sensitive topic", but we have all found that we are able to not feel bad about not including them in our number of children we have anymore when people we don't know ask that question.
 
(Never expected that question to be hard, and it still surprises me when there's a little pain involved in the hearing of it)
 
We have found that when we think about them, even though we are sad they aren't growing up with the rest of the kids, they will have their time in our arms, and that makes us excited.
 
...
 
Before we moved, Lilia decided it was time to crawl!
 
 
This made the move difficult.
 
It was difficult anyway with her being so clingy what with all the changes.
 
 

...
 
Lilia also learned how to clap and wave before we left, but this video only shows her waving...
 
 
 
That's the rest of June!


Yep, We're Alive

Just in case you were wondering.

Who knew a move into a home would make three months disappear so quickly?

Other than having been on the verge of being in the middle of a crazy severe thunderstorm like none I've ever seen before while running along the Platte River, we really haven't been up to much "out of the ordinary".

The story of the end of June until now can be found in the posts that follow this one...

...as in will be above, following this one.

Just in case you were confused.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Redwood Drive In

On Friday, we went to the largest drive in I have ever seen.
 
This was the entrance...
 
 
8 lanes...
 
Five different shows playing on different screens...
 
Best Drive In, ever!
 
We braved the crowd, avoided a 42 point parking job from a man in a minivan to enjoy spending time with these cuties...

 
...to watch Monsters University!
 
Cute show, and way fun!!
 
Thanks Penroses!

Number Twenty-Seven!

My birthday this year was a great success!
 
First, I was gifted with three of my favorite cartoon movies:
 
Movie fan...pun intended.
 
That Porter made sure I was willing to share with him.
 
Then we went out to dinner with Savanna, Rob, and Wendy!
 
We went to a local Italian place, Fratelli Ristorante, and it was absolutely delish!
 
The company made it even better.
 
I got surprised with Rob paying for dinner, jewelry from Savanna (including my first real pearls!!), and a home décor piece I was eyeing from Wendy!
 
I feel very loved.
 
To top it off, we finished the day with a Coldstone ice cream cake.
 
Mmmmm
 
27 isn't going to be bad.

Growing Baby Girl!

Here's the latest from our Lilia!
 
She loves to give us open-mouthed kisses...
 
 
She has a little white in her mouth...

 
And, she's starting to stand!!

 
We've got some trouble on the way!
 
She is also waving, clapping, and she will sing and dance along to any music.
 
So we sing and dance a lot!!
 
Growing so quick!

Monday, June 17, 2013

Father's Day

I made this shirt for Seth last year for Father's Day...
 
 
...but, apparently, it is the gift that keeps on giving!
 
Even if the kids don't necessarily drive the cars on the back the whole time...
 
 
Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful fathers in my life!

Fitting It All In

We are trying to fit in a bunch of stuff before we head out really soon.
 
Lilia had croup this week, so has been clingy and grumpy, so I didn't take many pictures of her... poor girl.
 
I have to admit, though, her raspy voice and almost silent cries and squeals are a little funny, even though it's sad.
 
We met up with Savanna and went to This is the Place on Friday morning, spur of the moment.
 
We had a blast!
 
Porter even got to ride a pony!
 
 
I got burned pretty bad because I didn't think we would be outside as much as we were.
 
Savanna got a bit burned as well, but we had fun!
 
Later, we met up with the Farrs downtown at City Creek to hang out.
 
We let the kids get soaked at the fountains after dinner.
 
It was very entertaining.
 
Although, for whatever reason, I didn't take any pictures.
 
Doh.
 
After the fountains, we asked our sopping wet son if he would like to go walk Temple Square.
 
He said he would!
 
So we did...

 
...with him shivering the whole time. 
 
The next day, we decided to take a break from packing and go hike Ensign Peak!
 

 
Lilia wasn't a fan of the wind.
 
Or her hat.
Or her baby carrier.
 
On our drive back into heart of the city, I snapped a picture of the Capitol Building.

 
I realized we have now lived in three different capitol cities.
 
Kinda fun to think about.
 
Once back downtown, we parked under the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

 
Before touring the Beehive House...

 
And then eating at the Lion House...
 

 
It was a good break from the packing and wonderful weekend!

En Garde!!


PS: She got a tooth that day!!

Interested in Bags...


Monday, June 10, 2013

Almost Crawling!!

Baby girl is about to go crazy crawling!
 
 
She's already mastered pushing herself up to a seated position!
 
 
Happy to see me in the morning!
 
Sure growing up quickly...

Quick Visit

We got a quick visit from Gammie and Grumpa!
 

 
My sister moved down to Utah from Boise, and they got to help her bring stuff down and join with a bunch of other family members in a get together to welcome her and say goodbye to us.
 
It was so good to see them for the weekend!

More Independent

 
I can't tell you how happy I am about her holding her own bottle.
 
Now, I can actually get things done while she is eating!
 
Well, that is if she isn't feeling clingy, anyway.
 
But, no more mastitis!
 
*Happy dance*

Tiny Dancers

This is an almost daily occurance...
 
 
 
...Porter turns on the "demo" on our keyboard, and we have a dance party!
 
Lilia will dance to my singing, and even start singing along!
 
It's absolutely adorable.
 
Hopefully I can get a video...
 
Until then, here is one of her dancing along to Porter singing!