ciEnNa cLaiRe tUrNs oNe...

sWimMing & sWeEts...

Can you even believe it? My baby girl is one...I know I can't believe it. Well, we had a fun little shin-dig to celebrate...lots of fam and lots of swimming and lots of fun!! I don't think Papa Jeff has seen that many kids in the pool in a very long time. Cienna had a little dip and then she faced off with her cake...a "cupcake" cake that was about bigger than she was. She stared at that thing...& didn't know what to do with it. Then when she realized it was OK to dig in...she dug in...and loved it!! We had lots of bright cupcakes for everybody else...it was just a cupcake kinda day. We spent that night pushing Cici around in her new car and Ilie got to ride her new bike...isn't summer grand!

gRaDuaTioN tRip...

After four years of Canada, lots of amazing friends, two baby girls, amazing Canadian adventures, school, school & more school...we have made it through and Mark has officially graduated!! We had such an amazing trip going back to Halifax for graduation. It was so fun to go with Mark's parents and show them around our hometown and have them there to see Mark graduate. We were all more than proud. AND...it was sooo good to see all our friends again for one last Halifax horah!! I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of Mark. I really had to hold back the tears throughout all the graduation stuff, because I was just so dang proud of him. He has worked sooo hard and put in so many hours and done so well...& I know it was all for the benefit of our little family. It is such a great feeling knowing that we have BOTH made it through!! When you are staring those four years down from the starting line, these seem sooo long and the finish line seems sooo far away. And then, all of the sudden you are about to put your foot across the line and be done for GOOD, and it almost seems surreal and trying to pinch yourself to make sure it's not one of those wonderful dreams where you wake up and you're stomach drops because you realize that you're still three years away...ya know that kind!! But it is real and you are really proud...proud of all of us really...cause we did it together!! And all I can say is....YIPPEE, YAHOO, and YEHAW!! So nice job Markus...you kicked butt and I hope you know how grateful I am for all of your hardwork!! And now we're off to the next phase and I know you're going to kick butt again!

On our trip we also had the chance to see a lot of Halifax that we hadn't experienced over our last four years. Ya know, you kinda live a different life when you have two little kids. For some reason...you don't make it out late at night, you don't ever see the inside of a pub (for dang good pub food & awesome atmosphere) & you don't get to go to nice oceanside restaurants and get yummy seafood!! But this trip...we were kid-less, so we had many late nights, saw lots of awesome pubs (the Shoe Shop was oh, so my favorite) & had some dang good seafood sitting out on the waterfront. Can't ask for more than that. We also took a wonderful, and much needed trip to the temple...another thing we didn't get to do very often with kids. It was beautiful and the perfect thing to do when we had so much to be grateful for!! I honestly fell in love with Halifax in a way that I never could before!! Oh...and hello...it was the nicest weather i have ever seen in a Halifax May...absolutely perfect!! So here's some pics to sum up the trip....

rEpeNtaNce...& eVerYthiNg eLse...

OK...OK...pathetic I know. I haven't uPdAted oUr blOg in basically forever!! AND...so much has been happening since I last updated. So I have lots of catching up to do, so I'll try to do it as painlessly as possible and not bore ya (any of yous that still even check our blog...ha, ha) with too much craziness. OK...here's the quick to the point synopsis of our life for the last three months...READY, SET, GO:

•pack, pack, pack and then we packed some more

•sell, sell, sell and sell some more (we sold almost all of our furniture, crazy...but good)

•lived in a really empty house...sleeping on blow ups, boxes to hold the TV up...it was great

•lots of really sad goodbyes (miss you Halifax fam!!)

•pack a truck with what was left of our life

•for me and the kids...one last 12 hour plane ride back to Utah

•for Mark, one long 50 hour drive back to Utah...yuck

•now living with the parents...gotta love it baby...really, it's great and are parents are fabulous because they put up with us!! and hey, gotta love built in babysitters!

•we got cell phones (iPhones, that is)...can I get a YAHOO...after four years without it has been so fabulous...honestly these things are amazing and oh, so worth it!!

•looked at houses, then quickly gave up when we realized we had to be making $ to get a loan...ha, ha, imagine that...so that's on hold for awhile

•gave up on looking at cars...until we are actually making $...ha, ha...yes, we just have to laugh

•GRADUATION...we took an amazing trip to Halifax with Mark's parents for his graduation. It was so more than AWESOME, and we were pretty dang proud of that boy!!

