The Raleigh Family

Paige Turns Five

2012-02-13T20:45:00.000-08:00

My little girl turns five tomorrow! So I asked her a few questions about herself for fun! I am posting it here so it is easy to print out!

How old are you? 4 almost 5
Who is your best friend? Maya
What is your favorite thing to do? Play
What is your favorite color? Green
What is your favorite food? Spaghetti
What do you like to so with your family? Eat together
What is your favorite toy? Coral Seashells (LaLa Loopsy Doll)
What do you want to be when you grow up? Someone who learns about space
What makes you happy? Going to visit grandparents
What makes you sad? When Kambrie doesn't share
What is your favorite show? Flushed away
What is your favorite book? Fancy Nancy
What do you love to learn about? Art
What was the best part of your birthday party? The Cake
Where do you like to go? Grandma Heidi's House
What is your favorite treat? Popcorn
What do you think about before you fall asleep? Dreaming
What was your favorite birthday present? A cute party outfit to wear to her birthday from Mommy and Daddy

We Love <3 <3 <3 our beautiful, bright, funny five yr old! We are lucky to have her sweet spirit in our home!

Camera Lens giveaway

2011-12-26T22:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a post about an awesome camera lens giveaway by talented photographer! I desperately need and want this awesome lens! So check it out if you want to try and win too!

What is your Organizing Style?

2011-11-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Organizing
Cleaning
Working Out
I feel like these three things are always a work in progress. Being a Wife and a Mother there are so many areas we are all trying to balance. Sometimes it's hard to know how well you doing in some of these areas. I spend the majority of my time doing projects with my kids, making memories with them, taking pictures of them, starting traditions with them, and a million other things to make sure they are balanced and well rounded. My other time goes to the three things in bold above Organizing, Cleaning, Working Out. Thanks to Pinterest I have been getting lots of help on these three things. I would love to know what everyone else thinks about balancing these things along with everything else going on in all of our busy lives. If you want you can also take my poll on the side about how often you clean, workout, and how organized you think you are. It's always fun to see what other people do and know if you need to step up your game LOL! Thanks For Sharing :)

Halloween

2011-11-01T00:33:00.000-07:00

Halloween is a BIG DEAL at our house. We love celebrating Fall and the Halloween season by doing lots of activities! This year we decorated our house with lots of fun things including a fun bats that we cut out ourselves and scattered across our walls. We watched all the fun scary Halloweenish movies we could find. We went to Witches Night Out at Gardner Village, and visited a few Pumpkin Patches. We made lots of fun Halloween treats including a pumpkin dip that was AWESOME! We carved pumpkins and went to a few Halloween parties. Halloween Night was a blast! It was such a great year with warm weather YAY!!!! The girls loved it and had a blast! We saw so many fun decorations and it seemed like everybody was really into the spirit of Halloween this year! Kambrie's favorite candy was suckers and Paige just loved getting tons of candy! We love Halloween! I am so sad it is over but glad we had fun! Alright I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking! I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!

Crazy Long Catching up and Updating Post!

2011-10-07T02:56:00.000-07:00

Okay so I haven't blogged in a while. I mean I kind of feel like you see everything on facebook anyway but this blog is such a better way of keeping a journal and when I go back and read all the posts I am so happy I keep trying to do it! So I am just going to update a little. September came and went much too quickly. We spent labor day weekend at Bear Lake, camping, fishing, playing, riding the 4 wheeler, eating smores every night, telling ghost stories, and lots and lots of other camping activities. My kids are the best campers! There was zero complaining (except for a dramatic moment about bugs). My kids love being outside and just going going going until they are exhausted, especially Paige she has an insane amount of energy and always has. It was a perfect week and a perfect way to end Summer! The rest of the month we did a lot of family activities and had a lot of birthday parties to go to including mine (more on that in a minute). We also went to Oktoberfest with a lot of my family including my grandparents. My Grandpa served his mission in Germany so it is always a fun tradition to go to Oktoberfest. It is good to get up there early though because later in the day people start to get a little DRUNK! We did get there early though and took the ski lift all the way up the mountain and it was beautiful! Paige and Kambrie loved it! Paige also got to play with her cousin Jax that day so she was super happy!

I turned 29 this year! Whoa What!!! That is right! 10 yrs has just flown by and I feel like I barely remember it! Justin and my parents and Justin's parents were awesome. I seriously had like 4 maybe 5 birthday parties by parties I mean get togethers with dinner and cake, but at 29 you don't expect that from your parents but we both have really great parents and we are lucky we get to see them so often! Anyway so YEP one more year until the big 30! So I decided I am going to try to do 30 things before turning 30. Some will be big things and some will be small. I am starting this weekend by running a 10k. I am going to be blogging about my 30 before 30 list throughout the year so that should be kinda fun. I used to hate getting older but the past couple of years I have started to like it. I know more about myself and what I want out of life. I am excited about this coming year and about heading into my 30's! It all gives me time to really reflect on this last decade of my life and then I can get excited about starting a new chapter!
Alright enough about me! Lets talk about my favorite thing, MY KIDS

Paige -
Oh this little girl is growing up so fast. I adore her so much more this year than last year! That is horrible to say I know but last year was harder. I think 3yrs old is not my favorite age. Don't get me wrong it wasn't like the whole year was horrible just harder than this year. This year we just get along so much better. We have lots of fun together! She is hilarious and loud and outgoing! So much personality from this one. Some days we do art projects (she loves art), some days we do Yoga together, sometimes we dance. She is always busy! She adores her Dad - They have a special bond
She likes art and music and sports
She likes her hair braided and always lets me try new things
She still loves Scooby Doo
She sings in the car all the time and she is GOOD!
She adores her cousin Maya and I can't even talk to her when they are together
She is like a little Mommy to Kambrie, she always tells me when Kambrie needs a diaper change or when she grabbed something she wasn't supposed to or when she made a mess, and when they are playing together and they don't know I am listening she always calls Kambrie honey and is so sweet to her.
I am getting sad because she is growing up too fast and next year she will be in school all day everyday and I will lose my little friend! The tears are starting to break free just typing this. Sometimes I am too hard on her and I expect a lot! I saw a quote on pinterest the other day that said "let them be little", and I am going to try harder to be more patient and let her have more fun this year. She is beautiful and sweet and I am lucky to have the little girl with the big personality who tries my patience and makes me crazy! We are so different but I absolutely adore her!

Onto Kambrie,
Everyone adores this little girl! For Real everyone! She is sweet, she has those perfect baby chubby cheeks, she is really smart and talks really well. She is really girly too. When she plays alone she is always feeding babies or pushing a stroller. She loves to play house and play with babies and stuffed animals. I have seen glimpses of the terrible two's but so far she is pretty mellow. She eats really well and she adores Paige. She is also really funny. She gets really huffy when she gets mad and tells me "Paigey's mean Mommy"! I only hear that phrase like 20 times a day sometimes she tattles on me to her Daddy when she doesn't get her way and then it's "Mommy's Mean"! She loves the color Pink, and Hello Kitty anything. She calls it Kitty Meow Meow. She dances around on her tippy toes all the time. She has all of her Grandpa's wrapped around her little finger! She is a lot of fun and has always been pretty easy going, but I don't know how long that will all last. She has always been a Mommy's girl but that is starting to change, she can get away with more from her Dad and she certainly won't let me cuddle her as much as she used to and that is SAD for me. She is the perfect little princess girly girl and I am so glad we have her!

Okay so that was a lot right! Just playing catch up! I am going to have to be better about this blogging thing!

Here is a disclaimer about everything I just wrote. It is late and I probably made a thousand spelling errors and punctuation errors so please forgive all that. Also yes I am obsessed with my kids but I am writing this for myself and for them one day. I am not one of those people that think my kids are perfect, and amazing, and I have to tell everything they ever said to everyone because it was just so cute. I know you all have beautiful smart amazing kids too and that you really don't care that much about mine. Also when I go back and read through what I write I always think geez that sounds so dumb. Kinda like when I read other people's blogs sometimes and I think WOW that sounded self absorbed or just stupid so please know that I am not self obsessed I just want to be able to look back a year from now and remember little snipets from this time of my life!
Okay done!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Fall! I am going to try to do a zillion Halloween activities with my kids, husband, and families and take way too many pictures! Happy October! Best Month of the Year!

The Outtakes

2011-08-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

So when you take pictures all the time there are always the ones that aren't exactly perfect and yet for some reason those are the some of the most beautiful ones to me. Anyway here are some pics from the last few months. Some are from our California Trip, some are in our swimming suits, some are from the 4th of July, and some are from just playin around the house in underwear (the girls not me haha). We have played a lot this Summer and it has been a lot of fun! I hope everybody is enjoying their summer!

This little cutie tuned two a few weeks ago! She sings a lot, dances a ton and is really easy going and sweet!

Baby you're a firework! We spent the 4th in Bear Lake. We had so much fun playing at the lake and watching the fireworks in Montpelier. I used to spend my summers like this and it is so fun to do the same thing with my kids!

Kiddie Pool Day!

Pretty Paigey. Just a pretty pic I haven't posted.

She is so natural here. Just playing and happy!

She is beautiful! I love her pretty features!

I just like this picture and how Paige is hugging me! She is so sweet when she wants to be.

She looks like she is straight out of the 60's! She hates the sand too! I hope that changes at some point!

Just my pretty girl

My beautiful Baby

Summer Kick off in California!

2011-05-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

Wow I have a lot of catching up to do! May is almost over and it has been a great month for us! On May 1st we left for California! We made a pit stop in Vegas so I could do a morning show promoting The Dating Divas. Then we made our way to Thousand Oaks CA to visit Justin's brother and his wife Kristen and see our niece Kailah. We had a blast that week. We went to the beach three times, had an amazing breakfast of coconut pancakes right on the beach, hit up LA, stopped at the Grove for lunch just in time to see Josh Groban leaving the set of EXTRA, took a pic by the Hollywood Sign, had a blast at Universal Studios, did a little shopping at the AMAZING stores Utah doesn't have, took family photos on the beach, and had PERFECT weather to do it all! It could not have been a more fun and easy going vacation. The girls had a blast with their cousin Kailah and we had tons of fun hanging and visiting with Kristen and Jason. We were so sad to leave but it was a perfect way to kick off Summer! Now Picture overload! Of course right!

Now we have been making plans because our Summer's have a tendancy to get CRAZY!!! This Summer will be no exception I am sure. The next few weeks are booked with trips and hangouts and photoshoots! We are busy but excited about our plans and I hope the weather will be nice so we can be outside and enjoy our lives!

WHAT A WEEK!!!

2011-04-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday my siblings started filtering into town for my little brothers wedding Saturday. The week was a blast the wedding was a big success and I am sad it is all over and I miss my brother's and sisters a lot already. We laughed a lot the little kids were crazy and funny and we were all happy to see each other. The wedding was so much fun! Everything looked beautiful and all of my Mom's hard work really paid off! We ate yummy crapes, the cake was SOOOO GOOD, and we danced all night! I am so happy for my little bro and I hope they are having a blast on their honeymoon. Yesterday I was on a T.V. show called the Daily Dish. It was so much fun! My Family was so supportive and it was fun that they got to see me on T.V.! We have a lot going on in the next few weeks and I hope I am prepared to get it all done!

My Baby Big Girl!

2011-03-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

Okay Picture overload!!! They are mostly of Kambrie. I haven't taken pics like this of her for a while and it was time. She is growing up way too fast!
So my baby is getting way to big for my liking! Every time I look at her I am reminded of how she is almost completely not a baby anymore. She is still pretty little and that is about the only thing keeping her my baby. She talks a lot, runs a lot, plays and does almost everything Paige does. She is quite a busy little girl! The great thing though is that she still gives the best hugs, kisses, and snuggles. She is such a Mommy's girl and I am happy to have her! Today we played, took pictures, and ate our snacks in the beautiful Spring weather. I was so happy the weather was nice. In other news my little brother is getting married next week!! So we will be busy with family things starting Sunday! I feel like once April is here we just GO GO GO until Fall! I have been busy with photography and Dating Divas! Speaking of Dating Divas it looks like I might be on T.V. on a show called the Daily Dish on April 12th doing some promoting. So that is fun and exciting!!! Justin has been working hard as always!!! Paige is her silly SPOILED cute BRATTY self. We are hoping the weather keeps staying nice and we are all really excited for Easter!!! I hope you all enjoy your springtime we are trying to!

The funny things my Little Lovelies do! Also Paige turns FOUR!

2011-02-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

Oh kids! They are so cute and funny. So here is latest on Paige and Kambrie ....

Paige -
So the other day I didn't make her bed - Yes people I let the day get away from me and didn't make her bed. Well when bedtime came she told me I can't go to sleep my bed is a mess. She doesn't like it when things aren't perfectly clean, she has been this way since she was a baby.
She also likes everything a certain way, her way. She is picky about everything.If i tell her she can have a drink of whatever I am having (usually my water bottle) she wipes off the tip for about a minute before drinking off of it.

Kambrie -
She has been talking a lot lately
Her list of words are
go, ball, baby, apple, Mommy , Daddy (her favorite word) Sounds like DaEEE), whale, What's that (Sounds like Wha za) Here you go (Sounds like a really fast version of that), Eyes ( Sounds like Eyez and she whispers it), Elmo, bubble, backpack, echo, doggy, Diego ( It's her favorite show and the word sounds more like ego, she also sings go go go with the theme song) hi, and bye ( She adds the e sounds to these so it's more like byeee), whale, up, and a few others I probably forgot. She picks up about 3-4 new words a week. Paige loves it when she says words, and always alerts me to the new words Kambrie can say.
When she sees her food she yells Yay, and claps her hands. This girl can eat! She eats more than Paige does!

On Monday Valentines Day my little Paige turned FOUR!!! What!!! So I thought I would do a little Q&A about her, so here it is!

