Happy Birthday Lyssa!

My little miss is officially a toddler :) She turned two today and we had a pretty fabulous day (where I was probably just as spoiled as she was :) )We enjoyed once of her favorite breakfasts of toast and got to spend the afternoon with Grandma Wendy to "feed the old people" (AKA do meals on wheels) and be spoiled. We went and got a whole new wardrobe via Great Grandma Van Horn and got lunch from McDonald's (Lyssa just ate her ice cream).

Then we came home to be with Daddy and see her presents which included this bike. We immediately took it for a ride and then we visited Grandma Jennie who spoiled Lyssa further with a cow and ADORABLE outfit :) We came home and watched "Buzz" (AKA Toy Story III) and due to my lack of desire to cook we took advantage of the last day of "Februany" then we came home for chocolate cupcakes which Lyssa licked all the frosting off of and ignored the cupcake.

I love this little girl. I can not believe that she is two years of old. I feel so lucky to be her mom. She is an amazing girl who can make me laugh, cry, scream or speechless with just a look. This little girl is growing so fast. She loves to be outside, read books, watch movies (especially the toy stories as of late), play with animals (real and plastic or stuffed), her babies, blocks and other toys. I can not believe how smart she is she is very good(most of the time) at doing  her little chores like getting her boots or cleaning up her toys. I am so proud of this little girl and feel so blessed to have her in my life. I hope she enjoyed her birthday as much as I did as well as phase two and three :)

Well its been awhile. . .

I guess the biggest news of the last six months since I've written is that I am expecting :) Our little girl is expected to arrive on June 26th. Lyssa is excited to be a big sister and likes to point out where our baby is. Brandon likes that involves showing my tummy and tries to get her to do it when we are in public. What a silly boy.

We continue to be really blessed. We have had a new addition to our family already in the form of a Sister in law :) My brother got married in November to Roxi and they are some of the cutest love birds I have ever seen. I especially enjoyed being able to take their engagement photos and doing their wedding photos scared me half to death! But they seem pleased luckily. It was a fun day especially since family from Canada was able to come down. Jacie made it and it was nice to see her and her boys. Especially to remember our plans from growing up and how we would still love to make them a reality. Though unfortunately it isn't likely. Edmonton is too cold for me to live and Nick already has a great job so alas we will have to make due with short visits instead of being neighbors :)

The rest of November and December are sort of a blur with the addition of it being a busy holiday season I was really sick due to baby #2 luckily that has past and I am enjoying normal winter sickness (colds, sore throats, coughs, etc) Lyssa and Bran have actually been sick for over a week and it is no fun. We are spending lots of time inside which is giving our little Miss Lyss a bit of cabin fever. Because dispite her constant running nose and hacking coughs and occassional fevers she just wants to go go go! She has taken to running around me in circles (literally) to burn out energy and she loves to dance and spin in circles.

Bran and I celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary this year as well as our 10 years as a couple anniversary. My parents surprised me with a trip to anniversary inn for Christmas and we were able to do that for our anniversary. It was a beautiful room and it was nice to have no responsibility for 24 hours.

That is about all there is to report and Lyssa is ready to do some puzzles :)

Summer 2012

@ Lake Powell

IT was a blast! But that is what we strive for! Brandon and I had lots of fun camping, playing outdoors and vacationing and I had lots of fun at girls camp. This year we camped at Goblin Valley, and Payson Lakes. Both were fairly fun. I think Goblin Valley is one of my favorite places on earth. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so no pics for you :(

Our outdoors fun included biking, playgrounds, 7 peaks and the splash pad. Lyssa absolutely adores the splash pad and playing in water. She is always up for something fun to do and I am glad we have been blessed with so many options. Brandon got his bike for Christmas and I got mine for my birthday. They have been so much fun to have. I love riding to the Library and around town, though I am absolutely HORRIBLE at uphills.

