I Lost 12 Inches!!

Well I wish I could say its off other parts of my body... but oh well, what can ya do right? Today I went into the salon not quite sure of what I wanted. I have been debating for MONTHS whether or not I should just chop it. I always want to but rarely have the guts to. So I went into the salon today thinking "Chop? or Trim?" As you can see we went with the whole chopping idea. I'm still trying to get used it.. but I am sure once I do I will love it lol Darren actually really loves it which is a shock since he is one of those men who firmly believe that women should have long hair. My dad is going to kill me though.. I don't think he will be as accepting as Darren was. Anyways we cut 12 inches off the back. I didn't even know I had that much hair back there to spare lol But it was enough to donate which is always a nice feeling. I was itching for something new and I definitely got it. Hopefully I'll get used to it soon. :)

Festivities and Fun

The past week and a half have just been so much fun! Filled with lots of family :) On Saturday of the week before last Darren and I drove down to Sandy to pick up my little sister who was coming to spend the week with us. Yay! I know I have said it before but Tray just loves my siblings. When they're around Darren and I don't exist anymore ha ha so having Cassie for a week was such a treat for all of us! We wanted to make sure she had fun while here in Logan so we did all the good stuff :) We went swimming, went to the zoo, went up to USU campus, and OF COURSE went to Caspers.

Cassie helping Tray feed the ducks at the Zoo.

Family Night at Caspers :)

We had such a blast with her here and were very sad when we took her back. We had planned for my whole fam to come up on Saturday the 3rd for all the 4th of July festivities. It didn't work out though due to us finding out that Logan was doing their fireworks on Friday this year and my siblings had all already gotten Saturday off of work. So we decided to head on down and celebrate the 4th in Sandy which was just So much fun! I LOOOVE the fourth of July. It is my favorite holiday! You just can't go wrong :) My mom had the whole day planned out and we had a blast! The day started out with the Carnival that I went to every year growing up. Tray had so much fun making crafts, eating yummy treats, getting a million balloon, and riding the train. It was so much fun and so different being the parent at the carnival. Darren sacrificed much sleep to spend the whole day with us and I can't thank him enough. It really was awesome. After the carnival we went to lunch, then to a movie, there was a parade but we were all pretty pooped and opted out of that one. We then had a BBQ with all my siblings and a million of their friends and a few dates :) After the BBQ we all dawned our sweatshirts and headed out to watch fireworks (blankets had been set down earlier that day to save perfect seats of course) Sitting there surrounded by family and friends, enjoying each others company and the beautiful weather, it was SO easy to sit in wonder and amazement at this amazing country we live in. I laid there cuddled in blankets wrapped in Darren's arms watching Tray being played with by all his aunts and uncles, without one care or worry in the world. Just so very happy. 100% happy! And I realized how TRULY blessed we are. When it came time for the fireworks everyone stopped playing, found their spot on the blanket and watched the display that had been timed with patriotic music. Tray loves fireworks. Or "pop pops" as he calls them, and enjoyed them more than anyone I think :) They were awesome and our view was perfect! I couldn't have asked for a better day! A HUUGE thanks to my Mom and Dad for making it all possible. We have the best family ever!

Tray marching off toward the Carnival. He is so funny.

Tray and Daddy riding the train.

Making some crafts.

When we came home the next day we brought my little brother Quinton back with us to spend a couple days with us. Tray had a blast having his Uncle Boo all to himself for a few days. We all loved having him here and were so sad to see him go so soon! All in all it has been a great couple of weeks!

Tray loves playing any kind of ball with his Uncle.

Quin teaching Tray to play guitar.

New Neighbors!