Paige -
Favorite T.V. show - Wonder Pets
Favorite Food -Cereal and Popcorn
Favorite song - Itsy Bitsy Spider or anything by Lady Gaga
Favorite book -Fancy Nancy (we have a few)
Favorite color- Green but sometimes Pink
Favorite Movie - Despicable ME
Favorite Activity - Water Color Painting (She does this with her Daddy and it's their cute little bonding time)
Favorite word to say - Cute
Favorite Toy - Her Lalaloopsy Dolls (She now has five, plus two of the mini's)
Favorite Drink - Milk or chocolate milk (she call it her cold chocolate)
Favorite Treat - Frosting (but maybe cake pops now, since I made them for her birthday)
Cute talent - Singing the theme music to her favorite movies. (She has the cutest little singing voice)

These are just a few fun things about her! For her birthday she got to have her cousin Maya sleep over (Paige's first sleep over) they had lots of fun and were actually pretty good about going to sleep. The next day we went to the Kangaroo Zoo and played on the blow up toys for about two hours. Paige and Maya had a blast and although Kambrie couldn't do much she had a lot of fun going down the slide and saying wheee every time she went down. Then we finished the day by having dinner at the Mayan Restaurant. We did this two years ago with Paige on her birthday and it was just a fluke that we decided to go again this year, but I think we will make it a tradition. She loved going to the Mayan, she thought the scenery was great and both Paige and Kambrie were really entertained by the divers. It was a great day and I can't believe my little baby is not a baby anymore but a 4 year old little girl!

We have a lot happening in the next two months. So stay tuned!

Just one of those weeks!

2011-01-27T15:13:00.000-08:00

You know those weeks when everything goes well. Kids go to bed easily and sleep all night, the house stays clean, you accomplish everything you planned to do that week. THIS HAS NOT BEEN ONE OF THOSE WEEKS! Monday night Kambrie had a hard time sleeping because she was getting ANOTHER COLD. Paige has been really whiney and she keeps waking up in the night and crying. Then today I woke up and Paige and I both have Kambrie's cold. I have made it a point to stay on top of cleaning and organizing but after so many days you start to think, WHY am I doing this everyday when tomorrow things will be just as messy and I will have to do the SAME THING ALL OVER AGAIN! Between entertaining kids, taking care of sickness, cleaning, straightening, picking up spilled food, wiping faces, folding clothes, working out, giving baths, making food, playing with kids, changing diapers, I just don't know how Moms do it all sometimes!!!!! I hope next week gets easier. In the meantime I am daydreaming about warmer sunny days and these 4 darling things for little girls!!!! Why do the stores stock the cutest Summer clothes in January? I need a vacation!

source

Sharing ideas!

2011-01-21T00:11:00.000-08:00

I always love finding great ideas and sharing tips with people so here are a few of mine.

We have been trying to eat A LOT healthier around our house, we haven't mastered it yet but it is a work in progress. I think our country is really striving to fight obesity right now and so the media is really supporting and talking about being and eating healthy. So it is kind of hard not to get on board. So I am going to share some of the things I am doing and some of the food that is helping us have a Healthier Lifestyle.
This is my favorite smoothie recipe
You will need
1. A blender
2. A large handful of fresh or frozen berries (your choice)
3. 1 cup skim milk and 1/2 cup of water
4. 1/4 low fat plain yogurt
5. A few ice cubes
Blend and drink! It usually makes enough for me to have a whole glass and Paige to have a half a glass.

Another favorite snack is apple wedges with cinnamon cream YUM! (This is from the Five Factor Diet by Harley Pasternak)
1. One granny smith apple
2. 1 cup nonfat sour vream
3. 3/4 cup nonfat cream cheese (softened)
4. 2 teaspoons cinnamon
5. 2 teaspoons sugar substitute (truvia, or you can leave it out)
Cut apple into wedges and add a little lemon juice, then whisk together all other ingredients. It makes two servings. It is so good!

We also like these Earth Grain Thin Buns for making a turkey sandwich (no cheese and lots of spinach and mustard).
Obviously we are making lots of other healthy things too but these are just a few of our favorite quick and easy snack/lunch recipes.

I have been doing tons of different workouts. Running (my least favorite) Yoga, Pilates, some circuit training. I usually alternate between cardio one day and strength training every other day. Netflix has a ton of workout videos, so I get something new almost every day. I would love to hear any workouts that you love. I like to switch up my routines so I don't get bored. Having cute clothes to workout in helps too!

Organizing is also something I am working toward. When you have two girls sharing a room, you have to get creative to keep things from getting chaotic. So we went to Ikea and got a few of these. They are basically shoe organizers but we use them for toys, stuffed animals, hair bows and shoes, and in my closet I use them for t-shirts and sweaters. Oh how I wish I had one of those celebrity closets that is HUGE and has all the places for hanging everything and drawers for everything. I can dream right! My next big project will be my laundry room. I am picturing shelves with a personal laundry basket for each of us, and everything is labeled and color coordinated. I can't wait to get this done! Any good organizational tips?

I love Winter because it is my time to plan and organize and start new projects and get prepared for the BUSY year ahead. I also like my days indoors for reading with my kids, having tea parties, snuggling, doing paper projects, and playing games. I can't wait for warmer weather, but I think Winter has great things to offer too! If you take the time to appreciate it.

Our inside play day!

2011-01-14T15:31:00.000-08:00

It is too cold to do anything fun outside SO..... We had a Tea Party Inside! Kambrie was cracking us up the whole time. Standing on her chair, making funny noises, and putting stuff in her mouth and being crazy! She is a funny girl! Luckily my Paigey loves the camera so getting her to pose is no problem! We had fun! I kinda hate the cold, but I kinda love it too for days like these!

It's a been a little while, Christmas, and New Years, and Plans for the New Year all wrapped into one big Freakin post!

2011-01-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

I always feel like when I don't post weekly that I miss and forget so many things and then I am just cramming everything in. So I am going to do this in two parts. Christmas and New Beginnings for the New Year.

Christmas was crazy and busy. The highlight this year for me was when Paige sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Christmas Eve for my family. She was so cute and didn't have any stage fright and she has such a cute little voice. Kambrie danced while Paige sang. They were so funny and happy. They woke up at 5:00 A.M. Christmas morning and we opened presents and then traveled to 4 different places that day. Christmas Day is never very relaxing for us so we try to enjoy the Christmas Season as much as possible. The girls brought home a million things and I say that as nicely as possible. It is not bragging, they just have 4 sets of grandparents and some great grandparents that are more then generous. They are very lucky little girls, (and kinda spoiled I think)!

The following Monday we left for a quick little snowmobiling and card playing trip up to my grandparents cabin in Idaho. Well on the way there my Mom accidentally filled the Diesel Truck with unleaded gas so..... We had to be towed back to Brigham City and wait for three hours for them to fix the truck. Luckily it was all fine. While we were waiting I noticed Kambrie was starting to get a runny nose, by the time we got there she was getting a fever and the next few days were pretty rough for me. Kambrie was really really sick, the sickest she has ever been, and she only wanted me and had a hard time sleeping at night. Paige had lots of fun playing in the snow and my family was so great to help me so much and deal with my sick ornery kids. We were supposed to only be there for a couple days but the snow was so bad that we had to stay two extra days. I really hate having sick kids! It is one of those parenting things that I am just not good at. We finally got home on New Years Eve and we were all so exhausted that we crashed by 9:00 P.M. Really lame I know but it was the first night of good sleep any of us had had all week. New Years Day Night, Justin and I went to a fun New Year Party with all the girls that make up the Dating Divas. It was a blast! We all work together but rarely do we get to see each other in real life except maybe a couple of times a year. It was fun to catch up and meet everybody's husbands. So that brings me to part two of this post!

A New Year!

I guess I make resolutions but really I just like to think of it as how I would like my year to go. What is important to me and what can I change from last year. Last year I spent a lot of time working on and starting up two different business'. So this year it will more about keeping them going and planning and organizing. I still have a lot of work under my belt this year and I need to stay focused. So here are the four areas of my life I need to work on so that I can be better at everything I do. In no particular order

Parenting - This year one of my parenting resolutions is to have more PATIENCE. I am horrible at this especially with Paige and I really need to be better.

I am also going to start having a monthly meeting with Justin (hopefully over dinner) about how our kids are doing

Emotionally

Physically

Mentally

Socially

I just want to have a handle on what we need to be doing to help them grow and do well in all of those areas. I think covering all of those areas and deciding what we need to work on as parents and discussing it together will get us both on board to being better parents.

My home- Since I spend so much time at home, I like things to be nice. My goals this year for my home are

Hang more pictures

Organize closets and drawers - This one is already half way done (Thanks to Justin)

Hopefully get two rooms painted

Add some color - This one is hard for me because I love the neutrals but we need some color so I am just going to have to look harder this year to find something I like.

My Marriage- I don't think that this area has been getting neglected or anything but I just want to keep things going well so I will

Keep dating my husband

Keep doing cute things for him

keep the lines of communication more open

not argue over stupid things

Last but not least- Myself - This year I need to

Get 8 hours of sleep every night - Last was spent staying up way too late and learning lots of new things, but I am exhausted and I need to take care of myself if I want to be able to accomplish anything this year.

Work-out regularly - I am never going to be a fitness queen but switching between cardio and strength training five times a week will be just fine for me.

My biggest goal for myself though is to be a better Wife, Mother, Sister, and Friend.

It's so easy to get wrapped up in yourself or your own life and forget about what you could be doing for the people in your life and I really need to focus on getting outside of my self so that I can be a better person and be better to the people around me who might need me.

Anyway - There is a lot I have to think about this year, and plan and organize, and focus on. PHEW! It is a lot and I hope I can try my best to do it all. HAPPY 2011!!!!!! This is supposedly the last year that the world as we know it will exist right? So maybe I am just wasting my time with all my plans LOL!!!!

The Dating Divas!

2011-01-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

Alright after lots of work we finally have a new BEAUTIFUL website! Go check it out HERE! Sign up for the newsletter and you will also get a free printable to give to your spouse TODAY! It's a pretty good way to start off the New Year!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-23T17:54:00.000-08:00

We didn't get a card sent out this year, so we made this little Christmas Video instead! Happy Holidays! We hope your days are Merry and Bright!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Christmas Post # 5, I think!

2010-12-18T01:44:00.000-08:00

I am really trying to remember all the little things that Christmas time has to offer this year. So if you think I am going a little crazy with my posts, just know that they are more like journal entries and I just want to be able to remember everything. A week ago we got to visit Santa. My Dad is a part of the Masons and they had a fun little Christmas get together with the big bouncing blow up houses and lots of treats, (endless cotton candy) fun crafts, and Santa Clause! When Santa came out Paige ran right up to him and gave him a HUGE HUG said "HI SANTA", and then ran off to play in the bouncy house. I had to go get her again so she could sit on his lap and ask for what she wanted, and get her treat. She also made friends with a cute little five year old boy who was pretty infatuated with her. He kept picking her up in the bouncy house and then falling on his back while holding her. She kept saying " Can you please let go of me". I was happy she said please, and I was glad she could hold her own with a boy a lot bigger than her! I kinda felt like GEEZ this whole flirting thing starts early. It was all pretty funny! Kambrie also made a little friend, they mostly just followed each other around and would wave and say hi. It was a pretty fun day. Since that day we have just been taking it pretty easy. Finishing up our Christmas shopping, and singing lots of Christmas songs. Paige is kinda obsessed with Christmas music. For me this year has been so much fun. I feel like I did when I was a kid again. I can't wait for Christmas Morning! Paige is at such a fun age for Christmas festivities and she helps me really feel the Christmas Spirit and the excitement of Christmas. The girls walk around the house dancing to Christmas music and Kambrie says Ho Ho Ho ! Just one more week and it will all be over with and I am already feeling a little sad because we have had such a great month. I just hope the after Christmas letdown isn't too severe. We have been reading lots of Christmas books and Paige loves the Christmas Stories about Jesus birth just as much as she does the ones about Santa Clause. We have also been talking a lot about what Christmas is really about (Giving and not just receiving). I am not sure how much she really grasps yet, but that is okay with me. I just want her childhood to be a magical time, especially at Christmas. I hope her excitement, energy, and happiness about Christmas lasts for a long time. Merry Christmas Everybody! The ONE WEEK countdown begins!

Potty training and other thoughts

2010-12-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

Today I got up and changed Kambrie's diaper (something I always do first thing in the morning) then I thought hmmm is it starting to be that time when she will want to be potty trained? So I took out the little potty and showed it to her and just then Paige decided that she needed to go so Kambrie watched her use the big potty while she was still sitting on the little potty. Then Kambrie was done and wanted to get off. So I looked up all kinds of things about potty training and basically everything says wait until your child is ready, any child under 22 months will lose attention fast and probably doesn't quite have the motor skills to be potty trained yet. So I am all for talking about going potty and showing her the potty but I will just let her take the reins and when she is ready she will be ready. Paige wasn't potty trained until she was two months away from being three. We tried and tried and tried again and I let myself get really frustrated with it all. Then once she was potty trained she never had any accidents, not even one. I think it is easy to want your kids to do and be perfect at everything and do it all really quickly, and at a young age, but I am slowly learning that every child is very different and after having two kids I realize how much Kambrie is still a baby. At 17 months I thought Paige was so grown up. SO after all my blabbing I am going to observe Kambrie a lot more closely and when she is ready to be potty trained I will know, BUT I won't ever force the issue. She can happily stay in diapers as long as she wants! I only have so much time with them while they are babies so I will not be pushing for them to grow up any faster than is necessary. They will have their whole lives to do grown up things and only about two years to do baby things. With that being said Paige is almost four now and turning into quite the little grown up. She says and does things that make me think WHERE DID MY BABY GO, all the time. She is really independent and loves doing things on her own! She has started picking out her own outfits and can put things together really well, but if I want her to wear something she always goes along with it and doesn't fight me. She sings Christmas songs really well and I will catch her singing them all by herself all the time. She loves to sing and so I encourage her to do it often. I am sad she is not my baby anymore, but I am happy she is getting to be so self sufficient and can do so many things on her own now. She loves art and always wants to do some kind of project. She is always the life of the party and is always doing whatever it takes to be the center of attention. I wonder where her life will take her because she is bursting at the seams with personality. I just hope I can encourage and support all her dreams (I have a feeling they are going to be big). She loves all her grandparents and is always ALWAYS talking about them, and asking when we are going to see them. She gets so excited about everything and wants to be a part of everything. It makes Christmas time really fun because she acts like every Christmas thing is the greatest most exciting thing in the world! We still have our occasional bad days where she takes toys from Kambrie and doesn't want to listen to me or sticks her tongue out at me when I ask her to do something she doesn't want to do, but those days continue to be less and less. I recently read both of my kids horoscopes and it was so funny how true some of the things were. It also said that they will really love each other but will have a hard time relating because Paige is not sensitive at all and Kambrie is super sensitive and that is all very true. Kambrie is sensitive and gets her feelings hurt really easily while Paige never does. So it will be interesting to see how they are as they get older. For now they do everything together and I am so glad they have each other. They really love each other and Paige is always worried about what Kambrie needs and is always trying to help out. I love my girls, and although raising kids can be hard and a lo of work, I wouldn't want to do anything else!

