Happy Halloween!!

WOW!!! What a crazy month!! I can't believe October is over this week. I am excited for Halloween. Mckenna is going to be dressing up as a cute, fluffy little duck!! She finally agreed to try back on her costume after not liking it for about a month after buying it. When she did try it on, I was able to capture this cute little picture of her!

What a cute little chicky I have!!! =D

In other news with our family....Chris is busy as ever at work. He is putting in the hours and the hard work it takes to be a good boss. I am so proud of him and his hard work. I am grateful for a hard working husband who cares so much for his family!!!

Mckenna is busy being a 2 year old!! She is talking so much and I mean SOOOOOO much! She says things everyday that amaze me....sentences, requests, and even some orders!! She is getting pretty good at saying demands and things like "mommy, my turn!" or "just a minute, mommy!!" I hate to say it but I'm pretty sure she gets that little attitude from her daddy...just kidding, I mean her mommy! Sometimes it is hard to not laugh when she is ordering us around. A cute, bossy little two year old...that's what I have on my hands!!!

I am busy, busy, busy doing student teaching. First graders really do keep you on your toes, ALL DAY LONG!!! It has been a lot more enjoyable since I have been feeling better. I am pretty much over my morning sickness phase!! YAY!!! =D It has been nice not wanting to throw up on the kids at school. That is always a plus in any teacher's life. It makes my days go by a lot faster too. I still am tired as ever when I get home, but I feel like I'm actually getting into the teaching mode and feel like I can do this! Teaching is very overwhelming at times, especially when you are a wife, mom, and 16 weeks pregnant. I still have those days when I desperately want to just be a stay at home mom and five up this teaching bit, but I'm glad for those days as well. I am glad that I have the option of being a student/teacher now and also being a mom. I only have about 6 more weeks of student teaching and college and I'll finally be able to say I'M DONE!!! That will be a great day!! That is really what keeps me going each day!! The end is near and I AM going to make it!!! =D

Exciting News....

So....



Now, if I can just survive being pregnant while being the mother of a 2 year old, wife of a full-time boss, and also student teaching full-time in a 1st grade classroom for the next 11 weeks....=D

Life is busy...

Wow! Life is busy! Now that I am back in school, 5 days a week, I am realizing just how true that statement is! There doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. School is at times overwhelming...not really hard, just overwhelming with stupid busy work. You'd think that since I'm finally in my last semester of school, the teachers would realize that we have paid our dues and done enough busy work to last us the rest of our lives. Apparently, they don't understand that. But I will do what it takes right now because it is worth it just to be able to say I'm done in just about 3 more months!! Yahoo!!

To add to life, Mckenna is absolutely acting like a 2 year old! She turns 2 next Friday, but oh man....She is turning into a little monster, still cute...yes, but sometimes I just can't take her tantrums....well, I'm sure most of you know what I mean! Chris is very busy at work too. I guess that's what happens when you are the boss.

But, even though life is busy, life is still pretty darn good!
Now if I can only keep my house clean....=D

Final days of summer....

I can't believe that summer is almost officially over for me! =( It went by way too fast! I start my last semester of school up on Monday! It will be nice to get it started because then I will be that much closer to being done!!

To play catch up a little on my blog.... The first part of August I went on a trip with all of my family to Southern California! Mckenna and I went, but Chris was too busy at work to come! We definitely missed having him there! (I did especially as I was driving in heavy freeway traffic!) We spent a week there! We had a great time. We went to Newport Beach for two days and we went to the LA ZOO, and did some other fun things. It was just really nice to be able to spend that time with my family! I needed it!

Me and my little girl!! =D

The boys!! (Jacob, Leonard, Sam, Andy, and Charles)

The girls! (Mom, Geneava, Kenna, Me, Heather, Sarah, and Holly)

Well since I have been back from California, I have still be really busy playing catch up on the laundry, cleaning, and getting everything ready for school to start. I have missed the time I used to have to just sit and craft or sew for hours. I had to make a little time for that though, because for my birthday, my mom gave me a new digital sewing machine!! I hadn't had any time to play with it, let alone even open it! So I knew I had to at least get it out of the box! Well I did and so far I LOVE IT!!! It is so nice and does so many fun stitches and things that my old one didn't do. The first thing I made with it was a sewing machine cover. Since I had been cleaning, I specifically made a spot for it to be able to sit out in our back room/converted office/craft room. I made a cover for it so it can stay clean and also so Mckenna doesn't see it right off and go for it! I think it turned out really cute! I got the idea from the make it and love it blog. I ended up using two placemats I had gotten as a gift that I never used. They worked out perfect.


Another project I did was also based off of another birthday present I got from my brothers. They all pitched in and got me a new Cricut cartridge. I love it! It does so many cute fonts and has a lot of cute functions too!

This is the project I was inspired by the BLVD Home Furnishings to do. I went there with my inlaws over a month ago and we saw a bunch of these type of things hanging up for sale there. They were quite pricey (of course!) and so I told Debbie that we could make it ourselves so we did!! I think it turned out really nice and I have lots of other projects in my head of things we could make using this general procedure! It's just cut vinyl letters put onto the glass of frames I painted. It was very inexpensive and really could go in any room with any saying with any colors.


Even though summer is ending, =( I'm hoping that I will still have a few minutes here and there to craft or sew. I love doing it and it really gives me a break. I think during this last semester of school/student teaching that is probably what I am going to be needing a lot of.....BREAKS! I am looking forward to student teaching and just hope that this semester goes by fast.

Happy Birthday!

