This sums up JULY for ya!

Although she wasn't going #2, that is usually the face she pulls to a T.

Blue Steel?

Aaron's mom and brother came up to stay with us for a whole week. It was so fun having them with us but we didn't take any pics. However, we did take a sweet drive out to Paradise and then we ended up going all the way out to Porcupine Dam and took a little family photo. It was so pretty! (Too bad it was getting dark.)

Look at this big girl holding her bottle. I just realized today that her first tooth is cutting through!! And she also does the army crawl. She can scoot herself anywhere she pleases now. She is such a busy body and I am getting nervous for the day that she becomes mobile. She just keeps getting bigger and bigger everyday. She had her 6 month check up and she currently weighs 18.5lbs and was 27-some odd inches tall. She is getting so big and it is so fun to watch her keep growing. I am starting to now understand what parents always meant by "they always grow up so fast" because Hadlie hasn't even turned 1 yet and I can't believe how much she has grown. Everyday brings something new it seems.

And yes, this is for REAL. I about died, but I kept my cool long enough to take a picture. Haha (Who cares about killing it when you can play photoshoot, right!?) Anyway, I feel like we live in a swamp. I have a story to tell, hang on to your seats because it's a wild one...
My mom was picking me up early in the morning so we could go to the temple. I don't really function in the real early morning but knew I should go. I was in the kitchen getting myself a quick bite to eat so I didn't starve during the session. I had only but a dim light on when all of a sudden, I saw a little ball of a shadow hippety-hoppeting on the kitchen floor. I immediately flipped on the full kitchen light and yes, I had a FROG hopping around on my kitchen floor. All I can say is what the heck? I swear I never posted a sign that said ALL living creatures welcome into my little apartment of a home. Ew, gross, yuck!! I just want them all to go away and now that Hadlie is here it is scary to spray certain things. So that's the story of our lives right now. If anyone needs bugs (or apparently frogs) for a school project, come on over, we have a great variety going on!

My new favorite blog to check out:
kelseycancook.blogspot.com

I was just being a blog-stalker one day and came across this blog. It is my new favorite. She has the greatest recipes on it and she has humor and she has this way of making you believe in yourself. (You can tell I have some issues with my cooking abilities.) Anyway, she has tons of great things but I tried these the other day. "Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes" and they turned out so cute. To be honest, they weren't my favorite but that's ok because how do you know if you like something if you never try it?

We were up at the cabin in Bear Lake with my family over the 24th of July. It was a lot of fun, but mostly it is just fun to take a break from your daily duties in the real world. Aaron and I were able to go watch "Bandito Rides Again" at Pickleville Playhouse. This was the 3rd "episode" if you will and we have seen them all. And some people I think may get Juanito Bandito-ed out, but we never do. It's almost as if it just keeps getting funnier and funnier every year. I'm pretty sure we're like Bandito's #1 fans. Also I have to throw a shout out of thanks to my friend Laura and her husband Body because they are the awesome peeps who hooked us up with the tickets to go so thanks so much you guys. They even got us the real deal CD. Now I can listen to Bandito and his funny jokes all day long! (Don't worry, I'll try to avoid overkill with it.)

If you are wondering to yourself, "Dang that pie looks great, I wonder who made it?" I will tell you who made it... I did! I made an entire pie from scractch (minus the graham cracker crust, long story, ask Aaron for details.) I got the recipe from kelseycancook.blogspot.com and it turned out so dang good. The name of the pie is Bear Lake Raspberry Pie and yes, that is seriously THE Bear Lake sitting right behind it in the photo. (I was pretty proud of that cleverness!) Oh and a special thanks to my mom who was monitoring my pie making abilities. I almost destroyed it because I made homemade whipped cream and I had NO idea you have to sweeten that stuff, otherwise it tastes like straight butter... imagine that, since that is what whipping cream turns into when whipped long enough. And now you know that...

This is my cutie-batootie husband Aaron who has skin that burns like fire and nothing more! As you can see, he takes the whole protecting yourself from the sun extremely serious. (I however thought I was invincible from the sun, and then the sun reminded me that I was not... blasted sun!!)

Aaron and I took Hadlie down to 1st Dam at the entrance of the Logan canyon. I really like that place. It was just nice to take a picnic and relax.

I love this picture! Check out both of their tongues. Neener-nanner!

4th of July Celebrations!!
You know you are celebrating with a small town when kids are sitting in a tractor like this for the parade. I went with my parents to the Deweyville breakfast and parade to support my brothers little family. It was funny. The best part was that after they went through one way for the parade, they all flipped around and came by again! Ha But on a more serious note, they have what is called the Candy Bomber and it is this older man who flys his little plane above the ball field and has tied all these bags of candy and he drops them like parachutes and the little kids just run all over like crazy getting their bags of candy. He proabably dropped around 200 bags. It was really fun to watch.