Christmas Post # 4 - Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

So every year it is a big tradition in my Mom's family that we get together and make gingerbread houses the first week of December. We make our own gingerbread a couple of nights before and then freeze it and roll it out, and bake it! This is all part of the fun, and if you buy the store bought kits then you don't get the same gingerbread smell. So yes I made my own gingerbread, but I have to confess that even at 28 yrs old I still had my Mommy roll my doll out and bake it (She does it so much better than I can). I drank Diet Pepsi and fed the girls breakfast while she did this for me. I really love my Mommy, she is the best! Then my Grandma came over to make her famous frosting (She is the other best). I am so lucky to know such talented women (they really do make Christmas REALLY REALLY SPECIAL, and have been doing so for so many years. I have the best family traditions, and luckily I can pass them down to my kids! Anyway, so after my Grandma came over I made a run to the store to get more candy with my sister Tess (my favorite person, and sister). Oh did I mention she is in college and the last two times she has some home from school we are wearing almost the exact same outfit (Sisters for sure). So we got our extra candy and then went home to get to work! Luckily as I started decorating my house both the girls fell asleep. Then the rest of the fam showed up and we had a blast! Eating pizza, skyping in my cousin in Cali, eating treats, laughing and joking a lot! This is one of those traditions that I want to go on forever, and I think it will! So here is the finished product! It's pink, girly, and has sparkles and candy cane lifesaver windows! It's for the girls, and Paige loves it!

Now my whole house smells like REAL gingerbread and I am happy! I am sure there are quite a few more Christmas Posts to come. We really like Christmas around here! The Holiday bug has hit and isn't going away any time soon!

Christmas Post Three - The quest for the LaLa Loopsey Doll!

2010-12-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

So this all started about a month ago. It was Saturday morning and we woke up and had breakfast like usual and then we sat down to watch a quick Saturday morning cartoon to start the day. Well then came the commercial and of course they are targeting little kids like crazy! Well they have a commercial for these dolls called LaLa Loopsey Dolls. They have button eyes and are really silly and cute. Well Paige flips out! She doesn't stop talking about these Dolls. So I say to Justin " That must be what she wants for Christmas". Well a few days later Justin sees the Dolls at Wal-Mart. He doesn't get one but we decide soon we will go back together and look for them! So Thanksgiving comes and goes and we have looked online for the dolls but you can't get them online and Paige is very specific about the one that she wants. She wants the one with the blue hair and the snow house. So Justin goes to Toys R Us one night and they only have the doll with purple hair and the only reason they have her is because someone returned her to that store. So we think that's okay Wal-Mart has hte dolls we will go there. So last week we went to see the Christmas Lights at Thanksgiving Point and when we were done we stopped by Wal-Mart to check out toys and get milk. We walk down all the toy isles but there are NO LOOPSEY DOLLS! Uh Oh we are starting to get a little discouraged! So we go home and look them up online again, thinking somebody has to have them. NOPE! You can't order them online anywhere not even Amazon unless you want to pay twice or more what they are worth. Then we go shopping last Friday night. We check Target, NO DOLLS just extra accessories and clothes. At this point we have already told Paige that sometimes the elves just don't make enough toys and sometimes we don't get everything we want for Christmas. Well she is not buying it and tells us in her sweetest voice with big bright eyes "I think Santa would make enough toys and he would bring my Loopsy Doll for Christmas, He won't forget me". Oh she is so sweet and we are feeling really bad! After Shopping we are incredibly discouraged. As we are driving we even blurt out in the car at the same time that we both feel kinda like the movie Jingle All The Way, where Arnold forgets to get his son the big toy of the season. So Paige sees the commercial a few more times and decides that she wants the Doll with the purple hair and popcorn house too (Paige loves popcorn)! So she wants two of the dolls and hasn't really asked for anything else. So we think well maybe after the Christmas we can get one when they are stocked up again. So we go about our weekend and we had plans to stay in Park City on Saturday Night while Justin's Mom is watching the kids. So on Sunday as we are driving back to get the kids, Justin says to me "do you want to stop at Toy's R Us in Sugar house" and I say "NO" then I thought but what if so I tell him to stop. We start going down every little girl aisle and we still don't see anything just the same old crop of toys that Wal-mart and Target had. Then I turn the corner and BAM!!!!!! WALL O' LOOPSEY DOLLS!!!! I Yell for Justin and we are looking for the Dolls that she wants but can't find either one. Then I look a little further back and I find one with blue hair and the popcorn doll with purple hair and they are buy one get one 50% off. So we grab the very last two they had in the colors Paige wants and we are SUPER EXCITED!!!!!!!! I am so excited for Christmas Morning, to give Paige her dolls!!!! I know this is just about a toy and has nothing to do with the true spirit and meaning of Christmas and obviously we have been and will be discussing those things with Paige all month. It is just a funny story about how hard we try to make our kids happy and how bad we feel when we think we can't. I hope you all find all the toys and things that your kids want this year and have a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

The Memories I am taking with Me

2010-12-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

This year we started Christmas a little early. Okay maybe not that early but around the beginning of November I decided that I would drink hot chocolate, listen to Christmas Music, and watch Christmas Movies, and I am happy to say I have done those things a lot already this season. November starts the Holiday season for me. Not every Christmas song is about Santa, most are just about the holidays. Parties, snow. good food, and doesn't that all start in November. So no boycotting the Holidays for me. I want to have all the fun I can before the stress starts to set in. Watching Christmas movies with my kids is magical. I love to see their reactions and I usually cry when I do. Just for a minute when nobody can see, but I am always fighting back the tears when I watch my kids experience something for the first time. We also took the girls to see the lights at Thanksgiving Point. You drive through and see the lights and then there is a little story about Jesus's Birth at the end. To me the lights are just okay but to Paige and Kambrie they are the most exciting things in the world. Kambrie said Oh WOW about a zillion times and the excited look on her face was priceless. Paige also loved the lights and she can't wait for Christmas to be here. So with a busy season rapidly approaching I am taking with me, the excitement of a Christmas Movie, the sparkle of Christmas lights, the taste and smell of candy canes, warm hot chocolate, writing letters to Santa, telling Paige she better be good because the elves are watching (this doesn't work very well with her, but I keep trying), sneaking toys into the shopping cart and laughing with Justin when we pull it off, being so excited to surprise the kids Christmas morning, listening and singing to every Christmas song I can, having Paige ask me to sing along with every Christmas song, even when I don't want to, and feeling blessed that we are all healthy, safe, warm, and happy this Holiday season. Because I can't stop taking pictures, here are two of Kambrie's funny faces! She is growing up WAY too fast!

It's that time of year

2010-11-23T19:35:00.000-08:00

So I have been trying to figure out what to do about our Christmas Cards this year. I have mixed feelings about Christmas Cards. I hate getting Christmas letters unless they are really and I mean really short and they better have some news that I haven't already seen on facebook and your blog because these days we already know what everybody is up to all year, RIGHT? Sure 10 years ago everybody didn't know what your kids were doing and what job changes you may have had but now we all do so I don't need you to brag to me all over again about your year (sorry if this offends anyone). Also aren't Christmas Cards sent to say Merry Christmas to the person you are sending it to, not to talk about yourself! However I love getting the picture Christmas Cards because I love them all over my Fridge it makes me HAPPY! So I am not sure if people really like getting them or not so I have been debating even sending one out this year. What are your thoughts? Which ones are your favorites?

The ABC's and 123's of Paige and Kambrie

2010-11-11T17:05:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to do a quick update about the girls. They have been LOTS of fun lately! We took our girls trip to Idaho and they were so good. They play so well together and it is so nice for me. I always feel like I got really lucky to have two girls so close in age because they will always have each other. I am sure there will be hard times, but I bet they will always be glad to have a sister so close.

About Paige ....

This sassy little girl always likes to be the center of attention (She doesn't get any of this from me) and she will do whatever she can to make sure all eyes are on her. She always has a story to tell and lately those stories all start with (I had this weird dream) and then she tells her dream (usually not an actual dream but something that actually happened).

She loves to use her imagination A LOT. She is always building things out of blankets and telling us it is her bridge, tent, or swimming pool. She is always busy and always telling us what she is going to do next and SHE NEVER EVER STOPS TALKING.

We have been working a lot on her colors, and shapes, and Letters and numbers. We play lots of games and use lots of word associations and she is doing pretty well with all of it. She also really likes art (no surprise she is Justin's kid). So we have been doing some craft projects and some art projects with her. I also want to try a lot of new things with her this year so that we can discover what she is good at and what she loves and really get her started with something. I don't just want to put her in dance because she might wants art lessons, or ice skating lessons, or singing lessons instead so we are going to be working hard to see what she really loves.

About Kambrie .........

Kambrie's nickname is Little Little (because she is a little shortie). She is walking everywhere now and has been for quite a while (although she walked pretty late and I don't mind that at all). She talks a lot but only when she feels like it (there is no pushing her). She loves her babies and doggies. She is still a Mommies Girl but is getting pretty independent. Hates our kisses now! She likes to do everything Paige does, and she follows her everywhere.

She loves to dance and will dance whenever ANY song comes on. She hates taking baths (weird I know). You really have to preoccupy her in the tub or she tries to swing her short little legs over the side and get out (she can't get them over though). When she kisses her babies and toys she puckers her lips out (like really puckers) SO CUTE! Whenever she sees someone she knows she Pageant waves side to side and says HI! This happens the most when her Daddy comes home from work.

Kambrie usually gets up in the morning a little after Paige and as soon as Paige hears her she runs to go get her and says in her highest voice CHUNKA CHUNKA (our other nickname for her cause she used to be so chubby). She is our BABY and we are all a little happier when she is around.

In other news Justin started a second job and will be working a few nights a week :( Not very fun for me but I appreciate him so much. I have been reading a lot lately and working out a lot to keep busy (not that I need anything keeping me busy) I guess those things make me happy so I am making it a priority to do them even if I feel like I don't have time. We are gearing up and when I say gearing up I mean it, for the Holidays. Sadly I used to love this time of year and now I just feel a lot of pressure. I am still going to try to start some fun family traditions this year and enjoy the season. Ice skating, and hot chocolate here we come!

Halloween and some other stuff

2010-11-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

So we spent most of last week in Idaho at my grandparents cabin. It was so much fun! I actually got to relax a little bit and read the Hunger Games (something I have been meaning to do for a while). The girls had a blast hanging out and just playing. It was really nice for all three of us to get away. Unfortunately Justin had to stay home and work. We got home the day before Halloween so we had to get ready pretty fast. Luckily my Mom had made a beautiful cape for Paige so that she could be Little Red Riding Hood. I love it when kids dress as fairly tale characters for Halloween. Unfortunately the night we went trick or treating was so rainy as most of you know. So we did a little bit of trick or treating and then Paige got really cold and was done. So we ate lots of treats that Paige's grandma's made and warm soup and hung out. We did go to one house that was really decked out. The parents were all dressed up and they had spooky music and lights and Paige thought it was so much fun. Surprisingly she wasn't even scared. After we left she told us "That was a fun Halloween Party". On actual Halloween we had another Halloween party at Justin's Mom's house and had lots more treats. It was a lot of fun. Halloween is by far Paige's favorite Holiday. I am sure she will be talking about it for the whole coming year. I think Kambrie actually had fun too! Here are our pics from the past week. Paige in the snow, and her Red Riding Hood costume and Kambrie's baby bunny costume. I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner!

Top Ten Fall Favorites, Bridget Raleigh Style!

2010-10-18T03:19:00.000-07:00

Okay so for some reason around this time of year I fall in love with lots of things! Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's a smell in air, maybe it's leaves falling. I just don't know! Whatever the reason I find myself finding all kinds of things I love. So Here are my TOP TEN FALL FAVORITES.

#1 - My Guilty by Gucci perfume! I can't stop wearing it, EVERYDAY! I am OBSESSED!

#2 - The new Johnson's baby wash, it's honey and apple and PERFECT for FALL!

#3 - My Suzi Says Feng Shui nail polish. It's a pretty cornflower blue and adds a perfect POP of color.

#4 - My pumpkin spice scentsy smell. YUM!

#5 - Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and pumpkin ice cream! SOOOO YUMMY!

#6 - The color GRAY. Gray is the new neutral. It goes with everything and is the refreshing new alternative to black or brown.

#7 - Lots of Navy Eyeshadow. Once again a new alternative to the black smokey eye.

#8 - The blog and hair accessories by Whippy Cake! I love her stuff, and her makeup and hair tutorials! She is awesome, so go HERE and check out her amazingly fun hair accessories!

#9 - My Brazilian blowout. I know what you are thinking, but it is an awesome process that smooths your hair out, and it has seriously cut some major time off my styling routine. BONUS - It's actually good and not hard on your hair

#10 - The FUN, FLIRTY combination of black and gold accessories.

