So big....

We celebrated 2 years of life, love and laughter on May 31, 2010! So for our 2nd Anniversary we took the day to go on a Biosphere 2 tour. I wish I would have gotten more pictures, it was so cool! I highly recommend it to anyone, although do be aware of the fact that the tour is 2 and 1/2 hours long! And it can get hot. But we had lots of fun, and Lyla even enjoyed it too, especially the echo chamber.
In the past few days Lyla has really blossomed! She has all kinds of new tricks, and I thought I would share them here. We have really enjoyed seeing her grow up.

1. She is taking one long nap a day... about 2 hours.

2. She learned to draw! I wish I had a picture to post, maybe next time. She loves to color, and everytime she sees a pencil and paper, she quickly grabs it to doodle.

3. She loves to look at Papa Tuckers Aquarium... she can sit there forever pointing at the fish.


4. She has taken to wearing a tonka toy tire tread around her neck, so we thought just maybe...

5. ... She was ready for her first necklace! So we went and got her some really cute beads at Wal-Mart. She still prefers the tire tread, maybe the necklace just takes some getting used to.

6. And the biggest thing of all, she learned to watch TV! This is not a good thing. I am not a big fan of TV, but now that she is interested it helps if I have to wash dishes or something... I hope I don't take too much advantage of it. But she loves to sit in her car seat and relax, and get up to sing and dance when a song comes on... too cute!

Post-a-Mania!!!

This post is a mix of all the wonderful, crazy, fun things that we have enjoyed over the past month. Some are small, and some are big, but they were all exciting!

We packed up and moved out of our apartment

I will miss it, but we are upgrading to a house... so thats good.

Lyla helped by making sure mom didn't pack dads's

church shoes where he couldn't find them!

Lyla wore a swim suit for the first time, and also swam by
herself for the first time... last year we held her in the pool
but she was only 4 months so it doesn't really count.


Jesse Graduated with his Masters of Accountancy! Go Jesse!

Camry graduated with her Bachelors in Animal Sciences

My sister made us an awsome cake that looks like a

graduation cap, from the right angle....unfortunately

the cardboard wasn't strong enough to support the

brim from cracking. But cracks and all it was delicious!

We found out we are having baby #2... estimated time of arrival

January 8th!

Lyla had her first train ride around Reid park.

She also learned how to drive! Look at that smile,

does she like it or what?

And we got to meet Jesse's best friend's fiance AmiCheri!

Go Tyler for finding such a great girl!

Happy Birthday Lyla-girl!!!

Lyla's first birthday was on April 11th, 2010. I'm alittle late on the post, but we have been very busy indeed. So a month late will have to do. But Lyla girl we LOVE you so much, even if we posted your birthday late!

Good morning world... I am ONE today!

Woke up all smiles.

Got a happy birthday bath before church

Put on her very best dress, which made for a super
cute birthday suit!


Ate a cupcake at Nana and Papa's house
which was super delicious

And opened presents, and nothing could beat this one.

She just loved her new Dr. Suess ABC book!

Party #2 One week later with all her cousins, and

Grandpa and Granny Clayton

Her super cute panda cake that Mommy made,

even though the frosting was too runny and wouldn't

pipe in star shapes to make fur, and the swamp cooler

melted all the frosting off the back by the time I was

done frosting the front... but none the less, here it is

Eating Ice cream with Granny

More excited about the dorito in her hand than

the present in front of her

Lyla, you are such a big girl and we are so happy your are our baby! You bring daddy and I so much joy, and We love you tons and tons. We hope you had a wonderful birthday!

House, Easter and Birthday, OH MY!

Come May 14 our house will be done! It has gone up so darn fast... it almost makes me wonder if they are doing it right. But of course they are, and we are grateful for that. We can't actually move in until June 18, due to loan issues and Jesse's official start date at his accounting firm.
We know the house is a bit far out of town (by Ryan Airfield), but it will be so nice to finally move out of the one bedroom, 375 sq feet we are currently in, and into a real house with real sq. footage, more than one bedroom, and an actual backyard. Although, I'm afraid the house will have to remain empty until we actually can afford furniture to fill all the rooms!

Moving on to Easter.... I must say I love Easter, almost as much as I love Christmas. For a couple reasons:

1. It is during my favorite time of year, Spring!
2. It involves rabbits and chicks, and little ducklings, and I love animals!
3. It involves coloring eggs, and I love to be creative
4. It reminds me of new life, and rebirth, and the amazing power of the ressurection.
5. And most importantly It is another day that I can devote totally to remembering Jesus Christ, and the trully amazing gifts he gave us of atonement and ressurection.
6. And also because it gives me the chance to take cute pictures of my daughter eating jelly beans, which just happen to be one of my favorite candies!

This is a few pictures of coloring eggs this year... and you may think, Wow! Lyla sure got big fast, and her hair turned black...but no this is our cute little neighbor Nivedita also known as Dolly to all us here at University Arms Apartments. This is her first year celebrating Easter. Her parents are from India and they are Hindu. So it was extra special to have them color eggs with us this year. We had such a good time... and soooo much Candy!

And last but definately not least... here is my man eating his most favorite treat besides eegee's french fries with ranch... a huge chocolate milk shake! And yes, I made it in a flower vase, I didn't have anything larger. And it had to be large, because it was his birthday.

I love Jesse so much, and as a tribute to hime getting one year older I would like to share 25 things I like best about him! Although there are many, many more.

1. Jesse is patient, he never raises his voice
2. Jesse is so smart... I mean super smart
3. Jesse is a really hard worker
4. Jesse provides everthing our family needs... and most of what we want
5. Jesse is very rational, he really thinks things through
6. Jesse is so funny, he tells jokes like his dad, strange but they always makes me laugh
7. Jesse never puts anything before me or Lyla
8. Jesse is a worthy priesthood holder and loves the Gospel of Jesus Christ
9. Jesse reminds me to say my morning prayers, because he always says his
10. Jesse will eat anything I cook, and usually gives rave reviews
11. Jesse tells me to stop eating so much sugar... this is very helpful
12. Jesse likes to drive, and I don't, so it works out great
13. Jesse doesn't mind spending a lazy day just doing nothing, but still having a good time
14. Jesse is good at everything... a true jack-of-all-trades.
15. Jesse loves to play volleyball, and I do too
16. Jesse is a good kisser
17. Jesse is always willing to lend someone a hand
18. Jesse loves to do yardwork, especially trimming trees, this will come in especially handy when I finally own a big tree that needs trimming
19. Jesse doesn't mind that I love goats, and want to live on a farm one day
20. Jesse reads his scriptures every day
21. Jesse does NOT share his bbq potato chips, which makes me laugh every time he slaps my hand away from the bag.
22. Jesse has great feet, men in general have ugly feet, Jesse does not
23. Jesse is a really great daddy, and Lyla adores him, I adore him too : )
24. Jesse is organized, he remembers everything and writes everything down in his planner
25. Jesse is an amazing husband, and I love that he loves me, and tells me so every day!