That is my sister in law Misty on the end holding Paityn and Wyler is folding over right next to her. They have a huge family but it is a lot of fun for them to be in the parade every year!

Wyler even had his birthday noticed on the town marque. He turned 9 this year. I can't believe it! It honestly seems like yesterday that he was just this tiny little baby. Happy Birthday bud!

Hadlie's first firework show! We're still working on the whole look at the camera concept but at least you can see the firework right?! These were the USU fireworks. It was a lot of fun to watch Hadlie. She loved them. Her jaw would drop as she stared in awe.

Grandpa Lane and Hadlie Layne.

Grandma Petersen and Hadlie.

So life is good, still busy as ever but I don't think that will ever change. Hadlie loves going to her babysitters. Melanie and Nikkala have both been the biggest blessings by watching Hadlie so willingly every day of the week while Aaron and I work. It's not the easiest thing to do, but you do what you have to do and I am just so grateful for those ladies (and their cute little boys who seem to make Hadlie laugh all the time.)

Aaron and I both start school in a week and we are SO excited! But we're even more excited to be FINISHED!! This Fall, we're all ready to graduate, we just have to pass our classes. We are just two poor college students who are working our hardest every day, and trying to be the best parents we know how to be, and we are so poor, but life couldn't be better. I just know that great opportunities are just waiting at our doorstep. Patience is a virtue and Heavenly Father is always aware of our needs. He will take care of all of us, because we are HIS children.

In the meantime... I'll keep you updated on Lagoon. (Aaron had a sweet hook up so we could actually afford the tickets.) I am excited but so excited for Aaron because it's his first time!!
Lagoon... It's where FUN is!

June Pics for Fun!

So pretty much, Hadlie likes to suck my chin?? Haha The real funny part about it is that after this time, I had a nice hicky. Kinda awkard when people saw it.

This was after Grandma Petersen's funeral. It was pretty chilly but the funeral turned out so nice. She was a pretty cool grandma but she had lived long enough and it was time to go back to grandpa. I'm sure they are dancin in heaven again. :)

Big eyes...

We had the chance to go to dinner with my college buds. It was so great to see everyone and have Hadlie meet them. (Left to Right: Brittany a.k.a. Dong, Car Bar, Lore Bore, me, and Hadlie Bug!)

More Moab Pics

The cutest pic I've seen of a little baby girl. Minus all the hands everywhere, look at her pose. So dang cute! :)
This was at the entrance of the KAO that we stayed at. I thought it was funny.

Don't mind my water beauty...

Hadlie and her daddy in the pool.

Aunt Kelsie and Hadlie after dinner.

MOAB 2010

Aaron's dad's side of the family had their family reuinion in Moab, UT this last weekend. It was a really long drive for such a short trip, I wish we could have stayed a little bit longer. But it was still a nice break in our regular routine and it was great for me to get to know that side of the family a bit more. (There's only like 12 kids and a good chunk of them live in New Mexico.) I think I feel pretty confident that if I was quizzed on all their names, I could do it... maybe? :) Anyway, we started out with dinner at a restaurant. And we stayed in these sweet little cabins. (It reminded me of a pioneers home, except we had a nice piece of equip called AC which I was so thankful for.) Saturday we got up headed to the Arches National Park. Those structures always seem to amaze me whenever I see them. As you're staring at some really tall pillar with a big round ball (rock) balancing on the top, it's just like, "How did that happen?!" It was really cool. We did a little hiking around. Aaron's favorite was probably hiking with Hadlie's stroller and Hadlie strapped in tight. Her face was so solemn as her dad was making the typical boy sound for trucks climbing some serious mountains. "Vrrmmm Vrrmmmm!" Haha After a hot day of the arches, we went to the swimming pool and had a lot of fun there. We put Hads in her cute little pink polka-dotted swim suit and she wasn't a fan of the water at first, but neither was I because it's really cold when you first touch it. She eventually got used to it and I think she kind of liked it! I enjoyed just laying on a chair under the hot sun. It's not everyday that I get that relaxing opportunity! After the pool, we met for dinner, skits/family stories and just talked for awhile. Actually, one of Aaron's cousins is a chiropractor and has just started acupuncture and of course he brought all of his supplies. So he was poking needles in people's hands and arms. That is crazy stuff! He adjusted my wrists also, that was pretty nice. All we needed was another cousin who did massage therapy or something like that. Then we really would have been set! The next morning came and it was time to pack up and get back on the road again. (See, I told you it was pretty short.) But it was so good to see Aaron's family. It's always a fun time whenever we're around them. They just can't get enough of Hadlie and it's so fun to watch Grandma and Grandpa with her. We love you guys! Thanks for the fun little trip!