There you have it. My Fall Faves! Try some of them and let me know if you are digging any of this stuff as much as I am!

PS. I am making my blog PRIVATE THIS WEEK! So please leave me your e-mail address or you can e-mail it to me at bridget2125@hotmail.com. Thanks!

Halloween Contest

2010-10-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

Divas Halloween Contest! Go and enter and win the cutest Halloween scentsy! There is also a cute Halloween pic of me and Justin. We would love to see the fun costumes you have worn in the past or are planning to wear this year.

Paigey!

2010-10-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

I always say Paige is the perfect little model, and she really is. She has always been so photogenic and easy to take pictures of. In fact she likes getting her picture taken. She is definitely in that 3 in a half year old stage where she needs attention all the time, and wants to be the center of everyone's attention all the time. She is always telling everybody about her weird dreams. She is silly, and bratty, and darling! I love taking her picture because she loves it, and she will actually sit still for a few minutes. Hop on over to my photography blog to see more of her. This is just my favorite pic!

Dating Divas Giveaway!

2010-10-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

Giveaway from the Dating Divas today! It is a great book that would lend advice to and help any marriage. So go and enter NOW to WIN! I would like to see all my friends and family become followers of the Dating Divas! Thanks everybody!

Going Private!

2010-09-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

I am thinking it is time to go private. I have been putting this off for a while(because it is a pain to go through and get everyone's e-mail addresses) but there is a lot of traffic on my blog and I just don't know who is looking. So PLEASE send me your e-mail addresses so I can add you and you can keep coming to see what we are up to!

Is it Autumn yet?

2010-09-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

Okay really Utah? It was cold a few weeks ago when I wasn't ready for Fall and now it's over 80 degrees everyday and I am ready for Fall to be here. I am ready for my pumpkin spice candles, Gardner Village ( I won't go until it's a little colder, that is my rule), sweaters, boots, hot chocolate, broccoli cheese soup, and everything that comes with Fall. I looked up the weather and it will be warm, well really warm for at least another two weeks. Well I guess Utah is just crazy like that. Autumn officially starts in two days so we will see what happens. In other news I went on a walk last night and it was so fun and so pretty. I just love how taking a walk slows things down for a minute and makes you appreciate all the beautiful things the world has to offer. So here is a pretty pic of a flower I took on my walk. I love it when life gives a minute to slow down, it doesn't happen very much for me anymore.

About us

2010-09-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

Not too much has been happening with us lately but I just wanted to update anyway. It's Fall but it doesn't quite feel that way yet. Kambrie is getting so big and walking a lot. I kinda wish she wasn't yet. Paige is funny and she sings a ton. They both keep me super busy all the time. I have also been taking pics of the cutest little boys lately and it kinda makes me want one but not for a while. I turn 28 next week, and I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by. Okay that was a lot of randomness!

Paige

Loves her toenails painted
Loves to tell Kambrie things she is not allowed to do ( She is nice about it though)
Eats cereal and popcorn like it is going out of style
Makes up the cutest little songs and has such a pretty singing voice
Gives the best compliments ( She always tells me I look cute after I get ready)

Kambrie
Loves to eat and will eat anything
Gets really mad when she doesn't get her way
Loves her Mommy the most
Can say her aunt Tess's name
Loves her milk but has been drinking from a sippy cup since she was 10 months

I took a pic of Kambrie sleeping. I used to take pics of Paige sleeping all the time but I haven't done it as much with Kambrie. I love sleeping babies! It is just so cute! I love their chubby cheekies and pretty eyelashes! I am also posting a pic of Paige sleeping when they are pretty close to the same age. It is so fun to see how much they look alike but how different they are too. I love my babies and I am so happy they are mine!

I am also posting a pic two pics I took of my cute niece Olivia. She is so CUTE, and I am kinda obsessed with the pic of her eating her dress! She has the same pretty green, brown, blue eyes that my girls have! I love watching her grow up. The pic of Kambrie was taken the same day and the tounge out of her mouth is typical Kambrie she does that a lot in pictures.

I guess that is September so far. I think the end of this month and October will be so fun. I can't wait!

Lazy Summer Days

2010-08-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

We have been taking it pretty easy for the past couple of weeks. So we haven't been up to too much. We have been decorating a little and that has been fun. My approach to decorating is simple but I also like to hold out until I find what I really want, and Justin surprised me this weekend with a pretty mirror that I wanted and I love it!

I also have a serious passion for the color Torquoise. I Love It! Just to show you how much here is a pic of just a few of my favorite torquoise things right now.

Here is a pic of the girls room. Don't judge I am working on getting it done in the next couple months pictures and everything so I will post more pics when it is done.

I also wanted to post a few more pics. Some are pics I took of Kambrie to put in her room and some are of California that I just haven't posted yet.

At the Aquarium

Paige in Pixie Hollow in Disneyland

Our resort

Sea Lions on the beach

Just The Girlies!

2010-08-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post a few more Summer pics of the girls.

This first pic is of Kambrie the day we went to Cowabunga Bay. Paige was passed out so Kambrie and I had a a little photo shoot. I just can't stop taking pictures of this little girl. She will only be my baby for a little a longer, I just think she is so pretty and has sweetest personality ( I can't get enough of her).

This pic is of Kambrie after she cut her little lip (so sad)

This is another one of Paige in the orchard (the lighting was amazing this day)

This is one of Paigey at the park. She is so funny she makes me laugh all the time. She talks exactly like I do (I am not sure if that is good or bad) but it sure is cute!

Birthdays,Vacations, and Pictures! Just a little of our Summer!

2010-08-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind. My baby turned one, and then we headed to California for about nine days.

3 days in Disneyland

Lots of swimming

2 Trips to the ocean

Tons of eating out, playing, laughing, driving, calming temper tantrums, trying to stay sane, having a blast, and trying to take it all in because who knows when we will do it all again.

It was a lot of fun. The kids probably won't remember Disneyland but I will remember taking them and how they reacted, so it's more for me I guess. I have always loved Disneyland and this time was no different.

I wish I had time to post more but I am just so busy lately. Here are the pics from our vacation.

Thanks Steve and Julie for planning such a fun vacation, and Jason and Kristen for letting us stay with you and taking us to the beach!

Also my baby turned one and she has been talking a ton. I really don't remember if Paige talked this much.
Here are her words so far
Mama sometimes Mom
Dadda
Uh-Oh
Hi, with a big wave
Go but more like Go Go Go
Dog, that's brand new
She also makes the dog barking sound when I ask her what a doggie says
Also I am not one of those Moms who thinks their child says words that they really don't quite say yet ( Just throwing that out there LOL, she actually says these words perfectly)
She is still not walking all the way yet ( taking lots of steps but just isn't there yet)
She loves her naps still
She can be pretty shy but warms up really quickly and then she loves everyone
She loves to sit and play with and figure out how her toys work
She is a big Mommy's girl

Unfortunatley she got a really high fever the day of her birthday ( her first fever ever) so she didn't want anything to do with her cake and was pretty fussy. Luckliy she got some pretty fun toys that made her smile!
As always lots of pictures!

Day trip to Bear Lake

2010-07-12T01:07:00.000-07:00

We took a fun quick little trip to Bear Lake this week. We had a blast! It was the most beautiful day. I go to Bear Lake every summer and I haven't seen such a nice day for such a long time. Paige loved it! She played and Played in the sand. It was a perfect relaxing day. Kambrie is turning one on Tuesday! I can't believe my baby is one! She has changed a lot in the past few weeks. She is getting such a fun little personality. She is talking a ton too. She says Mama and Dada, hi, and Uh-oh. She has always been kind of quite so it is fun to see her starting to be so vocal. She also copies a lot of things that Paige does ( like screaming at the top of their lungs). I will try to post more about her turning one after her party. We are also leaving to CA this week for a vaca with Justin's family. We are so excited to take the girls to Disneyland! Lots of pics to come!

Not much time lately

2010-07-03T00:37:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much time to post lately. I have been really busy. So I am just going to post a few pool pics since that is where we spend most of our time. I love this pic of Kambrie. She is my little love! She is turning one in a week! I can't believe it! I wish Summer would slow down so I could enjoy it more, but I guess that's life!

AAAAAHHHHHHHH SUMMER!

2010-06-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

I love summer. The smell of the air, the activities, the food, the warm weather, you name it
I love it! So we have been spending our days outside in the warm weather usually at the pool or the park. We have also celebrated lots of birthday parties and we have a lot more to attend this summer including Kambrie turning one. We are looking forward to taking a few trips too, and we are really excited about that! Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks. Some are of my darling neice Paisley, a couple are of my best friend Wendy's little boys at Avery's birthday party, there are a few of the yummy summer dishes my husband has been making FROM SCRATCH, but most of them are of my babies and all the fun we have been having. WE LOVE SUMMER!

Just some more blabbing (mostly for my benefit)

2010-05-28T02:47:00.000-07:00

Okay just a little more blah blah blah about my life. I talk about my kids a ton but only so I can transfer this blog to a book and have the pics to go along with it, and your babies are only babies once. Paige is growing up so fast I feel like in one year she went from being a baby to being all grown up. She tells me all the time that she is a kid. We talk a lot about everything lately. Just fun little chats. She has an opinion about everything and she remembers things that we talk about from months ago. She loves her grandparents and talks about them everyday. She has a lot of grandparents and she is finally starting to understand that they are all different people. She tells me she has three Grandma's and she does. She is really lucky to have so many people who adore her, and she knows it too. Her grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles are all her favorite people. Whenever we go anywhere she always wants to know who is going to be there and then she just lists people off and depending on where we go she knows what people are associated with what place or house we are going to. I love her social personality she is so different from me in that aspect, and I like that she can go anywhere and talk to anyone. She gets it all from Justin. She is also very independant. If I would let her she would do everything herself and that is actually really nice for me. I am so lucky to have her. She is such a little doll, most days ha ha. Onto Kambrie, oh my baby that is getting so big. She is really busy trying to pull herself up to everything. She is still really mellow. She loves that Paige takes center stage and entertains her, and she still cuddles with me and I love that. She has been such a good baby and it has made things so much easier on me. I just want to hold her and kiss her all the time because soon she will be walking and thats it. So I am taking full advantage of these last two months before she turns one. Onto Justin, he has been cooking a ton lately trying new recipes and is thinking about going to Culinary school. He loves cooking and that is great for me because I don't like to cook. He also has a calling in church, he is the Priest Corum Pianist. He plays Guitar but I wouldn't say he is a piano player, but he can read the music and play the piano, he just has to practice a little so that is what he has been up to. I have been working on my photography and my business and I have been pretty busy. Sometimes I get pretty stressed with everything I feel like I am doing. Raising two kids, attending a zillion family events, trying to keep the house clean, trying to do activities with the kids, growing a business, trying to spend quality time with my husband, trying to keep our lives planned and organized. Whoever said a Mother has the hardest job was right. I have to take it one day at a time but I am pretty high strung so sometimes I do get overwhelmed. Being a wife and Mother is great but it sure takes a lot of work. Last night my best friend in the world (Wendy) bought us tickets to see Sex and the City 2. It was so fun to get a break for a minute and do something for me. Yes it is rated R and super naughty and hilarious. I loved it! Wendy is such a great friend to me and I am not always the greatest friend to her but, Wendy you know I love you buddy! Anyway I love my blog because it is sort of a journal a public one but still something to document life and feelings. So there it is, our crazy life! ( and some pics)

Kambrie by the numbers ( surprise surprise another post about my girls)

2010-05-24T23:50:00.000-07:00

So we went to the pediatrician today. We are a little, okay a lot late on vaccinations for Kambrie ( I seriously hate them, paige did not do well). So she got her shots and had her checkup. She is in the 13th percentile for height and the 15th for weight. She is pretty little and that is funny because we call her Chunka Monka, because of her cute little baby chubbies that sadly are quickly going away. I really don't love that she is in the lower percentiles because as the paranoid mother that I am I start worrying about her growth and malnutrition and thyroid problems. I am sure she is healthy, but you just never know. Hopefully we will see a growth spurt here in the next couple of months. (She still wears size 0-3 month shoes, hilarious). She is also doing the cutest things lately. Clicking her tounge, talking all the time, making cute noises, playing with Paige a lot, pulling herself up to everything. I am really not ready for the toddler stage but I really don't have a choice. She is also getting lots more attached to her Daddy and that is really cute and he loves it. She gets so excited when he comes home from work. I think I have two little Daddy's girls. I know Paige is because she tells me she loves him more all the time Ha Ha. In other Raleigh family news we are just gearing up for Summer if it ever gets to Utah! I seriously think that from now on most of our weekends through the summer are full. We have a lot going on. So I am sure I will be blogging about all our adventures.

Do I have her trained or what!

2010-05-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

Okay seriously one hand on her hip, purse in the other hand. She is totally workin it. I wish it wasn't so windy, but I love her for having such personality. Go check out my Frosted Photography blog too. I have a ton of new pics over there and a new logo!

The simple things

2010-05-19T00:55:00.000-07:00

Walks at dusk
blowing dandelions
hair pulled out of piggytails
paddy cake
laughing at how imperfect life is
playing on Mom and Dads bed
eating all berries cereal with my hubby
keeping things simple

These are the things that make me happy, and on a day like today where my kids are sick, laundry needs to be done, I am exhausted and overwhelmed. I am trying to remember the simple things in life that make me smile and trying to remember that in a couple of months I won't care about the stupid things that happened today but I will remember these simple little things that make me smile and help me remember to be happy and count my blessings.

Idaho

2010-05-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

Kambrie's cute funny face

Last Wednesday we went to my Grandparents cabin in Montpelier Idaho. Actually just I went with the girls. We had a blast. We ate tons of key lime pie, played lots of cards, and laughed a bunch. The girls were great and they had a blast hanging out with their grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles. Well just one uncle. We stayed from Wednesday to Saturday. It was so nice to take a break from the world and just get away. It snowed a lot one day and then the very next day it was pretty nice. Nice enough to at least take some pictures on the farm. I love taking my kids there because that is where so many of my childhood memories were made, and now my kids get to experience the same thing. I am sure we will be heading back a lot this summer to go to Bear Lake.