We got some new neighbors! Although they're REALLY not new to us at all. :) Now some of you from WY may recognize this lovely family.. They are our friends Kellan, Karylle and little Xyla Cook. We met them in Rock Springs WY where they lived in our apartment complex and were in our ward. About a month ago they got word that Kellan, who is a Foot Locker Manager, was being transferred here to Logan! Yay! We were very very excited to learn that our good friends would be moving here as well. They had to stay in a hotel for a couple weeks while looking for apartments, and as fate would have it, our next door neighbors had just informed our landlord that they would be moving out. So, many hours in a hotel, packing, unpacking, a trip to WY later, they were able to move in. We have had so much fun with them here. Before we moved from WY Karylle was pregnant, and I was so bummed when I found out I wouldn't be there when Baby was born. But now I get to see her everyday! Tray is absolutely smitten with Xyla. He loves to hold her and asks Karylle for the baby every time he sees her. He doesn't want to poke her or play with her, he just wants to hold her. And of course always make sure she has her Binky lol (Since we took away his Bink a couple months ago, he has taken it upon himself to make sure that no other baby goes without theirs ha ha) Anyways, Welcome to the neighborhood guys! We're so happy you're here! :)

The Cooks :) Poor Kellan has been working 12 hour shifts since he started here in Logan. He needs a well deserved break!

Baby Xyla. She is such a doll! It is so much fun having a little baby around again :)

I love it..

He is so smitten :)

A Day for Mom and a Day for Dad

This past week we were able to celebrate a day for me and one for Darren as well. My mothers day was wonderful this year. I hope everyone else's was too. Darren being the sweetheart that he is got up early, made me breakfast, cleaned up the wake left behind from the Tray-nado the night before AND got Tray ready for Church. It was just what I needed! Those who know me (Darren especially cause he gets the butt-end of it) know that I am AWFUL Sunday morning. I rush and stress and stress some more trying to get us up and ready and fed and to church on time which we rarely are. Ha ha imagine if I had more than the one kid.. I'd never go anywhere! After a great nap and super yummy dinner at my sister in laws parents house we came home to make my mothers day present from Tray. Some may remember it from last year since we did the same thing. I loved it then so I had to do it again this year :) But this year Tray had a little friend join us. We had a family move in our complex who have a little guy Trays age. Its awesome! They are inseparable and us parents are loving the distraction ha ha If one or the other escapes out of the house you can bet money they will be making a B-line right over to the others front door. So fun! Anyways I'm sure you will be seeing more of our new friends in future posts.

Attempting to clean off paint... He is so happy here! I love that Cheeser grin.

Tray and Gabriel in the tub after making the Mothers day presents. The sink just wasn't doin it! :)

Aww I love it.

Mothers day presents from two cute boys. I guess this actually spoils the surprise for my mom who hasn't received her present yet.. Oops! Sorry Mom!

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The 14th was Darren's birthday which was also a very fun day. We started the festivities by taking Tray to Grandmas house so we could go to a movie alone. Cause lets face it, toddlers and movie theaters don't mix so well. Can anyone guess which movie we saw?? Yep! Iron Man 2. ha ha no surprise there. (Iron man is Darren's FAVORITE movie lol) It was really good. We liked it :) Darren's parents then took us out to dinner which was super yummy. Thanks guys! Following a very large dinner we just HAD to do cake and Ice cream of course. What is a birthday without cake and ice cream after all ha ha Ya.. our new found diet suffered greatly that day. But we enjoyed having some friends and family over to celebrate with us. Happy Birthday Bear!! I love you soo much! I guess some people viewing this may not know how old we are but I guess the cake will give it away. Darren just turned the BIG 22! Time to break out the cane and hearing aids! ha ha ok ok I know we're YOUNG! We seem to get that a lot. I swear we get older each year... don't we? Yet somehow we are always the young ones. ha ha I guess that's ok though. I'm sure there will come a day when we will WANT to be the young ones :)

BIG 22!

Tray and Gabriel. So cute. Don't let their looks deceive you. They may look skinny but they can put it away! Esepcially little Gabriel. He usually finishes in time to reach over and steal the rest of Trays ha ha

Andrea and Peter Boyer, our new found friends :)

Darren's Mom and Dad. Darren looks so much like his Dad huh?