•Mark has been setting up his associateships with Dr. Mark Mackley and Dr. Jim Jones

•insurance, insurance and more insurance to figure out

•trying to fit back in, in good ol' Utah land

•golfing...trying to get the swing back

•seeing lots of family

•Ilie got a bike...and loves it

•hangin' with the friends

•yummy Utah restaurants....oh, how I have missed you

•Cienna turned one...& we had one crazy fun swimming cupcake party (pics to come!!)

•Cici started full on walking...yeah, you go girlie!

•Ilie is making new friends (but so misses her Halifax buddies), is registered for Preschool and is going to start tumbling (I'm not use to all this big-kid stuff!)

•swimming in Papa's pool...and Ilie is finally getting daring

•NOW...Mark officially starts his first day at work tomorrow...crazy, eh? But oh, so exciting! & we're still getting settled into a new life with lots to do and lots to figure out...but it's all exciting, just add a little faith and pixie dust we'll be just fine...fingers crossed!!

OK...did you survive? I think that about covers it! I am going to post a few more blogs with pics from the graduation trip and Cici's birthday...so don't worry there will be more, cause I know you are just dying for it, right? Ha, ha...yep, I'm pretty funny. OK...I will spare you and stop now. But to the blogging buddies out there, hopefully this is the start of a new beginning and I WILL do better!! 

aNd sHe's oFF...

So Cienna has been cRuiSin around for about a month now...but not efficiently! She could crawl backwards, scoot on her bum & roll around in about every direction...but not crawl forwards. But today it finally cLicKed. We got home from church and we were just relaxing and we look down and there is Cici crawling at full speed across the floor and belly laughing while she's doing it. She was so hApPy that she had finally figured it out & that she could finally catch her sister (well, at least a little bit.) So here's a little clip of her new talent. Also...we got some cute footage of Ilie and her philosophies on Daddy's new profession and love!! (Yeah, but ignore her starting to fight with little sis at the end...she's never done that before...ha, that's funny.)

**PAUSE OR MUTE MY MUSIC AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE SO YOU CAN HEAR THE VIDEOS!!

piNkaLiciOus pArtY tiMe...

For Ireland's tHiRd biRthDay...she wanted a pInkaLiciOus pArtY!! She's has the book "Pinkalicious" and she is obsessed with it...we pretty much read it every single night. So...we had a piNkaliCioUs party & it was pInk, piNk, pInk!! She had lots of fun with her closest buds. They all got dressed up in pink tutus, tiaras, shoes & wands...except for our handsome Jace...he was our pink prince in his cape, crown & sword...LOVED IT!! We decorated, played & ate lots and lots of sugar...including our pInk cUpcAkes!! It was a pinkalicious time!!

mY bAby giRl iS tHree...

Nope...I can't believe it, but like it or not...my baby girl is

   tHree yEaRs oLd!!

I remember during our first year in Halifax, I thought how wierd it would be that Ireland would be three when we moved home.

Now we're at the end & she's three...cRaZy!!

Well, she's pretty much the cUteSt, fuNnieSt & sWeeTeSt three year old out there. She makes me smile and laugh every single day!! We prayed, wished & hoped for a very long time for our little angel...and she is the greatest answer to a prayer that we could have ever hoped for. She makes me a better person and makes me see the siMpLe & wOndErfUl in life. 

I love you Ilie-girl...hApPy biRthDaY!!

tHeY aRe sOOO fuNny...

OK...so I think little kids are the fUnniEst pEopLe on eArth!! 

The other day Ireland was going potty and she started

           gIggliNg!!

So I asked her what was so funny...and she said...

"Mom I'm a bUnnY rAbBit!! And then she turns around & in her 

bare little bum crack she had stuffed a little wad of toilet paper...thus giving

her a little bUnnY rAbBit tAil!! 

        Holy crap...I laughed so hard!!

Where do they come up with these things? No, it's not from Mark,

although I wouldn't put it past him! Ha, ha!!

cUteSt giRls eVer...

Here's some of the latest

cUte piCtuRes of our cUte gAls...

One morning while Mark was gone,

I woke up and heard giGGling in the other room.

     So I got up and looked in Cici's room

& Ilie had cRawLed in bed with Cici

and they were laying next to each other just a 

        giGGlin'.

(Don't ya just love Cici's hair!!)

vAlenTinE's dAy...

Well, better lAte than nEveR...but,

              hApPy lOveY dAy!

We had a fun little Valentine's day here in Scotia Land.

Started off with some festive 

          pInK heArt pAncAkes...

        and Ireland was loving it...

          since she is the total piNk girl.