Paige Chillin on the tractor

Kambrie and her little tounge

Paige giving some serious attitude

Playin in the grass

Such a perfect poser

Just some photo sharing

2010-05-04T00:51:00.000-07:00

My baby girl was sick today but she is still so pretty even though you can tell in her little eyes that she doesn't feel 100%.

Then there is Paigey my happy go lucky little explorer. Seriously this little girl just goes with flow and I love her Positive little attitude.

Finally I have to share a new pic. I took some pictures for my little sisters friend of her and her sisters for their mothers day present. Her sister Claire is gorgeous and she is only 14 or 15. So I had to show off this picture of her.

Just my thoughts

2010-05-03T23:47:00.000-07:00

It is late so I am probably not thinking all that clearly but I just had some thoughts that I felt like writing down. As great as last week was with my little bro coming home from his mission there were some other personal things that happened last week that were not so great. I obviously won't go into details on my blog but sometimes I just wonder how much effort we are suppose to put into our personal relationships with the people that surround us. I have so much family it gets to be really hard to balance evreything and everyone. Sometimes I feel like I put in lots of effort and then I don't get the responses that I was hoping for. Or in some areas I am sure I don't put in near enough effort. I guess as I get older I am trying to figure out with friends and family how much time and energy I am suppose spend on those relationships and which ones take priority and sometimes when you give your best effort it is misread. I am sure I am rambling but maybe someone out there is having these same issues.

2010-05-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a blast. My little brother came home from his mission in New Zealand Friday night. We were all so excited! We held banners and posters and screamed and embarassed him as he came down the escalator. He looked great and we were all so proud of him. Then we went back to my parents house and he pulled out all his cool souveniers. He had a wonderful experience, and we are all so proud of him for all his hard work. Then Saturday my Mom threw a huge welcome home party. She did such a great job decorating and preparing. Everything looked amazing and tons of people came, it was a lot of fun. Dylan and one of his mission companions did a Maori Dance called the Haka. It used to be a dance that warriors did a long time ago and now the All Blacks Rugy team does it. It is not so much a dance as it is yelling and beating your chest, but it is awesome. Look it up if you get a chance. So anyway we had a great weekend and we are so excited to have Dylan home. Paige acted like he never left even though she was barely over one when he left, but I always talk about him and show her pictures so she was excited to see him too.

Pretty little girls

2010-04-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

Monday

2010-04-27T23:45:00.000-07:00

Monday was such a fun day. It was sunny and pretty and we played at the park. Paige got to play with her cousin Jaxon and we had lots of fun. Today was Windy and crappy and I was bummed and the rest of the week is looking pretty awful too. On the upside my little brother gets home from his mission on Friday and I can't wait. My Mom has a big party planned and it is going to be so much fun. I have a few cute pics of the kids from Monday. Paige's hair is getting so blonde ( so she can look even more like she is not my child ha ha) and Kambrie's eyes are so pretty in the picture I am posting. My nephew Jax is such a cutie he has the prettiest brown eyes and he is such a little sweetheart to my girls. He adores Kambrie. I love it when he comes to visit. That is pretty much it for now. Summer is right around the corner!

Have to share

2010-04-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

Justin's brother and his wife had their baby one week and one day ago and I just had to share a couple of pictures that I was lucky enough to get to take of her. She is so sweet and so easy going and pretty. I can already tell that they are going to make the best parents, and we are so happy for them. Newborn babies are so perfect and fun. So here are just a few pics. My favorite is the one in the flowers with Mommy and Daddy's hands holding their baby, it is so beautiful.

My fun Date

2010-04-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Everyone go check out my fun date on the thedahlingdatingdivas.blogspot.com

It was such a fun little date. Sometimes all you need is to change things up a bit and it can be so much fun!

Kambrie is Nine Months

2010-04-13T00:54:00.000-07:00

My baby is nine months old today. Sad! I am already so baby hungry. I got to see our new niece Olivia yesterday and she is so beautiful and sweet it makes me want another baby. I am so not ready for one but I just adore them and I wish my baby would stay right where she is. Sadly that is not what is going to happen. The funny thing is I love all the stages of babies and kids. Every stage brings something new and exciting but it is also hard when it ends. Parenting is so bittersweet. Anyway the purpose of this post is to talk about my baby. I know that is really all I talk about but there is always something new and so much to say. So Kambrie at nine months -

Hair color - Brown
Eye color - Blue , Green, and Brown Ha Ha ( judge for yourself)
She is in the 20th percentile for her weight
23rd percentile for height
So she is just below average on both things
She loves fruit and vegetables ( baby food)
She so far doesn't like the baby food with meats
She started to army crawl at 7 and half months and just a little over eight months was really starting to crawl and now she is crawling like crazy everywhere
Sitting up obviously
She is really vocal when she is happy
smiles a ton
has a super cute dimple in her chin
loves her Mommy but will go to anyone without a peep
has two little bottom teeth
she is still nursing and hates formula so I hope I don't lose my milk soon
loves baby mum mums
loves to laugh especially when Paige plays with her
lights up when she sees Paige
gets really excited when her Daddy comes home from work
has the cutest chunkiest little legs ( I want to pinch and bite them all the time)
Looks a lot like Paige and her Mommy
She is rarely fussy or in a bad mood
She takes really great naps
She has the tiniest feet ( I don't think they are much bigger then they were when she was newborn)
Nicknames - ChunkaMonka, Goo Goo Bugeez, Goo Goo Bear, Doodle Bug
She is our little Darling and she is so fun to have around. We all love our little Kambrie!

Watch Out For Girls!

A baby girl knows from the very beginning
How to play life’s game and come out winning.
Her pink-cheeked face, her adorable curls
Will reel you right in; that’s the way of girls.

She’ll flutter those lashes in a wide-eyed stare;
It’s all calculated to make you care.
And those baby girl noises, the sigh and the coo...
She’ll play baby poker, and the jackpot is you!

But whatever happens, she’s always a pleasure,
So spend lots of time with your little treasure.

By Joanna Fuchs

Our Spring Day

2010-04-12T00:12:00.000-07:00

Today was the epitome of Spring for me. We flew kites, and played at the park, and it was a blast. I am just posting a few pictures of the day. It was just a happy fun day. I also found my first spring blossoms and I was so excited. Things will be blossoming in the next few weeks like crazy, and I can't wait. I am glad we have winter so I can appreciate Springtime. In other news Kambrie cut her second tooth and has been crawling everywhere and bumping into everything so I really have to watch her close. She will be nine months on Tuesday. Paige has turned into a little grownup this week. She is such a great little helper to me, always checking on Kambrie and grabbing diapers and wipes. She has also taken it upon herself to let me know when I say something I am not suppose to. She will tell me " don't say that, it is not a nice word". These are words like dumb or stupid that I forget I shouldn't say. I have hard enough time not swearing so I am glad my little conscience will let me know what I can't say. She is such a little sweetheart I just adore her. Also in the next couple of weeks Justin's little brother and his wife are having a baby and I seriously cannot wait. Well she is due in a week so it could be anytime. Then at the end of April my little brother is coming home from his mission. I can't believe two years can go by that fast. I can't wait to see him! So basically that is it for us.

Our Easter and some odds and ends

2010-04-06T01:26:00.000-07:00

What a fun busy weekend we had. We got to dye Easter eggs on Friday at grandma Dia's house. That is what Paige calls her Grandma Dianna. Paige got to play lots with her cousin Maya that day. We did lots of fun new things with electrical tape to make fun designs on the eggs ( thank you Martha Stewart). Then on Saturday we went to Grandma and Grandpa Raleigh's for pizza, and we got to frost cookies and dye more eggs. Then Grandma Raleigh set up a fun treasure hunt and easter egg hunt. Paige and Maya had a blast searching for all their fun surprises. They would even help eachother find eggs and put them in the others basket ( very nice little girls). Then on Sunday the Easter bunny came to our house and left a nice little jelly bean trail leading to Paige and Kambrie's Easter baskets. Paige got lots of candy, a toy computer and a toothbrush and Kambrie got baby treats and a sippy cup. Then we headed back to Grandma Dia's house and had a really nice Salmon Dinner, and more Easter baskets, and surprises. Then we headed outside for another easter egg hunt. What a fun year! I only wish the weather was a little nicer. I did still get some pretty cute pictures of all the girls. So get ready for picture overload. Since I haven't posted for a while. I will also give a little update on the girls. Kambrie is crawling and has been for a while now. It started as an army crawl back about a month ago maybe longer and for the past couple of weeks she has been fully crawling. I love it but I hate it a little bit too. I really don't want her to get any bigger. I just look at her lately and I want to cry. She is my little angel. She is the sweetest happiest baby and I want her to stay my baby. Paige is still a handful but also so much fun. I love everything about her. She is so funny, and so full of life. These two little girls are my everything. I just want to be able to enjoy what is happening right now in my life as much as I can ( That means staying off the computer, and phone and actually living and being present in my life not just writing about it on facebook, ha ha. Alright picture time. I hope everyone had a Happy Easter! I am sure nicer weather is on its way!

The Dating Divas Blog

2010-04-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

I don't think I have mentioned this on my personal blog before, but I am part of another blog called the Dating Divas. The blog address is

thedahlingdatingdivas.blogspot.com

Anyway it is a cute blog about continuing to date your husband even after you are married. It gives lots of fun ideas for unique dates. There are also cute ideas for fun things you can do to make holidays more special. So everyone go check it out!

Spring is almost here!

2010-03-18T00:05:00.000-07:00

I love the weather lately. It is making me so happy. So needless to say we have been hanging out outside lately. My sister came from Logan for spring break to stay with us and we have been having a blast. Lots of girls days and nights. We did an awesome photoshoot on Monday, and we have been painting nails, eating treats, watching mindless reality tv, and chatting about everything. Lots of fun. I also wanted to post some pictures I took of my baby today. She is eight months old now and has one tooth and is army crawling everywhere. In one picture she has the biggest smile on her face and it is all for her Daddy. We were playing outside when he got home from work and she had nothing but the cutest smiles and giggles for him. I love her big huge smile, it is darling. We are still amazed that she is our baby. She is so sweet. I say that a lot but she really is. She is just the most easygoing baby. Paige on the other hand is a handful. Man I love her but she takes some work. She is always saying to me " take my picture" I love that she is such a good little model for me.

Some of her latest little sayings are

Mommy or Daddy " talk to me" She actually means listen to me

She likes to snuggle up to Kambrie and say " look Mom we're sisters"

When she doesn't want to do something she says " I already did that ester morning" wich means I did that yesterday ( by the way she does say yesterday she just sometimes has her own funny way of wording things)

She told me the other day that she was a good singer and she really is and she sings everything and I love it. We are a singing family.

The funniest thing she has picked up though is that sometimes she will say " ha ha very funny" she says it with this snotty little attitude too. It's not very nice I need to break the habit fast, I am all about my kids having good manners, and interaction with people, and good social skills. I feel like I was always taught really good manners, and social skills, and I want my kids to have the same. That means that we don't call people names or say rude things. I really feel like good social skills and manners are missing from our society today. I am all about having your opinions but knowing the right way to go about sharing them and not just talking before you think. ( I still think it is a little bit funny though when she says it)

That is about it though, just a few updates. I hope everyone is enjoying the weather.

Update

2010-03-09T01:58:00.000-08:00

Not much is new at the Raleigh house these days. We are patiently waiting for Spring, and Easter to get here ( I love Easter), and working on our spring cleaning. The girls are busy growing up way too fast. Paige is a silly little chatterbox. She is also demanding, and pretty bratty when she wants to be. Kambrie is as sweet as can be. People always comment on what a good baby she is, and I feel pretty lucky about that since Paige is at a hard age, but when they play together and laugh I am in Heaven. Paige had Kambrie giggling so hard today, it was so cute. They are so much work and so much fun. I have been working hard to get my Photography business up and running. I will be taking clients out starting in April ( because the weather will be better and the flowers will be gorgeous) so please e-mail me at bridget2125@hotmail.com to book an appointment. Pricing will be determined on your specific needs and we can discuss it through e-mails or over the phone. I have a link to the right for my photography blog ( Frosted Photography). I also have a fan page on Facebook it is just Frosted Photography. I have found something I really love to do and I am so excited about what this year has in store.

Paige's Birthday!

2010-02-22T22:27:00.000-08:00

Okay a little over a week later I am finally posting about Paige's birthday party. We had such a fun party. All Paige's grandparents and most of her aunts and uncles were there and a few friends. Lucky litte girl, she got pretty spoiled and we have had fun ever since playing with all her new stuff. I am posting tons of pictures and I will let them do the talking. I can't believe my little girl is already so grown up.

Milestones

2010-02-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

This is a pretty big week in our family. Paige turns three on Sunday and Kambrie will be seven months on Saturday. Time is just passing us by. I just wanted to do a little Summary of all the new things that my little girls are doing. So I will start with Paige.

At three years old my little Paigey is fully potty trained. We haven't had any accidents for weeks. She just decided it was her time. I never even have to ask her if she needs to go, but I still do sometimes just to make sure.

She knows most of her shapes and colors. Her favorite colors are pink, orange, and blue depending on the day, and they are subject to change at any time.

She has a pretty sassy little attitude lately. I can only assume is my doing.

She loves playing with her babies and getting her nails done, but is equally interested in trains and dinosaurs.

She adores Kambrie and is always trying to make her laugh.

She has an incredibly high pitched little squeal that she does and it sounds identical to a firecracker.

Her favorite person in the world is her Daddy.

She is still very social and very independent.

She is obsessed with Tinkerbell.

She always wants chapstick.

She talks about her grandparents and cousins everyday.

She has an insane amount of energy.

She tells me everyday that I am her sweetheart and her love.

