The Birthday Girl!

Wow has it really been 3 years?! This kid has grown up very quickly! Here she was with her cute self at the beginning of the day, before the messy chocolate cupcakes and ice cream!


This year I tried to be a crafty mom so for her birthday I made her the skirt she is wearing from a cute online tutorial found Here. Then I just appliqued the 3 onto a plain white t-shirt, and lastly I made a hair clippy with tulle and a polka dot button. I thought she looked pretty adorable.
We had a fun birthday. For lunch Dave and I took her to the Burger King by our house where they have a HUGE playplace that she enjoyed for a long time. She received many phone calls from friends and family wishing her Happy Birthday which was very nice. In the evening, we had a party at the park and many of our good friends and family showed up! It was so nice to have so many people come out and support Sammy on her birthday. She loved opening presents, playing with her little friends, and trying to crack open the princess tiara pinata. It was pretty durable! Thanks to everyone for the fabulous presents!

Sam is a wonderful child and I am so grateful to be her mom. Ever since she was born she has been our little miracle, blessing baby. She is fun to be around, and a great big sister. She always gives Taylor kisses, tells her stories, and sings to her when she is upset. I look forward to another fabulous year with her!



The embroidered apron I made for her!

Family Pictures

Well there was one day where we were all, for the most part, pretty cleaned up looking nice, so we thought we'd better take full advantage of it by taking some family pictures, mostly with Grandparents. I mean c'mon, when you're at the cabin you're roughing it. There's one bathroom to share between EVERYONE! Natalie and I were talking and figured both of us took 3 showers each in the week and one day that we were at the cabin! ahhh....Greasy!
Since having Taylor, we haven't had a family picture yet, and I figured I would take one even if it was just me and the girls. Eventually I will get one taken with Dave too, since he is a pretty important part of the fam, but for now at least I was able to get one okay pic with the girls and Sam not doing her fake smile.

Princess Belle Tea Party

Every year since I can remember that we have been going to the cabin, we also make the trip into West Yellowstone to see a play at the PlayMill, which is a very popular place. Some of the plays I have enjoyed there over the years have included "Oklahoma" "7 Brides for 7 Brothers" "Joseph" "Into the Woods" and a personal favorite "The Robber Bridegroom":) and many others. This year they did "Beauty and The Beast" which they have never done before. Wow! It was great! My Dad especially loved it because he said "In the 39 years I've been coming to the Playmill, this is their best performance!" That is saying a lot for my dad! It really was a great show.
Since we all have smaller children, it makes it hard to take everyone to a play together without a few people spending most of the time in the hallway, so this year we split it up a bit. Natalie and I took Annie and Sam to the early show while Mom and Dad watched the other kids. I knew Sammy liked it because she actually stayed in her seat the entire show, which has never happened before, however since we were in the front row, she did get very nervous and a little scared each time the Beast came to our side of the stage, or the wolves that would attack Belle. They were a little scary! The costumes were awesome, the performances were fabulous, and what a fun girls night out with the girls!
What made it even more fun was before the play started, they had a Princess Belle Tea Party you could go to, and of course Natalie and I had to take Sam and Annie. The had Belle dressed in her beautiful yellow dress welcoming all the girls. She wanted to get to know everyone so they stood in a circle and passed a flower around. When the music stopped, whoever had the flower was supposed to say their name, where their kingdom was, and their favorite color. Well the first person it stopped on was of course Sam (she was by far the youngest girl there). And Belle asks her name and she says "Red!" Well everyone starts giggling because it was so cute, but she got so embarrassed and started crying. I pretty much had to stay by her for the rest of the party. But she still enjoyed it. The girls got to sit at a little table, and were served cupcakes and lemonade by Belle's assistants, and Belle serendaded the girls with a song. At the end, she gave each "princess" a crown and took pictures.
It was so fun and girly, and I think Annie and Sam both enjoyed it a lot! The few weeks leading up to it Sam would ask everyday "When are we going to have the Princess Belle tea Party with Annie?" It was some fun.

Dancing!

During the week at the cabin, I realized we have a family full of dancing fools! The nice thing is that we aren't afraid to shake a little tail, when the occasion calls for it!
As I said earlier, I don't think I ever need to watch "Hairspray" again after the many times that kids kept playing it! But it does have a lot of catchy tunes, some better than others :) and the kiddos loved dancing to the up-beat rhythm of many of the songs. Combine that with a little ice cream, some root beer, m&m's, and licorish, then there's a full blown dance party going on. The kids went crazy and it was pretty funny watching each kid's own interpretation of what dance is!







Okay okay I lied....I will watch "Hairspray" again somedayand just not in the near future. For anyone that knows me, it's true I love my showtunes!