Me and the birthday boy! Love you Bear!!

Our Retirement Plan

He lines it up....

He Shoots...

HE SCORES!! THE CROWD GOES WILD!!!

Tray LOVES basketball! Seriously.. He's obsessed. There is just no other word for it. He could do this all day and probably would if we would let him.

He is so stinkin good! :)

(Notice the super cute Utah State Basketball jersey? :) My sister Sarah bought it for him when I was Prego before leaving on her mission.. He can now finally wear it ha ha)

He actually DOES have a teddy bear.. but this is what he chooses to snuggle with lol

I love this kid.

ReUnited!!

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD!!

My darling older sister Sarah retured from her mission in Brazil 2 days ago. We were able to go down to salt lake to meet her at the air port. We were all so excited to have her back. We have missed her very much! She was finally able to meet Tray which was absolutely wonderful. It took a bit for him to warm up to her but now he loves her just as much as the rest of my family. It is so much fun to see them together, I have dreamt about it for a year and half! (Sarah left on her mission 4 weeks before Tray was born) I think he sensed that she was supposed to be there all along :) She was so funny the first day, she had forgotren how to speak in english so we all got to give her a hard time. Ha ha she has gotten better, although she still seems to speak better in Portuguese.

We stayed the weekend at my parents in Sandy so we could spend time with her and everyone else. We were also able to enjoy a wondeful Easter weekend filled with conference, egg hunts, and Way too much candy! Hope everyone else enjoyed their weekend as much as we did!

"I see her! I see her!"

Tray meeting Aunt Ra-Ra for the first time.

Sarah's Super Awesome tan line! ha ha LOVE IT!

Tray and his cousin Maddie had a blast finding the eggs. They ended up with quite the loot! ha ha I wish the weather had been better so we could have done a hunt outside... buut what can ya do. They had fun anyways. :)

My Everest!

Those of you who know me know that I am about the pickiest eater in the world. I only know 2 people pickier than me. Those people are Darren and Tray. I thought I was picky until I married Darren and realized that I had my work cut out for me since he is even worse than me. As a result we ended up with Tray who I swear has a sixth sense when it comes to things he "doesn't like" to eat. Mainly meat and vegetables. I don't mind him not eating meat, cause we really don't eat too much of it anyways, only once in a while. But he spits out his Veggies too. Even as a tiny guy he refused the baby food veggies, shocker right? ha ha those things are Nasty! Now, if he "senses" any veggies mixed in his food he will spit his whole mouthful out. What a stinker huh?? Well after some helpful tips and advice from sister in laws I have made the decision to really try to get my little family eating healthier. We LOVE fruit so thats not a problem, we could eat fruit all day long, but vegetables are another story.. Let me just tell you.. it is ROUGH! ha ha I HATE cooked vegetables. Always have. I'll eat some raw but even then it's a select few. So this is QUITE the feat! But I am very please to announce that we are making some headway. We have had vegetables in some form or another everyday this last week. I have steamed veggies a few times with meals and had a pretty good turn out. Darren actually loved them, I GAGGED them down (without pinching my nose too! I must be growing up!) I cut them up very small and hid them in Trays food as well, which he gobbled up. I feel like super mom! I've been spending more money on veggies and less on other snacks and have been chopping up celery, olives, carrots, and even green peppers (yep, thats right mom! I ate a green pepper today!) to munch on along with various fresh fruits. Last night at dinner Darren got Tray to willingly eat a piece of steamed broccoli by itself, not hidden in anything. He didn't even spit it out. We were so excited and shared a very enthusiastic high five across the table lol He refused to eat another piece but hey, I am just so excited we got one in him. There is hope! I am hoping in time I will aquire a taste for them but until then I will be choking them down. Ha ha anyways, I am just so excited about it! I had to share my triumph with everyone :)  So if anyone has any special ways they like to prepare some "yummy" veggies that I can try with my family I am WIDE open for suggestions! Thanks!