Pay It Forward

I'm sure most mother's know this but did you realize that childcare costs around $450/mo. for an infant?! Yeah, my thoughts exactly, "Wow that is almost how much rent costs!" Why work if your entire paycheck is going to pay someone else to watch your child? Well as you can see, we have been stressed out a little on what we were going to do come Aug when Hadlie can't come with me to work anymore. The thought of it all just makes me want to cry. :( But you do what you have to do. And staying in that building all day long is getting old for Hadlie. She's starting to get so anxious to just go-go-go. Which is completely normal and I'm glad she is like that, but when you are trying to sit at a computer and get things done so you don't get fired, it can get a little frustrating. So I know that it will be a good thing, but I sure will miss her during the day. Well on with my story, pretty much I just need to say how thankful I am for such good women in the world. A couple ladies cornered me after a church activiy and basically were not going to take no for an answer. One of them said, "Did your husband pass on the message that I will watch Hadlie when you have to go back to work?" I said very sheekishly, "Yes..." She looked at me with a serious face... "I AM SERIOUS." Haha (She's like one of the sweetest ladies I've ever met. But she just said, "You don't have to pay me. I know what it is like being in the stage you're at. I was once there. People helped my husband and I out, and now it is our turn to give back." The other lady is my visiting teacher and she said, "Yep! And I'm gonna also help out. So she can have Mon., Wed., Fri., and I'll take Tues. and Thurs. When do we start?" My heart was just so filled with gratitude. It is seriously amazing to me at the goodness in some people's hearts. These women are such great example's to me and I will constantly remember that when I am at a stable stage of life, it will be my turn to Pay It Forward to someone else in need, a lesson we all could remember.

Good Things to Come

The other night, Aaron told me he wanted to show me this video clip he came across. I watched it with him and as funny as it may seem, Heavenly Father does know our every need. The words in this clip touched both our hearts and reassured us of all the many good things to come in life... even if we can't see them yet. We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives. Maybe this message was just for us specifically during this time of our lives, but we hope as you watch the video, you'll feel comforted by its message also.

Good Things to Come

Good Things to Come

A First for Everything!

I sure hope this makes you smile because I couldn't stop laughing when I was watching her try Applesauce for the first time. It's a classic and I just had to share it with everyone else. Enjoy!

Hadlie's Blessing Day

April 11, 2010

This was such a special day to see Hadlie be blessed by her daddy. Before she was born, my mom actually showed me some things in her cedar chest and she pulled out my blessing dress that I wore as a baby. She had taken such good care of it because it hadn't discolored or anything. I immediately knew that I wanted my little girl to be blessed in my blessing dress. That was really special to me. :)

I'm thinking Hadlie is a lot taller than I was as a baby because it is a little short on her, but what do you expect when her dad is 6'4"? She still looked so stinkin' cute!

Our cute little family photo.
On this day, once again, Aaron and I were reminded how important family and friends mean to us. All of our immediate family members were there (except for Linds cuz she just had her baby boy). And once again, I was so impressed to see Aaron's family come together for such events. The majority of his family lives in the Provo and Cedar City areas in UT. Our church was at 9:00am. They all booked hotel rooms just so they could be here to support our little Hadlie. And the one that I am always impressed by is Aaron's grandparents from New Mexico and also his uncle and little cousin. They made a really long trip just to be there. I just think it is so wonderful to see this kind of support and committment. That is what families are all about. :) Even my best friends and co workers came for Hadlie's special day! There is just such a wonderful feeling when you are able to look around you and see that you are completely surrounded by those you love. That's what life is about and I believe that is what Heaven will be all about too. Being surrounded by those we love forever and ever.
We are truly so blessed and we just want to thank everyone for their love and support. Because of where we are at in our lives, we are having to rely a lot on the help of others. We couldn't do it alone and that is why Heavenly Father places certain people in our lives at certain times. So thank you so much to everyone around us, we love you. :)

Caught Sleeping on the Job

It all starts with a simple yawn...

And then as you can see...

It's Game...

OVER!!

Emotions of a 4 month old baby girl...

As you can tell, Hadlie is extremely stressed out.

Then mom gives her a kiss on the cheek.

And then everything is all better. And these emotions change
within a matter of seconds. :) It's great!