Who Said Shaved Ice is a Summer Treat?

Check out this funny video of Larkin eating snow ... wait for the lip licking slurp. 

(I don't know why my camera turns the video orange ... oh well)

Ten Months and One Day!

Ten Months and One Day ... that's how long it has taken Queen Larkin to figure out how to hold her own bottle. I know she can do it. Scot says she does it for him all the time, but when I try to get her to be an independent eater it seems to fail every time. Tonight I propped her on the boppy and gave her the bottle and walked away ... hmmm ... I knew she could do it, and I took a picture to prove it!

We are Escaping!!!

I am finally escaping the cold, the bubble, the lonely, the mountains, the never ending road construction, the snow ... I am finally escaping Utah!

I have a love/hate relationship with Utah. I have lived here twice for a grand total of five years, so although I am not a lifer, I have a pretty decent pro/con list when it comes to the beehive state. I have gone to school here, I got engaged here, my daughter was born here, I have made friends here, I have shoveled WAY too much snow here! Truth: I like Utah until it starts to snow, and then I can't seem to remember any of the pros on my list!

We are headed to Roseville, California in January. Scot is headed back to school, and we are headed back to tests, and text books, and sunshine, and green trees, and family. I am not so excited to be poor starving students again, but I know how to do it, and I am just excited to ditch the winter and head for warmer weather! Finally! That's all I can say! Best Christmas present ever!

Silly Goose!

Larkin is getting so silly. She has started doing things because she knows I will laugh at her. She has also started cracking herself up over who-knows-what, and for the life of me, I can't figure out what is so funny! Tonight I was trying to feed her dinner and she kept clapping her hands and cracking up. I couldn't catch that part on the camera, but I caught a few little giggles ...  she is such a goofball!

Tis the Season!

Larkin helped pick out our Christmas tree this year. We woke up early and headed to Home Depot to pick the perfect tree. She loves trees and branches and leaves, and I kept telling her all morning that we were going to pick a tree and bring it inside our house ... so silly!

we decorated this year with plastic ornaments and ribbon and flowers ... all baby proofed and ready for terrorizing!

Oh yes, I put the tree up on the coffee table to get it even more out of reach ... I'll let you know how it works ... not too shabby for a plastic baby proofed tree huh!?!

Fa la la la la ...

We had a LAME Thanksgiving this year ... but we are back on track, kicking off our Christmas with some of our favorite Christmas traditions! Temple Square Christmas lights had to be done on a different night than usual, but they were as beautiful as ever!

Larkin loved all the lights and the people! It was so much fun! Much needed fun!

A Little Light Reading

I came downstairs the other afternoon to find Larkin doing a little light reading!


Reading, eating ... it's all learning at this stage of the game!

Swine Flu

Am I a terrible mom? It is a real question I am battling with lately. I have been doing a TON of research on the Swine Flu vaccine for babies, and I can't find any conclusive information on trials that were done prior to rolling out the vaccine. This scares me! It's not like I am anti vaccination. I had Larkin vaccinated with the regular seasonal flu vaccine, so it seems a little ironic that I am freaking out about one more vaccination ... but I am!

The other side of this argument ... I DO NOT want Larkin to get the Swine Flu and be super sick. I want her to avoid any possible hospital trips, medications, and pain this winter. Are scare tactics a good reason to vaccinate? Is the threat as bad as people think? One day I hear that it is an epidemic, the next day I hear that it isn't much worse than a regular seasonal flu, the next day I hear that infants are the highest rate of fatalities ... I am all turned around and tied in knots over this issue.

What are the side effects of the vaccine? How many infant fatalities are we looking at with the vaccine, how about fatalities with the H1N1 strain unvaccinated ... the "crazy mom" has kicked in!

Did you get the vaccination? Did you vaccinate your child? Do you have a source that I can't seem to find that has good information and statistics on the vaccination for children and babies??? I am making myself CRAZY over this issue!

Halloween Hullabaloo!

Gardner Village ... such a fun way to kick off our Halloween! We met Bren, Dave, and Braedyn and spent the morning watching out for witches, ghosts, and the occasional superhero.




Larkin LOVES her buddy Braedyn! She was totally diggin' his fun clown costume! They crack me up how they explore each other when they get together. Braedyn even gave Larkin a few kisses before the day was over ... so cute!


Larkin made a pretty cute witch!

Snow Day!

We woke up this morning to SNOW! I am personally not quite ready for the fluffy white freezing cold of winter ... but I decided to make the day a little more enjoyable by putting on our warmest coats and heading out to play in the first snow of the season!



We gave Larkin a little taste of the snow ... the pictures say it all! It was too cold in her little mouth and her faces were hysterical, but I had to rescue her and pluck it out of her mouth. So funny and yet sad at the same time!

Pumpkin Hunting

We went for an adventure out in the rain and mud today to hunt for pumpkins! It is Larkin's first Halloween, and although Scot and I usually buy our pumpkins at the local grocery store we decided to make it a little more "traditional" this year. We had so much fun slopping and slipping through the pumpkin patch to find our perfect pumpkins!

So This is Love ...

Thank you to my wonderful husband who came to California with me for a wedding, waded through a house knee-deep in kids, baked and decorated a wedding cake, and let me stay behind to spend some much needed time with my family.


Watching two people in love start their life together reminded me of my own adventure that started two and a half years ago with Scot. He is a wonderful man, and does so much to make my life good. He really is a stud of a husband and dad!

The only time you should run ...

Up to this point in my life I have been of the opinion that the only time you should run is when someone is chasing you!