Then there was the Ho-down at the rodeo we went to! I forgot how much rodeo's can be, it has been a long time for me. After the rodeo where they did some amazing tricks on horses, roped cows, and did some bull riding, they served us some delicious food, steak and chicken, taters, beans, and cobbler! After all that food, it wasn't just the dj that was making music! :)
All the kids had fun dancing again with Grandma and Grandpa learning to line dance, and enjoying a good time. I think for me, it was the highlight of the week. It's nice when you can get together with your family and act crazy and dance all together! I am a little sad I lost a burp rag that went to soaking up Caden's blood-stained face. Thanks a lot Caden! :) side note: he is fine, just reckless!

The Cabin

How nice it was to spend just over a week up at the cabin this year! In all honesty I am a bit surprised I was able to even go, we weren't sure if we would make it. Unfortunately not all of us did. Dave could only stay for the wedding and had to boogey back to Oregon for work (including doing all the managing apartments stuff as well, which beginning of the month meant RENT!) fun for him. Natalie's hubby was not able to go either, because being a Secret Service agent he was probably guarding someone VERY important. And then of course we were missing our missionary sister Allison who is in Panama! She now has less than a year left! We didn't expect Ben and Hilary to be able to make it, but since his company didn't go on strike, they were able to be there too.

Since I have about a million of pictures from last week, I think I have to split up my blog posts so I can fit more pictures in.

Some things I learned from last weeks adventures...I love to get crafty with my sisters, I never knew beading was so much fun, and how relaxing embroidery can be oddly enough. A buzz lightyear can be a VERY hot commodity around kids, I HATE the windy stairs now that I have children, Sam is much more clumsy than I thought (hmmmm), Logan is the definition of a Boy, and he can't take a bad picture!(wait and see :) Natalie needs to stretch her legs more (pulled a hamstring while running after a steer!) Ethan was so close to walking, but I'm sure by now he is, I HATE whining even more than I did before, you think your sister Angie loves you and then flubs your attempt at "shooting the moon", Caden is out to get me :), The Playmill keeps getting better and better, there is absolutely no doubt who the FAVORITE aunt is now, ANGIE! Thanks a lot now I have to work even harder. There really is no competition to her. They all wanted to drive in her car through Yellowstone and on the way she taught them all the song "Home on the Range" or as Sam likes to call it, "the deer song!"....ya know... "where the DEER and the antelope play!" She now walks around the apartment all day singing it.....
A few other things...I still hate mosquitos, and sunburns, love 4th of July homemade chocolate ice cream and fireworks (courtesy of Ben and Hilary and ice cream by Nat), don't like 5 hour car rides with a 3 month old, wish Mack's Inn still had penny candy, annual cabin movies include "Last of the Mohicans" "Galaxy Quest" and "1776"....but where was "The Three Amigos" and "The Court Jester???!" Movies to take off the cabin list and don't think I ever need to watch again include "Monsters vs. Aliens" "Hairspray" and "Finding Nemo"...too many times little children. Love the excitement of a nighttime float in the dark from Big Springs to the cabin, without a flashlight you never know what is stomping in the trees on the banks of the river! Noticing the look of nastalgia cross my Dad's face over and over again, both my parents enjoying ALL their grandchildren together, and Mom's little tea parties every morning for breakfasts, savoring the tasty breakfasts at the cabin made by my Dad...bacon, and eggs, and pancakes, all being made with bacon grease....mmmmm.... Trying to always appreciate the beauty of being up there, being grateful to my Grandparents for providing it, and enjoying the wildlife and my family...both pretty much the same thing! :)


Just a few pictures...more to come!

Lara's Wedding!

A couple weeks ago was my beautiful cousin Lara's wedding! Dave and I were lucky to be able to go to the Temple to be at their sealing, and it was wonderful. The whole wedding was beautiful and I was so happy to be there with her. Growing up we always hung out during the summer vacations. We have always been close to the Taylor side of my family and have always enjoyed hanging out with all of them. I love Lara. Growing up I wanted to copy her in everything, clothing styles and hairstyles (I particulary loved the mushroom haircut!) :) We would pretend like we were twins all the time and even had a few matching outfits. I am so glad that she is married to a wonderful guy. They are a beautiful couple and I look forward to future double dates with them(if I ever get back to Utah). People know I am a homebody and I love when there are family get togethers. It's fun to catch up with family and see how they are doing. It helps that they are fun to be around as well. I love the Taylors (obviously enough that I named my second child after the family name!)



Dave and Scotty's missionary cutout. Dave has a love affair with him. He wants to be like Scotty when he grows up!

Strolling the Temple Grounds

I forget how beautiful the Salt Lake Temple is! Gorgeous

The Reception

My cousin Eric and his cute wife Jessica, whom Samantha attached herself to!

My friend Andy from High School and his (now) fiance Blair.

Our little surprised chubbo!

Angie and Me