She likes to snuggle with Kambrie and say " Look Mom we're sisters".

She loves to play pretend. She always pretends she is baking cakes.

Everytime I ask her what she wants for her birthday she says cakes, cupcakes, and cookies.

She loves listening to Lady GAGA and asks if we can listen to Paparazzi everytime we are in the car. Well not so much asks as tells me and sometimes yells.

She likes to wash her hands and take baths. She is very clean.

Her favorite food is cereal and oatmeal just like her Mom

She is always quick to apologize when she does something wrong.

That's my little Paigey. She is definitely a handful but also very sweet and so much fun. I love seeing her change and get older and watching her little personality grow and mature.

On to my baby Kambrie

At seven months old Kambrie is eating solids twice a day, breakfast and lunch.

She is talking a ton. She all of a sudden got really vocal.

She is almost sitting up by herself. Well she is but then she will kind of flop forward on to her face to get back down.

She is still a really good little sleeper

She takes two really great long naps everyday and still goes to bed around seven everynight

Her favorite toy is her rockin rollin little ball from Aunt Brandy and Uncle Tyler

She still wears 3-6 month clothing

She is always laughing at Paige she adores her

Her Mommy is by far her favorite person. She watches everything I do, and gets really excited when I come back into the room.

She is incredibly mellow and easy going

She seems to be more shy and sensitive, but she will let anyone hold her she always just looks at me like she is wondering if I give my approval for someone else to hold her.

She acts like she wants to crawl and I bet in the next month she will probably be doing just that.

She doesn't fuss very much except when she needs her diaper changed, or is tired and I like that because it immediately alerts me to the fact that she needs something or that I need to put her down for a nap or to bed.

She loves her crib and rarely cries when I put her down for a nap or to bed but if we are out late somewhere she can get kinda mad that her bed isn't right there when she wants it.

She is incredibly responsive and is always smiling especially when her Daddy comes home from work

Sometimes she will wake up from her naps and I never even hear her because she just lays in there and talks to herself until I come check on her.

She will ocassionally watch Baby Einstein but just doesn't seem to be all that interested in it most days. She would rather watch me clean and cook.

She loves to be cuddled and snuggled, and will lay on you forever.

She likes to take her binkie out of her mouth and flip it around in her hand.

She is constantly grabbing her feet and putting her toes in her mouth.

So there it is my Kambrie at seven months

I love my babies they make me so happy.

Sorry for the long post it is mostly for my benefit so that I can remember all the things they were doing at these tiny ages. I also write a zillion things down and take a zillion pictures. This time just goes by so fast I don't ever want to forget or miss anything.

Some things I have learned and am still learning

2010-02-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

Just a few things I realize more and more are true for me

1. Parenting is something you learn to do everyday

2. The world was a much better place before facebook

3. Somebody will always have something you don't have or do something better than you. So you have to like yourself and appreciate what you have to offer

4. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but it can still annoy you

5. You have to let your kids learn and grow at their own individual pace

6. Nothing in life is perfect

7. Your kids are the most beautiful, amazing things in the world ( but only to you)

8. Doing something you love everyday will make you happy

9. Cherishing the little moments is something to strive toward everyday

10. It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice ( my Mom always used to say that and I am realizing more and more how true it is

My sad little Kambrie

2010-01-30T02:17:00.000-08:00

Kambrie usually sits and plays on the floor with her toys for a good portion of the day, but not today. She kept laying her head down on the floor like she was sad, so many times today. My poor little baby does have pretty bad diaper rash right now so that has been rough. Whatever the reason she just seemed sad today. I took a picture because even though I felt so bad that she wasn't herself today, she looked so pretty and sweet everytime she would lay down like this. So here is my sad little Kambrie.

My boring post

2010-01-27T00:02:00.000-08:00

Okay I haven't posted anything in forever, because honestly there really isn't a whole lot to post about, but I will do my best to let you all in on just how boring things have been. Blah it's January and I am over it. I can't wait until February. Things kick off with Paige's birthday then in March we can hope that the weather will be just a tad better and then Tah Dah April is when all the fun happens. My brother and sister-in-law are having their baby (cannot wait), and my little brother comes back home from his mission. So I really can't wait until April. So back to the boringness. This week has already been lame. I have a clogged milk duct from nursing. That is probably an overshare but whatever that's life. It's always fun to share the great exciting things that happen but come on we all have boring weeks that are less than fabulous. Anyway it's clogged and it hurts and I am doing everything I am suppose to so it will go away. I am just hoping it doesn't get infected. So right now I am spending my days gearing up for the upcoming months and for the nice weather I am going to think we are going to have. I have lots of photoshoots planned for these upcoming months so I am focusing on getting inspiration, and working on my business. Paige is on a roll these days. she is busy, and chatty, and oh ya busy. I wish I had half the energy she has. She keeps me on my toes though, and helps me stay positive because she is always so energetic and excited. Kambrie is just my little snuggle bunny. She is the sweetest baby. She loves to be snuggled, She loves to play with Paige, and her toys. She is such a content little thing. I just can't get enough of her. I have also been watching the Bachelor thank heavens for that show I have something to look forward to every week. It's just so dramatic. I love it! Right now I am rooting for Gia. I think she is just so sweet and so pretty. Ali is getting to be to what's the word oh I think it starts with a B. Tenley is cute but a little too perfect but then so is Jake. She is just coming out of a divorce though so I am not sure she is ready to be married again so she is not at the top of my list. Vienna Uh whatever. Corey again whatever, I can take her or leave her. So there is my sum up what I think. No matter what happens I love the show. I have also been working on decorating. I am extremely picky about decorating and so is Justin so whatever we do will be a work in progress. All I know is that right now my favorite color is orange so I will be working on incorporating that into my home somehow. So there it is, about a months worth of you know boring January, but it pretty much over so bring on February!

Just a quick update!

2010-01-08T23:13:00.000-08:00

Yeah for 2010! I feel like this year will be bringing a lot of changes for our little family. I am usually not one for change, but I am actually pretty excited about all that will hopefully be happening this year. I have a zillion goals and I am really going to strive to achieve them all. This year will definitely be a busy one. Also my baby is almost six months old. I can't believe she is getting so big. I took a few pics of her the other day and she is just so cute! She has the biggest cheeks and everywhere we go people comment on how cute her cheeks are and how cute and chubby she is. I love it! She is my little darling! She is such a smiley, happy baby. She has been eating rice cereal like a pro lately and loves it. She will have her sixth month check up soon and so I will post a little more about her then. I am posting a picture of her and Paige together and I must say they look so much alike. Big huge eyes (thank you Justin) and pretty little lips. They look a lot like their Daddy but they actually also look a lot like me. I adore them!

Kambrie's Christmas pics and Paige's dress up tea party

2009-12-29T15:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas!

2009-12-27T22:27:00.001-08:00

AHHHHHHH! Christmas was crazy but a blast. I sort of feel like I don't even know where to start. We had lots of parties, lots of food, and tons of presents. After bringing home three garbage bags of toys and clothes for Paige and Kambrie, I finally got everything organized today, but it was crazy for sure. Then Paige and I sat down and played with everything. We played house with her new babies, laughed and spun around on the sit and spin, had a dress up fairy tea party, watched a toy hampster do lots of fun tricks, colored with dora, played with some moon sand, and finally we tuckered her out and she went to bed. There will be lots of things to do around here for awhile. Paige and Kambrie are pretty lucky little girls to have grandparents that love them so much. So all in all Christmas was great. We have the greatest families and are very blessed.

Overwhelmed

2009-12-16T23:02:00.000-08:00

Somedays I have days where I just wish things could or would go back to how they were before all this crazy technology. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed. Like I just want to throw away my cell phone. So I don't have to have any more calls or texts no matter where I am. Crash my computer so there aren't any more e-mails, or facebooking, or blogging. Sometimes I feel like things were a lot more simple before all of this technology. Don't get me wrong somedays I love it, but then I just have days where I am so over it all, and I really think about just deleting it all, and getting rid of my cell phone. Maybe I will HAHA. For a week at least.

2009-12-13T14:24:00.000-08:00

The Drama is over.

2009-12-11T21:04:00.000-08:00

So after my last post, we woke up Thursday morning and still no hot water. So Justin decided to come home early Thursday and see if he could fix the pipes. Then just before he got home BAM! The power goes out. What? So we packed up all of our stuff and went to my Mom's house. Thank goodness we have such great family to help us when we need it. So we had a really fun night watching Christmas movies, and eating treats. Today Justin went home after work to survey the damage and YEAH! Everything was back on and just fine. Thank goodness! We take so many things for granted in this life, and I am really grateful to have hot running water and electricity.

Are you kidding me!

2009-12-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

Okay so I am going to complain. I have tried really hard to stay positive but now I am done. So it all started last Saturday. I went to take a little Mom break for a minute and stupidly left something out that of course my two year old was going to love. I went to take a bath. Kambrie was in bed, and Justin and Paige were watching movies in seperate rooms so I thought it would be fine. Well when I got done I walked into the office and suprise suprise Paige had opened like 9 bottles of nail polish and it was all over my carpet, a lot of it. Thank heavens for the internet. I looked up how to remove nail polish and windex actually will take it out. So most of it is gone except for a couple of pink spots. We will have to get a rug I guess. So then on Sunday our Vaccum broke. It is probably just the belt and can easily be replaced but still so annoying. Then my internet has been kicking me off all week so right in the middle of doing anything I get kicked off and have to start over. Then yesterday my husband went to pick up the Christmas cards I ordered and forgot to get the other 5x7 picture I ordered so when he went back to get it today they gave him another set of Christmas cards and charged him again because he didn't listen when I said it was just one picture. To top it all off our pipes froze last night and we have no hot water and so far it isn't looking like it is coming back on. So here I am venting to the blog about all my drama. I hope next week is better.

Okay I blog a lot

2009-12-07T23:46:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post this picture of my baby because it is so cute. She just looks so innocent. I just adore her. She brings so much happiness to our home. Also is the snow crazy or what, and it shows no signs of slowing down. It definitely is looking like a white Christmas.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

2009-12-05T21:49:00.000-08:00

We finally got our Christmas decorations up this week, and today we went and made gingerbread houses at my Grandparents. We had a blast, and Paige is getting more and more excited for Christmas as we do more activities. I can't believe it will be here so soon. When you are a child it seems like Christmas Day will never come, and when you are an adult and you realize that Christmas is so much more than Christmas Day, it all goes by way too fast. I also just wanted to write quickly about all the funny things that Paige has been saying lately. So I am just going to do her top five funny Phrases.

1. What's the problem? When she is annoyed

2. Oh that's perfect. When she likes something

3. Mommy you're so pretty, I love you. - That one is when she wants something from me

4. Daddy you're my favorite. - When she wants something from Justin

5. I can't, sorry. When she doesn't want to do something

Not a day goes by where she doesn't say something hilarious, and I think where does she come up with stuff. Kambrie is growing a ton and is now rolling over and playing with her toys. Paige does funny things to make her laugh and they have the best interaction. Paige tells me everday how much she loves her baby sister. They are both so cute and fun, and they constantly keep me entertained. Well there it is, my quick update. I am sure there will be a lot more to come this month. I also want to say thank you to everyone for all of your support with my photography. I am having a blast with it and loving everything I am learning. I am still learning but I am really hoping to have a business up and running sometime early next year. So please keep checking out my photo blog, and think of me next year when you are thinking about getting your pictures done.

Tyler and Brandy

2009-11-30T22:10:00.000-08:00

I just found out tonight that two of my favorite people will be having a little girl. Justin's little brother Tyler and his wife Brandy are having their first baby (A GIRL YEAH!) in April. I am so happy for these two. I just adore them, and think the world of them, and I can't wait to meet their beautiful little baby in April. Congratulations to both of you. I know you will make the best parents, and I can't wait.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T18:40:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Thanksgiving weekend. I feel pretty exauhsted today and my girls are sick with colds, but it was all worth it. Thanksgiving day we had dinner at my Dad's, and he did an awesome job making all the food. It was really good and we had a blast. Unfortunately we found out the night before that my grandma fell and broke her hip. So she didn't get to spend Thanksgiving with us, but she had surgery and is doing well. We spent most of the rest of the weekend with my sister, and her husband, and kids. Paige and Cutter had a blast all weekend. We didn't see too much of them since they were joined at the hip. We went and saw the lights at Temple Square and that was so much fun. So I can mark that off my Christmas list of things to do. There were a lot of people, but luckily it wasn't too cold. The next day we braved the shopping with four kids. It was a little crazy but we managed and got some fun things. We watched a ton of Christmas movies, ( Paige hasn't stopped saying the the the Grinch all weekend) we ate lots of pumpkin pie, laughed a lot and played with, and held the babies a lot. It was a great holiday. I hope everyone else had fun too. I am posting just a few pictures that my sister took of Kambrie and her cousin Paisley. I also did a really fun photo shoot with my little sister Tess, so if you are interested feel free to pop over to my photo blog and check it out.

Here come the Holidays!

2009-11-21T23:14:00.000-08:00

Well now it starts. Our big Holiday season. Every year I stress and wonder how we will make it to everything. Having talked to all my parents about this and the stress it brings me, they all say the same thing. Pick one family to go to for that particular holiday every year. So that we would trade off families and see each family once every four years on either Thanksgiving, Christmas eve, or Christmas Day. For some reason I just can't do that. I want to see everybody on those holiday days. I need a time machine so I can go back and spend every holiday with every family. Call me a social butterfly but I just like being with all of my families. So in turn I cause myself the stress. So on Thanksgiving I will be visiting three places if I can make it to all of them, and I am still working on what to do for Christmas. I guess it just comes down to the fact that I don't like missing out on what everyone is doing. I have always been like that. If I thought I was missing out on something it drove me crazy, and I like to show my girls off. What can I say they are cute and they change so much and not everybody gets to see them all the time and there are a lot of people that you only see for these holidays. So I like to make the rounds and get to visit with everyone. So yes I stress myself out, it is my own doing. On another note I am so excited for this week. My sister comes back from college on Tuesday and I can't wait to hang out with her. I really miss her. She is only in Logan but when you are used to seeing eachother once a day that seems so far away. My Mom also finally comes home from Norway. I haven't talked to her for a week and I am so ready for her to be back. My other sister is also coming from Wyoming for Thanksgiving so I get to see her and her cute kids (who I never see) . I don't know how people can live away from their families. I never could, never, never, never. I just like my families way too much to be gone. After Thanksgiving comes the wonderful month of December. That means Christmas trees, Temple Square, hot chocolate, Christmas movies, lights, gingerbread houses, Christmas music, shopping, eating good food, cookies, Christmas cards, parties, all those fun fun things. I don't really love Christmas Day, because then it is all over, but I love the whole month of December. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you all have fun!