The girls opened their fun little pResEnts 

       and we had a great night with

FUN friends, yummy chinese food & of course

     lots of FABULOUS treats!!

But best of all was being with my cute and wonderful

                     HUBBY!!

He's pretty much the absolute best and I'm the luckiest gal out there.

rAndOmnEss...

        So I have been TAGGED by Sonja to tell 

thReE ranDom tHinGs about myself, 

             so here goes:

1. I totally have OCD about certain things. Like my chairs all have to be the same distance from the table and my curtain tabs have to be even and my couch pillows have to be placed just so...OH, and my Dad totally turned my into a cord freak. ALL CORDS HAVE TO BE HIDDEN. I can't stand random cords hanging around, they have to be tied, taped, strapped and hidden. Yep...I'm officially wierd.

2. Anyone who knows me knows this...I LOVE TO SHOP. I seriously think it is therapeutic to me. I could go shopping everyday, not necessarily always buying stuff, but shopping none the less!!

3. I'm a total artsy-fartsy girl. I love the art world (probably why I got my degree in art...go figure!!) I miss it terribly, since I graduated and moved across the world and became a mother...it's been hard to keep up with that part of my life. But when we move home and get settled into life again, I really want to dive back in. If I could have a dream come true...it would be to have an art show someday and sell a few of my paintings!

4. I use to play the guitar. Another one on the list of things I miss. And another thing I am determined to get back into. I love it...still need to learn lots, but love it.

5. I have a serious obsession with Haribo gummy grapefruits. They are my absolute favorite and they are sooo hard to find. I have to order them in 10 lb bags from Amazon, but they are oh so worth it!

6. Can I tell you just how much I love being a mom. Yes, motherhood can be the hardest thing EVER, it totally changes your life and need we even mention what it does to your body (and mind). But I cannot think of anything that makes me happier. When my girls smile, giggle, give me loves, say something cute or hilarious, etc, etc...I just melt. I really can't even wrap my brain around how much I love them. Greatest blessing I could ever ask for!

hEy miC...reMemBer tHis?

                    soon...the tables will be tUrNed!! 

yippee...to my cUte sIs who is pReGo!! 

              i am so eXciTed. she is due the end of jUly, so we'll be there to

          welcome little bAby wArd.

CRUISE 2009...

Well, this January we did a little early gRaDuaTiOn ceLebRatiOn, and took a cruise to the Western Caribbean (Belize, Costa Maya & Cozumel)! We went with a bunch of the Kammeyer crew...Joanne, Jim, Amanda, Marty, Jennifer, Bub, Todd, Spencer, Diane, Dennis & Mark and me!! It was more than FABULOUS. We went on a Royal Caribbean ship called the Independence and it's the largest ship in the world...and it was huge!! It seriously had everything on it...there was so much to do...we couldn't even do it all! But we did get lots of loungin' time, lots of sunshine and perfect weather (yes, warm...and not 25 below..so that was kinda nice), tons of entertainment & so much good food that it was just ridiculous!! In Belize we took an insane van ride out to the Mayan ruins and they were pretty amazing (and it was pretty amazing that we made it there and back alive too!!) In Costa Maya we went to a beach and swam, bargained for some nice little Mexico treasures and ate some yummy salsa and guac on the beach. In Cozumel we went to a beach resort call Mr. Sancho's and then headed downtown for some shopping (which included some serious bartering action!!) It was a seriously fun trip and it was so WONDERFUL to be with Mark for a week straight...and to SEE him for a week straight, with NO studying. We missed the girls horribly, but they had a blast with their Grandmas and I think we missed them more than they missed us!! Now we just have to recover from the post-cruise syndrome!! ;)

Sorry I had to put the pics on three different slide shows...there were a bit too many. My cousin Todd took a bunch and we did too...hence, WAY TOO MANY PICS!! But hey, here they are anyway...

cHriStmAs iN uTah...

Well, I didn't totally give up blogging (i promise)...so here's my attempt to catch up!!

We had a fAbuLoUs time in Utah, with lots of fAm, foOd & fUn!! Many trips to CaFe RiO (i tried really hard to make myself sick of it, so I wouldn't miss it so much...yeah, that didn't work!!), a bit of shopping (well, maybe a little more than a bit...) , & lots of  Christmas "shtuff".

ChRistMas was wonderful & the girls had more fUn (& presents) than they could even take in. Ilie was so fun this year...she was so excited for Santa to come & her face was just priceless when she saw her dollhouse in the morning (those are the moments us parents live for!!) But the best was being with all of our wonderful fAmiLy!!