On Wednesday, July 29th, I celebrated my 24th birthday! I had a really great day. Mckenna and I hung out most of the day together because Chris had to work. We went shopping and went out for ice cream. =D It was fun. My next door neighbor's little girl that is Mckenna's age happens to share my birthday too, so later in the afternoon we went over there for a small birthday party for her. She was turning 2! It was fun. Chris came home early for work. (That was a great birthday present!!!) Later that evening, we went out to dinner at Bajio's with all of Chris' family. It was really fun. I am so blessed and thankful for my family and friends. They made my special day even more special! Thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes and gifts!!

One of the best presents I got for my birthday was from Mckenna. She sang me Happy Birthday...the ENTIRE song!! It was so cute I had to record it! So enjoy..... it's pretty cute!! Oh and sorry it's hard to see. It's pretty dark, but listening is more important that seeing it. And if you are wondering what she is doing at the end of the song...that's her blowing out candles. Apparently she things a great big blow at the end is part of the song!! =D She's cute!

Camping Attempt #1

Yesterday after Chris got off from work, we decided it would be fun if we just took off and went camping. We have never been camping as a family (or couple for that matter) before. It has been so hot in St. George lately, so camping in the mountains sounded really cool and relaxing. We headed off to stay at Chris' sister's in-laws camping site at Duck Creek (which is up past Cedar City if you were wondering). We were grateful for knowing people that had an empty camp site reserved because it was full everywhere else...guess that's what happens on the weekend of the 24th of July.

Well, we got up to the campsite about 6 or so in the evening. We unloaded and Chris started a fire. We made dinner on the fire, hiked around a little bit, and just enjoyed being together as a family with no distractions like cell phones, internet, or TV. (That was my favorite part!! =D) It was really nice and a much needed break to be together! As it got later, and it got darker we decided it was time to go to bed in the tent. We put out the fire and headed to bed. Mckenna was pretty tired by this point. I thought that she'd fall asleep fast and we would all be to sleep in no time.

Well, right when we all got into the tent and changed into our pajamas, Mckenna started to be really fussy. She was whining and crying and kept reaching for the door of the tent. She wanted out! To our surprise, she was scared of being in the tent in the dark. We tried to lay her down in the middle of us to calm her down, but nothing seemed to be working. She was seriously scared. It was really sad. She just kept saying "go home" or "leave please." She did not like being there. So after about 20 or 30 mins of attempting to get to sleep, we decided it would be best for everyone (the other campers, included!) if we packed up and just headed home. By this time it was well after 10 pm and we had about a 2 hour drive home too.

So we got home late last night and thus ending our 1st attempt at camping as a family. Not exactly how we imagined the night going, but oh well, such is life! We did have fun together while it lasted. We will have to try camping out again when Mckenna gets a little older. Maybe by then, she won't be so scared of being inside of a tent. It was a fun family outing, nonetheless!!! =D At least we have a story to tell!

Summerhays Happenings!!

Wow!! It has been an eventful summer! We just finished up June and started July with a Summerhays' Family Reunion. It was fun to finally meet most of Chris' extended family. We had a lot of fun with everyone. It was nice to be able to spend time with Chris especially. He doesn't get too much time off from work so Mckenna and I were so happy that he was able to get the weekend off!!

One of the activities we did at the reunion was bowling!! Oh my goodness Mckenna LOVED it!! I would have never thought she would be at the age right now where she would like it so much but it was absolutely adorable watching her!! She got so excited about bowling. It will definitely have to be a family activity we do more often now.

Bowling with mommy (above) and with daddy (below)!! So much fun!!

We were able to take some family picture with everyone too. It was so hot we all opted to take the pictures under the shaded pavilion rather than on the planned grassy area in the sun. Here is a cute picture we captured while we were waiting.... Mckenna and her Auntie Nicole with the giggles! =D Makes me smile!!!

Mckenna and her cousin Charity and Chris' cousin Andi. All of the little girls had matching white daisy flower clips for their hair. (I made 12 of these clips total! =D So worth the time.) They looked so darling!!

Chris' family picture...There was a lot more people there but this is just the immediate family picture. The large family picture had so many people in it, it looked like a where's waldo picture. We were all in white shirts and jeans....So instead of posting it...I'll let you all imagine what it might look like! =D


Most of our evenings at the reunion were spent at the park. It was really a nice park. Chris' aunt planned lots of fun activities for the kids to do. Both nights, they had 4th of July pinatas for the kids. Mckenna was excited to hit it. I told her there was candy in it so she got super excited. Although the time I told her that, the pinata was actually filled with little toys and stuff...no candy. She was kind of disappointed. But the next night, the pinata was filled with plenty of candy!! =) She was happier that night!!

The 4th of July was the last day of the reunion. That day was spent at Chris' parents house. There was plenty to do to keep everyone....of all ages....busy!

As you can see there was a bounce house. Chris and Stephen apparently thought it was ok for them to bounce in it with Mckenna. I'm pretty sure they were over the age/height/weight/etc limits but oh well...it kept Mckenna entertained and also kept them from playing xbox or being on the computer inside so it was perfectly fine with me!! After all...they are really just big kids at heart!!


Chris' cousin has a little boy named Brendan who is just a few months older than Mckenna. They had a blast playing together. It was really cute to watch them. Brendan is small and so is Kenna...they practically looked like they could be twins. They loved playing in the little pool and slide together.


It was a fun week, full of lots of family laughs and fun! I was happy to meet and re-meet most of Chris' extended family. I was especially grateful to spend the time with Chris. I enjoy the little moments I get with him these days. He works so hard and puts in so many long, long days. I don't get to see him that much so I was thrilled he was able to get the time off to spend with us!