Blog Stalking!

2009-11-17T00:29:00.000-08:00

So we all do this right. We stumble upon somebody's blog. Maybe we knew them a long time ago, maybe we don't even know them, maybe we think they have cute kids, maybe for whatever reason they seem interesting, but no way would we leave a comment right? They would think it was weird if we said something. Well the last few days I have noticed a lot of traffic on my blog but not so many comments (SAD). I just wanted to say if you are stopping by feel free to say hi even if we don't know eachother. I won't think it is weird. I am also going to try to be a little more open and say hi to people if I stumble on their blog. Thanks Happy Blogging!

This post is all about Kambrie

2009-11-11T01:52:00.000-08:00

Baby Kambrie will be four months old on Friday. I just adore her, she is such a little sweetheart. She is starting to talk all the time now. She loves to sleep. When she doesn't get what she wants she does this really dramtic cry. It is so funny. I am posting a picture of her face when she does it. It only lasts about one second, but Justin and I get the biggest kick out of it. She loves Paige, and loves it when Paige talks to her. She has the cutest chubby cheeks. She smiles all the time and giggles a ton especially for her Mommy. She likes to suck her hand when the binkie is not right there. She pulls her binkie out of her mouth all the time and then tries to unsuccessfully put it back in. She loves to be held and snuggled. She is all about human interaction talking, singing, story reading, toys are just not her thing yet. I am posting a few pics of her. Just little snapshots to try and show a little of her personality and one of her cute chubby cheeks and another one to show kind of how big she is. I take a lot of up close pics of her and she looks so much bigger in those pictures but she is still pretty little. We love her so much and we are so happy she is a part of our family.

This is Halloween! This is Halloween!

2009-11-02T05:18:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun Halloween night. We went to Grandma and Grandpa Raleigh's new house to do a little trick or treating. Paige got to trick or treat with her cousin Maya and they had a blast. I love these little girls together they just have so much fun. I am really glad they have eachother. It makes these experiences so much more fun. Paige was really funny that night. She would say Trick or Treat really loudly and then get her candy and tell the person at the door " thank you, I want more". She cracks me up. We went to a bunch of houses and we saw some funny things. We saw a guy in a gorilla suit. Paige didn't like that very much. We also saw this really scary clown. He was wearing a lab coat and he was riding an old 1950's bicycle and dragging a pick axe while riding up and down the street. It was pretty scary but pretty funny too. We saw him put the gear on so we weren't that scared. Alll in all it was a really fun night. We ate good soup that Grandma Raleigh made, got some really good candy, made a couple more stops to see the other grandparents, saw lots of cute trick or treaters, and had a blast. I am sad it is over already. I really loved dressing Paige up this year and watching her have so much fun. Posting lots of fun pictures! I hope everybody else had a fun and safe Halloween!

Keeping up with the Raleigh's

2009-10-27T02:08:00.001-07:00

Feeling like an update. Not much is going on with us this week. We are just waiting for Halloween and the snow (Lame)to get here. So I figured I would just update the things that are on my mind. This week I am working on coordinating outfits for our Family pis this year. It is not easy because I have two girls so we are talking about not just outfits but dresses, shoes, tights, hair accessories and they all have to coordinate(hard). I am also daily talking myself out of going tanning. I haven't been for well over a year and I need to keep it that way. Skin Cancer and Wrinkles no thanks! Okay maybe it wasn't that hard to talk my self out of. Paige has been really cute this last week. She will pretend to take my picture and then say oh good job perfect. Her new word is "that's perfect". I love it! She's so cute! Kambrie is getting so fun. She is smiling all the time and really giggling a lot and it is so fun. I could just stare at her all day. She has the biggest prettiest eyes and already such dark pretty eyelashes her new nickname is (Angel Eyes). I can't wait to see if her hair stays dark and what her eye color will be. It takes a long time for my babies skin, hair and eyes to become their true colors, and I love that they both have such unique coloring. Paige has these amazing green/brown eyes and coppery blonde/brown hair. You can't really define what her eye or hair color is and I think it is so different and fun. So with Kambrie I am just waiting to see. So far her hair is still pretty dark, her eyes are turning greenish but seem to be lighter than Paige's. I guess that is what you get when you mix me (everything really dark) with Justin (everything light) and you get all these fun unique colors with eyes and hair. I have already started my Christmas Shopping since it is right around the corner. We did get to do all the fun Halloween activites we wanted to and we can't wait for Saturday. I guess that is really all that is new with us. Happy Halloween Everybody! I post a ton of pics to my Photography blog so go check them out if you get the chance!

Just my weekly post

2009-10-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

This week the girls got their shots and had a checkup. Paigey is still taller than average 86% and Kambrie is just perfectly average I think 53% for height and 40% for weight. They both had shots and a flu shot and Paige had a fever the next day just like always but they both did pretty well. There has been a lot of controversy lately over whether or not to give your kids all their vaccines. I know a lot of people who would never not give their kids their shots and I know a few who just aren't sure and don't want to do all of the shots. I am kind of on the fence I guess. Paige has had all of her shots but I did spread them out a little, just because she would get these raging fevers afterward and it was a little scary. I am going to give Kambrie all of hers just because we have these vaccines for a reason and I am sure I don't know more than the doctors do and I feel a lot safer giving them to my kids. I know a few people who don't have them and they have to go through a lot of paperwork and difficulty when putting their kids in school and they have to pull them out anytime anybody is sick at all. Also they ask for vaccination records for everything you do in life, flying, school, getting your license. It does still make me a little nervous with everything that has recently surfaced about autism, but I think just like everything you do as a parent you have to choose what you feel comfortable with and trust your instincts. We all parent differently and do different things that work for us and our individual children. This brings me to the swine flu vaccine. I have heard and read a lot of different things about it and I have decided that I will probably get the girls vaccinated. I don't know though, does anybody else have any opinions on the matter I would love to hear them. The rest of week was also really fun we made a trip to the pumpkin patch, watched Hocus Pocus, and had a really fun dress up party at Grandma Dia's( that is what the kids call her) house. She really decked her house out with fun decorations and made good food. We painted pumpkins and decorated cookies. It was a blast!

What we are doing

2009-10-12T02:19:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to do a quick post about the girls. I always like to update what new things they are doing. Paige I feel like grew up over the weekend. She just seems so grown up lately. I asked her today if she was my baby and she said "No I am Daddy's baby". She is for sure Daddy's little girl. She is learning so much everyday. I am always surprised by the new things she will say. I always wonder where she gets it from. She is the most polite child I have ever known. She has always said please and thank you since she was little, but now she says things like excuse me and if she bumps into someone she will say oh sorry. She also says bless you to Kambrie everytime she sneezes. I always wonder why she is so polite but then I catch myself saying all these same things a lot. I was always raised to be very polite, and I am so glad that Paige has already picked up this trait. Her little fits have calmed down a lot and I am so glad. Don't get me wrong they still happen but a lot less often. Maybe she was going through something that has now passed. Whatever the reason I am so glad. I feel like I have my darling little girl back. She is also so excited about Halloween but also a little scared. We took her to Gardner Village on Friday and she loved the witches but wanted to stay at arms length. Any closer and she was freaking out. It was really funny! She always put her hands up and wiggles her fingers and says "I see a scary witch and scary spiders". She has the best personality. She is always excited and that makes things so much more fun at our house. I feel like Halloween is fun all over again because I have kids and I love that. On to Baby Kambrie. She is getting too big too fast and I hate it. She will be three months old on Tuesday. However she is now giggling and it is so cute. She smiles a ton, and she is really loving it when Paige talks to her and plays with her. She has the biggest most beautiful eyes and she is just so sweet. Since Paige was a baby her personality has always been very social, and outgoing, and excited, and I feel like Kambrie might be the shy one. I already feel like she is just a little more sensitive than Paige was. Obviously she is only three months old so only time will tell. I do love watching her little personality evolve though. In the next few weeks we have lots of Halloween activities planned so I will be taking lots of pictures. I am going to be making Halloween tutus for the girls so hopefully they turn out cute. I think we will be making a few trips to the Pumpkin Patch, possibly Gardner Village for Witches Night, maybe a corn maze, and carving pumpkins and attending some family Halloween parties and festivities. If anybody knows of anything else that is fun to do around this time of year I would love to know. I am posting one pic of Kambrie. It was just too cute!

My top ten must haves right now for Fall!

2009-10-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

In no particular order these are the things I am loving right now for Fall!

1. My soy pumpkin candle - I have only had it a week and it is almost gone!

2. My vaccum storage bags from costco - I just pulled out all my Fall/Winter clothes and put away all my summer clothes in these storage bags. They are the best organizing and space saving things ever. Especially when your babies are growing out of clothes at an alarming rate.

3. My babies Johnson's lavender bedtime moisture wash and lotion. I love this stuff it smells amazing and I swear it really does help them sleep better.

4. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies - My friend Amanda just gave me the greatest, easiest recipe ever, and they are so good!

5.The cute ribbon beanies that my girls have - It is cold now and since Paige has never had an ear infection I would like to keep it that way for both girls. Besides they are such cute hats and the girls look so cute in them. I just need more colors now.

6.The movie Hocus Pocus - I have loved this movie since I was young. It is hilarious and is such a perfect Halloween show for everbody to watch.

7.Pumpkin patches - I can't wait to take Paige again this year and let her pick out her pumpkin, and take tons of pictures.

8. Gardner Village - I probably go there 5 times every month, but it is the best when it is Fall. The cafe has the best soup, the shopping is great, the candy store has the best carmel apples, they have the cutest Fall and Halloween decorations. I was just there on Saturday and I already want to go again this week.

9. Dark nail polish - My favorite is O.P.I. Lincoln Park After Dark

10. Mac Pigments - Tan is my favorite color of the stuff but I like the pink too!

So there you have it. Things I cannot live without right now. Not to mention that Fall just has so many benefits. The beautiful leaves, the crisp cool air, all the fun Halloween activities, and treats, and decorations. Fall is the best! Happy October to me!

My beginner photography blog

2009-10-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

I started a new blog. It is under My Beginner Photography Blog in my friends and family. I am just learning about photography right now and doing a lot of experimenting while I am learning. In the next few months I am going to be taking some classes, practicing, and learning all I can. So I will be posting my pictures to that blog probably weekly maybe more. It will also help me to see what I am learning and what I like and don't like. Don't be too harsh, like I said I am completley a beginner.

More fun Fall pictures with the new camera!

2009-10-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

My Happy Birthday!

2009-09-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

I had such a great 27th Birthday! It was pretty much a weekend of birthday fun. It started out with my husband surprising me with the fact that he had work off on Friday and then there was a pretty black and white polka dotted package sitting on the table Friday morning and it was the camera that I have been eyeing for a while now. I love it so much. I have only used it one time but it takes the most amazing pictures. I could not be more thrilled. Then Friday we had a party at my Mom's with my favorite broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl and apple crisp. Then Saturday we had a party at my Dad's and we had yummy chocolate chocolate cake. Then Sunday morning we got together with Justin's Mom and went to Silverfork Lodge up the canyon for breakfast. Then we took a walk around the lake. It was so fun to be in the mountains in the Fall air and get to see all the colors. I have always loved having a September birthday. Paige told me all weekend " Mommy it's Happy Birthday for you" in her cute little voice. She was so excited about my birthday. It was so cute, and it really was such a happy birthday. I am posting just a few of the pictures I took today with my camera in the mountains. I am sure I will posting a zillion pictures in the next few weeks getting aquainted with my camera.

Turning 27 Tomorrow!

2009-09-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I will be 27 years old tomorrow. I have no idea where time goes. So to commemorate this occasion I have decided to write 27 things about me.

1. I am incredibly opinionated although I don't throw my opinons in anyone's face.

2. I am really critical. ( mostly of myself)

3. I love being a Mom, it is all I ever really wanted to do.

4. I hate tatoo's and piercings with a passion.

5. I don't like following the crowd I prefer to be different.

6. I hate when people criticize my husband or my kids I get really defensive.

7. I make mistakes. (lots of them)

8. I love my family, all of them. (they mean everything to me)

9. I am always searching for inspiration in every aspect of my life

10. I am more emotional than I ever let on

11. I am easily annoyed

12. I feel a sense of accomplishment that I can nurse my babies and that it comes so easily and naturally for me.

13. I am always working on building up the relationships in my life. Although I may not always be successful.

14. I have always been told I should be a therapist because I am good at helping people understand and work through their problems

15. I used to think I was really superficial but I am starting to realize I am not really that way at all.

16. I am actually starting to feel like a grown up this year and realizing the things that are most important me.

17. I love bright vibrant colors, they make me feel happy.

18. I love really hard rock music and I always will, and I really hate country music.

19. I love scary movies, Halloween, and Haunted Houses, and so does my husband. I guess those are just some of the many things we have in common, and stop judging us and making fun of us for it. We like to be scared it's fun to us, end of story.

20. I love the rain especially when the sun peeks through the clouds and there are rainbows.

21. I love that I have two baby girls. I always say girls never leave you. Boys grow up and get married and end up spending more time with their in-laws, but girls always spend more time with their mommies. (obviously not true in every situation)

22. I try to take at least one picture of my girls everyday.

23. I always find I have more depth to me than I think.

24. I love the feeling of being comfortable and cozy. A perfect example would be hanging out with my husband and girls, making a treat, in our pajamas, on a rainy or snowy day, watching a Disney movie.