I love/hate jogging with my new "racing" stroller in the mornings. Scot has been coming along for the run too, and it is nice to start my morning with a little sweat, a little family time, and a little fresh air. So what is to hate you may ask ... Have you ever gone running? It's the aching back, knees, quads, shins, and ankles that scream at me for days. Advil cant' touch it. Tylenol can't touch it. Mixing the two can't touch it. My only hope is that it will start to get better as I get in better shape. One can hope right!?!

Thanks babe for the new jogging stroller that is kicking my butt!

We went for our annual drive up the canyon to look at the changing leaves and take a few pictures. This is a tradition three years in the making, but this is the first year that Larkin was with us to enjoy this autumnal family outing.




We love this time of year and the outing was made all the more special because it was the only day we have been able to spend as a family in weeks. We are crazy busy right now, and this drive up the canyon was good for the soul!

Umber+Amber+Rust+Goldenrod=

I drove up by the canyon yesterday. It's a drive I used to make every day on my way to work, but I don't have a reason to venture out that way very often anymore. As I was driving in the car, singing the ABC's, and fully focused on the errands I had to get done, I looked up onto the mountain and saw that the leaves are starting to turn!


This is my favorite time of year! I love the crisp mornings, sweaters, the smell of earth mixing in the air, and the mountains that are ablaze with autumn colors. It has been in the air for a while now, but the trees finally agree ... autumn has arrived!

Our L-a Bella!

Just a few cute pics from this last few weeks ... she melts my heart every day!

Taking Sonya's Challenge:

Okay, Sonya, here it is ... my blog streaming to you live from Salt Lake City, Utah.

I'm listening to the Carpenters tonight as I write ... We have been enjoying the Carpenters this summer. We are calling it our "Carpenters Summer" and it sounds a little silly, but don't knock it till you try it. There is just something about that old simple music that makes me feel like everything in my crazy life is gonna be okay ...

Larkin is in bed and I am so glad. I cannot keep more than 2 or 3 oz in her without her barfing. Seriously! She is eating every 1.5 hours (almost on the dot) and if I feed her more than a couple of oz. her cup overfloweth ... sometimes quite forcefully. We had a gal in our ward offer to come watch L so we could go see Julie & Julia (we are so excited about that movie) but I am scared to leave L with her ... not cause I'm a crazy mom but cause I have a crazy barfy kid. This lady will never offer again ... she isn't even gonna know what hit her- literally!

I am super mad tonight. Scot's job is jerking him around. I wont go into details (funny that I can go into details about my daughter's barf, but not my husbands lame-o job) but they are screwing him over! They don't even know what a good thing they have in him and they take advantage of him. I've been a boss, so I get that that's kind of the name of the game, but it's just lame when you end up on this side of it. Roar!

Okay back to being chipper ... oh never mind. I'm too pooped to be chipper tonight. I lit candles and am enjoying a little Diet Coke with some Carpenters ... what more can you ask for at the end of the day ... really ...

Okay, signing off ...

Tracy Aviary

Just a short walk from our house is an amazing park that we walk through every day as a family. In one corner of the park is an aviary ... very cool. We checked it out this week.


Cuckoo Birds, Emus, Golden Eagles, Hornbills, Cardinals, Flamingoes ... birds I don't even know the names of ... striped birds with glasses- oh wait I already said cuckoo birds :)


Larkin loves animals and plants. She always surprises me at how much she notices when we are outside. Check her out checking it all out ... she really is amazing!

Drive-In Magic

We headed to the last drive-in in Utah last Monday to watch a little Harry Potter magic on the big screen ... so much fun!


Before bed, Larkin had a little baba ... no seriously, she loves to lick the condensation off the outside of glasses, soda cans, whatever you put close enough for her to get to with her tongue.


A MAGICAL time was had by all! (Get it ... we saw Harry Potter ... oh forget it. It's been a long day)

Feeding the Ducks

We went to feed the ducks today ... needless to say, the ducks didn't love our bread, but Larkin did! She gnawed on it, but didn't swallow any of it. So funny to watch!

Scaredy Cat

Larkin usually likes playing this game, but today she was cracking me up with how startled she was getting ... well just watch. Be warned, I'm a little bit of a bad mom for even thinking this is funny. Hope it amuses you as much as it did me ...

Old Mac'Larkin Had a Farm ...

We took Larkin to Wheeler Farm this week. She LOVED it! She really loves being outside. It is amazing to me how intense and intent she can be when we are out in nature. She loved the animals. She kept reaching for them and trying to feed them her little fingers.




It has been such a fun summer. Having a baby to cart round makes it acceptable to be excited to hang out with cows and pigs and take pictures even . Oh we have become so silly. We sing Old MacDonald and the Wheels on the Bus as we walk through our days, even as people look at us sideways we belt out our oinks and moos ... where has our dignity gone? :) Oh the things we do for our kids!

Hiking up the Canyon

We went for a walk up Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was nice to escape the heat and hike around for a little while. I really haven't been hiking since I lived in California, so my hiking boots were feeling a little neglected!




We stopped by a stream and ate some lunch. We listened to the water and talked and played for a while. Fresh air, green trees, quiet ... good for the soul!

Rock n' Roll!

Larkin has started rolling over. It was actually last week when she first rolled over, but she has been working on it for a month now. She flops and rocks and squirms all over the floor. Once in a while now if she gets her momentum going she can pull herself over onto her tummy. It is funny to watch. She gets stuck and gets mad and flips to the other side and tries that and gets stuck and gets mad ... you get the idea. She is a hoot to watch. In another week I think she will have it down and be able to control the rolls a little better.

Five Months & Fabulous!

Larkin s a whopping 5 months old this week ... can you believe it??? I can't! Seems like yesterday, and seems like forever.

Isn't she FABULOUS!!!