Vacationing this year included Canada (of course), and Lake Powell. We as always had oodles of fun in Canada. It was a MUCH needed relaxing trip at the beginning of summer. Lyssa was spoiled rotten by her Great Auntie Shreecey and it was so much fun to watch her interact with her and the rest of the family. Lake Powell was much fun we rented a boat and enjoyed water skiing, knee boarding and tubing. And we only had one minor hurricane :)

Sorry to not be more entertaining, but I wanted to record my summer in some form before I forgot. I am so blessed! I have such an amazing husband and daughter. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of God and the opportunity I have to enjoy His beautiful creations in nature as well as witness His daily little miracles that he places in my life.

Quick Update

So apparently I am not very good at the blogging game, but here is a quick update:)

Life continues to be good! Spoiled am I! I have the most amazing husband. We went on a super fun date last weekend where I literally ate chips and salsa til I was sick, but lots of fun was had by all and I finally watched Top Gun (which I didn't like I know I am an awful person!) Lyssa is growing up so very fast. She is walking around like she owns the place and constantly asks to go out. We went camping last weekend with a bunch of the Shaws and I think she thought she was in heaven, because she was out all day, got to play in the dirt and got to sleep with mommy and daddy! What a spoiled little girl oh how I love her!

Alright there is my quick update! Lots of love!

Love, Love, Love!

I love, Love, LOVE this time of year! As I mention Brandon and I had a fabulous anniversary and we also had a GREAT valentine's day! I think Lyssa also enjoyed her first Valentine's day! She is such a doll!

I love, Love, LOVE that everything is new and exciting to her. She really loves to watch the snow fall, chase the cats, and trumpet like an elephant! (Yes my daughter likes to be different, why should she meow like a cat or bark like a dog when she can sound like an elephant? PS she can also moo now, further proving she is my daughter :) )

I love, Love, LOVE watching Brandon be a dad! He is SOOO good to Lyssa. They have so much fun playing together. Brandon is already talking about when she is big enough to go hunting, fishing, 4 wheeling, etc. Sounds like a lot of quiet afternoons at home for the mommy ;)!

I love, Love, LOVE the roses Brandon got me! They are ABSOLUTELY gorgeous! It absolutely made my day to go downstairs and see a beautiful bouquet or roses and a note telling me I'm beautiful, that the house is gorgeous and that I am a great mother :)! He is way too good to me!

Bucket List

I've been meaning to make one of these FOREVER so this is my start, I'm sure more will be added over time as I remember. . . (not in order of significance, just in order of remembrance)

1. go to Bryan Adams concert with Dad

2. Climb to top of Timp

3. Hike Angel's Landing

4. Keep family a priority ALWAYS

5. Learn to waltz with Brandon

6. Ride in a hot air balloon

7. Ride in a Limo

8. Do the straddles

9. Go to Europe

10. one handed cart wheel

11. Go to Hawaii

12. Read Quadruple Combination (Bible, Book of Mormon, D & C, Pearl of Great Price)

13. Have name on credits of full length film

14. Visit a volcano

15. Kiss Brandon under a waterfall

16. Be published

Life is good!

So if this is suppose to track my life I should probably write in it occasionally, correct? The sad thing is life is rather dull, incredibly good just not exciting. Though I do seem to always have something to look forward to which is great.

On the 14th Brandon and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary! I feel so blessed to have such an amazing husband! I hope and wish everyone's marriage could be or is as good as ours. It makes every day full of sunshine and bliss. . . or at least have that potential :)

We celebrated by going out to eat at Los Hermanos and having a Transformers marathon with lots of cuddling! It was a very enjoyable day. . . once I got off work :) It is always nice to celebrate love! And happily Valentine's day is around the corner so we'll get to celebrate it again soon :)!

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day I got to spend a lot of time with the family I grew up in :) We went and played at the Orem Rec Center. Of course I was there mostly for comic relief and to encourage the overall morale :) Then my Daddy and I went to a Grizzlies hockey game. It was fairly fun, even though I was confused the majority of the time. Lyssa also came and thought the french fries were the best part and once those were gone, she was ready to be to (we left after the 2nd period)

Lyssa continues to make my days very fun! And I think we are beginning to get in a rhythm. At least she doesn't fight naps and bed time as much which makes me grin ear to ear! But at the moments she needs me to come play so until next time!