25. People have always been intimidated by me and I have never really understood why. I am really not that mean of a person. (I don't think anyway)

26. To me life is best spent with the people you love and doing the things that you love and are passionate about.

27. and last but not least...... I find my happiness in snuggling and kissing my girls, dancing around the house, singing children's songs to my babies, watching movies with my husband, going to lunch with my Mom, talking to my best friend on the phone for hours, taking walks at sunset, driving through the mountains, getting a treat, hanging with my siblings and my husbands siblings, and just in being ME!

Well there it is in a nutshell. I am 27 and I am so grateful for my life and all the people in it.

My funny, cute, adorable, sweet, loveable, naughty, silly, innocent, fabulous kids!

2009-09-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post about some of the things my kids are doing latley. They crack me up daily so I just need to write it all down somewhere before I forget. Today when I dressed Paige the second I was finished she jumped up and said "I need to see a mirror". So she ran into the bathroom and then checked herself out and said "I am so pretty". It was so cute and so funny. Unfortunatley latley she has also been kind of bratty. Throwing fits when she doesn't get her way. Now I know why they are called the terrible two's because they can tell you no, and talk back to you, and ignore you. So we have been doing lots of time outs. She definitely has her good days and her bad. I love the days when she is sweet and gives hugs and loves everyone, and luckily we still have more of those days than the bad ones. Kambrie is so sweet and is now smiling all the time. She is just so darling and is still (thank goodness) sleeping so well. She is a total Mommy's girl and I love that. I am posting a picture of her and I think her eyes look really blue. It will be so weird if I have a baby with blue eyes. I guess we will see what they turn out to be. The picture I am posting of Paige is so pretty. The girl kills me she is just so pretty with her long dark eyelashes and big red lips. On another subject Fall is officially here. It is getting colder and the air smells different and everything feels different. It is so crazy how a season can evoke so much emotion and feeling, but it does and I sure love it. I can't wait for Halloween. Paige is going to love it this year. Now if only I could figure out what she should be. I hope everyone is enjoying all the fun Fall activities and all the great new shows on t.v.! I am officially addicted to the CW. Happy September!

Fun with Photo's

2009-09-12T20:44:00.001-07:00

I have just been having fun with Photo editing latley and so I decided to put up a few of them just for fun.

Just a few pictures of my baby! She is already growing up too fast.

2009-09-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

I just added a picture of Paige mostly for me. I just wanted to see how much my babies look alike and then how different they look too. Paige is right about the same age in this pic as Kambrie is now.

I just did three posts, some video's, and a project runway post so scroll down

2009-08-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

I am just posting a bunch of pictures of Kambrie because she is changing everyday. I also posted two video's below. The first one is of Kambrie having some tummy time. She is actually pretty strong but by the time I had the bright idea to video tape her, she was pretty tired out. The second video is of Paige singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She sings this all the time and months later I finally have it on video. It is pretty cute.

Baby Kambrie's head bob

2009-08-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Video of Paige singing

2009-08-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

Project Runway

2009-08-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Okay so I am going to start out with my little Project Runway post. I have always loved this show. I love Heidi Klum, I love Tim Gunn. It is just a great show. This season there is a guy that I went to 6th grade through 10th grade with on the show. His name is Logan Neitzel. We were in the same circle of friends through most of middle school. Anyway obviously I don't know him now, and haven't for a lot of years, but I can't help but hope that he does well on the show. So I will definitley be watching.

Our weekend in Paris!

2009-08-16T23:27:00.000-07:00

LoL! Paris Idaho! We went to Paris Idaho this weekend with our good friends Wendy and Kendal to stay at the home Wendy's parents have there. We had a blast. We took the kids to the Montpelier Fair, rode 4 wheelers, ate good food, had a fire, made smores, watched movies, played games, stayed up late and talked, played with the kids and the babies, and laughed really hard and a lot. Paige and Avery did everything together and kept eachother entertained the whole time. Landon and Kambrie slept a lot but Landon smiled and smiled when he wasn't sleeping, and they both were just so fun to look at and hold the whole time. Thank you Wendy and Kendal for inviting us. We had so much fun, and you are and will always be our very best friends. I took quite a few pictures while we were there, including some really funny ones of Justin and Kendal posing for their faux band cover album. They love playing music together, so it was only fitting that they take album cover photo's, and we were all laughing so hard when they were posing. I am posting a few more pics of Kambrie too that I took prior to our weekend. She is staring to get so big and she changes so much every week. She is smiling at us now, and she is really alert. I just love and adore her so much. She makes me so happy!

Should be in bed

2009-08-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

Okay I should totally be in bed right now, but for whatever reason I am up blogging. I don't know why I love blogging so much I just think it is so fun and I guess since I don't keep a journal it is kind of a way to keep pictures and memories all together. Anyway we had a fun weekend in Flaming Gorge with my family. We take a big family camping trip every year to some place different and this year it was the Gorge. We had a lot of fun hanging out, eating good food, playing with the babies, and boating. My parents have a really great trailer that luckily I got to stay in. As fun as camping is, when you have babies you really need the bathroom and the water that a trailer has. No tents for me thanks. Anyway it was a fun time especially hanging out with my sisters Tess and Katie, they are so funny and always keep me laughing and they are so sweet and helpful with my girls I love my sisters and I am so glad that I have them. Katie's two kids Cutter and Paisley are pretty much the exact same ages as my kids so it is so fun to talk about them and share stories. Cutter and Paige are only two days apart in age so needless to say they spent the entire time joined at the hip and had a blast. Paige is so funny she found the dead leg of a crawdad (I don't know how you spell that or what they really are) but she chased Cutter around with it one day teasing him because he didn't like it. I used to do the same kinds of things to Katie when we were little. So it was pretty funny. Paige has no fear of anything which kind of makes me nervous sometimes. She loves being outdoors though and I was so happy she had so many days just playing, swimming, getting dirty, throwing rocks and getting to do all the other fun things that come with being a kid. Subject number my two my little sweetheart Kambrie. I just adore her. At her last doctor's appt. at three weeks she was only eight pounds 20 inches so she is still pretty tiny but is finally fitting into some of her newborn clothes and not preemies anymore. She still eats and sleeps a lot but she is so cute when she is up. She loves to be held and talked to. I can't wait to see her little personality blossom, but at the same time I wish she would stay this little forever. She is changing a lot though and I think she is starting to look so much like her Dad, a lot of people say she looks like me but I really just see Justin with dark hair. We love her so much though and she adds so much to our home. I am just so happy spending all my time with my two little girls. I feel so lucky that they are mine and I get to be their Mommy.

Baby Kambrie is three weeks old!

2009-08-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

Kambrie is three weeks old tomorrow. I cannot believe how time flies. She is such a good baby. I feel so lucky. She usually only wakes up one time in the night to nurse and we are all getting so much sleep, it is great. Paige is just always being her funny little self. This girl is not lacking in personality one bit. She is not shy and she is so social and loves being the center of attention and loves everyone. She is so fun. My parents moved to the community Daybreak about three weeks ago and so we have been taking full advantage of all that is has to offer. We have been swimming at the pools daily, going to the beach, playing volleyball, kayaking, playing at the awesome parks, and taking nightly walks. It is awesome and we have been having a blast. We are also headed for Flaming Gorge this weekend and Bear Lake the following weekend. So finally summer is taking off for us and not stopping until fall. Lots more pictures and events to post. I am posting some pictures of the girls and then also a picture of our living room finally decorated and complete. Before we had Kambrie Justin painted most of our condo including the doors and baseboards, put on new door handles, replaced lights, hung shelves, put together blinds and an entertainment center. He basically did a whole lot of work and I am so proud of him and happy with the result. I should have taken a before picture but I didn't. I love how everyting looks though and I am so glad he is so handy and willing to work to make our home nice. Thanks Honey!

Pictures Pictures Pictures!

2009-07-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update! I have taken a zillion pictures of my girls and had their pictures professionally taken too. I just walk around with the camera attached to my hand. I just never want to miss anything they do. This week has been interesting. Paige started the week out fighting with me pretty badly. I think she is now trying to adjust and realizing Mommy's time is split in two. However yesterday and today she has been back to her sweet self and I am so glad. She has taken really good naps for the past couple of days though, so that might be helping too. She has been so funny though and loves having her picture taken so any time the camera is out she wants it on her. My little Kambrie is such an angel! I adore her. She is so easy so far she just sleeps and sleeps. I only have to get up with her a couple of times during the night. It is so great. It is so much easier with the second baby. It feels like I just did this and so I am so glad I had them close together because I really don't feel like I have had to make a very big adjustment at all.

Kambrie Ashlynn Raleigh!

2009-07-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Kambrie was born at 4:09 p.m. on Monday. She weighed 7lbs 5oz and was 19 inches long. Labor was pretty rough this time around. Justin, my Mom, and sister Tess were there with me luckily to keep me laughing and take care of me through the pain. They were all so great and helpful. Paige stayed with Justin's Mom Dianna the whole time we were in the hospital and we were so grateful to her for all of her help. Paige had a blast at her house and I didn't have to worry about her at all. So a big thank you to both our Mommies for being so wonderful and helping us so much. Kambrie came out with a ton of dark hair and such pretty skin. She is so sweet and resembles all of us just a little bit. Our hospital stay was fantastic they took such great care of us. I had the best nurses and Doctor ever and I was so lucky. We kept visitors to a minimum this time. We were both pretty exhausted and needed some time to ourselves with our new baby and some sleep. Coming home this time with baby number two has been such an easy transition. Paige adores her, she wants to talk to her and hold her and kiss her and share things with her. If Kambrie is sleeping Paige will cry and ask where's my baby sister. No jealousy issues at all so far. She will also get me anything I needI cannot believe how much she wants to help. She is so sweet and I am so happy she is taking everything so well. Kambrie is just a sweetheart and an adorable baby. She is nursing great and has been from the very start, and I am so grateful for that. Justin and I just stare at her all day and talk about her. Just like we did with Paige. We are so amazed that we get to have these two beautiful precious girls. Justin has been wonderful with everything. He helps me do everything and also takes care of me. I am so lucky that he such a hands on Dad. He takes care of so many things before I even realize they need to be done. I love him so so much! I am posting a ton of pictures of Kambrie and our stay at the hospital. I probably have so much more I need to write but my time is limited and much better spent with my babies and husband.

39 weeks pregnant and my little Paigey is sick

2009-07-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

What a crazy day today has been. I was suppose to get induced this morning for various reasons, but last night I had a feeling it wasn't going to happen. Then at about two in the morning Paige got a high fever. I think I cried for a good hour wondering what to do. How was I going to leave her and have a baby when all she wants to do is have me hold her, and if I did go I couldn't have her at the hospital with a brand new baby so I wouldn't see her for two days and she would miss out on seeing her brand new sister. So after I cried I went back to sleep and just had a feeling all the details would work themselves out. So when I called the hospital in the morning, they said they were full and I was really relieved. If I don't go in to labor on my own before Monday then they are going to induce me then. I am really hoping Paige gets better before then. Today has been pretty miserable for her, but I do love holding her and spending time with her especially since these are the last few days I get to do that before I have two babies.

4th of July Weekend!

2009-07-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July this year we just took it pretty easy. We spent the day hanging out with Justin's Mom and Sister and Paige's cousin Maya. The girls swam and layed out and played in the yard for most of the day. Then unfortunatley Maya got sick and had to go home. Paige never really stopped playing all day. It is so fun to watch her, she is hilarious and has so much personality. It was a pretty fun day, but we all got pretty tired out(I am nine months pregnant). I am posting some fun pictures of the girls. They are so cute!

Quick pregnancy update

2009-06-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

37 weeks today! I am dialated to a two and having braxton hicks contractions like crazy, all of which sadly means nothing to me. Labor could be an hour away or I could go all the way to my due date. You never really know. I feel a lot more ready now though, so whenever she decides to come we will be prepared and excited!

36 Weeks!

2009-06-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

I am 36 weeks on Wednesday! Latley I have just been thinking a lot about when I had Paige. It was literally the happiest time in my whole life. Since the moment I had her I have just adored her. She was such a great, sweet, wonderful, easy baby. My life finally had purpose. I always knew I would love being a Mom, but I guess I never knew just how much. I feel so blessed that I get to have babies, and love them and take care of them and spend time with them. That is really all I have ever wanted out of life. So the closer I get this time I am just so grateful that I get to do it all again. I am really trying to cherish these moments because they are over with so fast. Your kids are only little for a minute and you have to really appreciate that time no matter what else might be happening. I love just watching Paige, she is always happy and excited about life. She is constantly singing, dancing and saying funny things. No matter what else we are doing Justin and I always end up just watching her and looking at eachother and smiling when she does something cute and doesn't know we are paying attention. I am so happy that our family is growing and that I can really appreciate the little things that make life worthwhile. I am posting some older pictures of Paige just because they are so cute and I have been looking at them a lot latley and wondering what baby girl #2 will look like.

Getting closer everyday!

2009-06-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

I am 34 weeks pregnant Yeah! Just a short time left until I have this little one. I keep saying it, but it really has just flown by. I had my 34 week appt. on Tuesday and everything is great. Now I am just getting excited, wondering what she will look like, and what her little personality will be like. Paige looks so much like Justin it will be interesting to see if this little one is the spitting image of her Daddy too. I can't wait to have two little girls! Other than waiting for our baby we have just been having a blast so far this summer. Spending our days having fun in the sun. We went to the zoo, my Dad turned 50 so we had a big outside barbeque party for him, my sister Tess graduated from highschool, we have a birthday party to go to this weekend for Paige's friend Avery. Once Summer starts for us it doesn't slow down. I can't wait to see all the fun this summer will bring. I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. I can't wait to see all the fun summer pics of your families.