The Big Day

Dave is defending his Master's Thesis today.

His shirt is a little gift from his girls. We are so proud of him and all his hard work.
(the shirt is a little 'shiny'...it's says 'He-man and Masters of the Universe' in case you can't tell)

Colton Guard Station

The past few days we have been up north of Vernal camping with Dave's family (minus the Moons). We had a great time. The cabin that we stayed at was built between 1920-1930 and housed the Guards that worked for the Forest Service. The Cabin was really cute. It had a gas stove, running water (flushing toilets is always a HUGE bonus for any camping trip) and room to sleep 4. Behind the cabin was a bunk house which had plenty of room for the rest of us to sleep. I really enjoyed the trip. The girls were really good and it was fun to just hang out with everyone.

The cabin

The Bunk House

Dave and I took the girls on a drive (hoping that they would fall asleep, but they didn't).
This is up on a ridge above the cabin. If you look closely, you can see a reservoir in the distance, Vernal is just beyond that.

Dave brought his new GPS. He and the kids did a little Geocaching adventure.
They found a great box full of exciting goodies.
They took a few little toys and added some treasures of their own.

Coming back from a walk with Grandma, Greta and the kids.
Camping is exhausting.

The best part of the whole trip for Maggie

'I wike a dirty'

Just relaxing

We even had a piñata (Dave did the fancy little accent over the 'n' for me).

The whole gang in front of the Cabin.

On the way back into Vernal we stopped for another Geocache along the side of the road.

We made a quick stop in Vernal to see the Temple.
We didn't get out of the car since Chloe was asleep already.

We had a fun, exciting, tiring trip.
(this picture was taken soon after Maggie covered herself and her car seat in puke.... good times, good times)

Home Improvements

I've been seeing a lot of blog posts lately of 'before and after' pictures of homes and rooms that have been renovated.
These pictures are beautiful and I would be thrilled to have almost any of the 'before's.
I thought I would post my own home improvement project, just so you can see what we've been up to lately.

(DON'T JUDGE MY MESSY KITCHEN, IT'S BEEN NICE OUTSIDE...I'VE BEEN PLAYING WITH MY GIRLS)

The Master Plan

It's official, Dave defends his Thesis on June 24th at 4:30pm. It's been such a long road, it's kind of hard to wrap my head around him actually being done with school. His 'official' graduation will be in August, but after the Defense, he will be ready to move on with life. Still no job prospects, but I'm not worried. I know that we will get something, even if he has to work at Walmart for a couple months.
I'm nervous about the whole 'day of Defense'. I know it's a big deal for Dave, but I have to plan some refreshments to bring for his committee and those who come and listen to him....I've got a big job too, wish me luck ;).

I Love To See The.....Obelisk?

Every time we pass by a church (which is a lot, seeing as we live in Utah), Maggie gets really excited and yells 'A Temple, A Temple'. We usually correct her and tell her that one is a church.
The other day while we were on a walk we passed by the Veteran's Memorial Monument, Maggie yelled 'A Temple, A Temple....nooooo....it's a church.'

Life At Our House

I really need to do a better job at staying up-to-date on my Blog. I've got these 2 cute girls, who are growing WAY too fast, since this is my only source of record keeping at this point in my life I have no excuses. Plus, this is a good way to show my parents pictures of their favourite child's family (right Mom? wink, wink). Anyways, with that being said, this is what we have been up to lately.

This girl is crazy.
Maggie never climbed or got into stuff like she does.
It's been quite an adventure for all of us.

Maggie is growing up so fast. She is extremely strong-willed (to put it nicely), but she is also so much fun these days. She is such a little smartie pants....oh, life with a 2 year old.

For Memorial Day, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Betts' for a backyard camp out. Mags did awesome and her and Dave stayed in the tent all night together. Chloe and I lasted till about 3am before we headed inside for warm, soft bed.
Joan had bought a bunch of games and activities for the kids to do. This slip and slide was a hit. The water was freezing, but Maggie was having a great time with her cousins. I think she went down at least once with all of them.
She was shaking and shivering so bad, but kept wanting more.
Crazy Girl.

This is one of Maggie and Chloe's favourite things to do.
They love, love, love bath time (as you can tell by the look on Mags' face).

For Mother's Day, my Birthday, President's Day and every other Holiday this Year, Dave got me an i-pod touch.
I have had to learn how to share, since a certain 2 year old thinks it's the coolest thing in the world. It amazes me how fast she has learned how to use it. It really is quite incredible to watch her navigate to what she wants to play.

Sisters

They LOVE each other.

It warms my heart to watch them together. Maggie is a very patient and loving big sister, and Chloe gets so excited to be anywhere that Maggie is. I hope somehow they can remain close throughout their lives.

Maggie thinks it's so fun to share with Coco. I have to keep a close eye on them since Maggie wants to feed Chloe everything....fruit snack, grapes, hot dogs...all those great 'choking foods'.

You would think that with as much as this girl HATES getting her face washed, she would try and be a little more careful with her food.

Chillin' with some corn at a family picnic.



GEOCACHING
For an early Graduation present, Dave got a fancy GPS. He is in heaven.
Geocaching is a funny thing to me.
It's the perfect balance between 'nerdy' and 'outdoorsy'....kinda reminds me of my husband :).
He's found a few caches around our neighbourhood, and the other day we went out as a family. We are wanting to do a couple of hikes with the girls this summer, so it was a good way to start our 'backpack' training.

Checking out the 'loot' in one of the caches.

Chloe was enjoying the ride.

Could she look anymore like her Daddy? I think they are cute.

Self portrait after Coco woke up. I think she is wishing that she was still asleep.
I'll keep you posted on our many geocaching adventures through the summer.

Life is good.

This is how we spend a good majority of our free time. The girls love being outside and it's easy to take care of them when they are strapped in. We walk to the duckpond, to the swings, to the library and to meet Dave on campus. (Maggie is signing "daddy".) I like having so many things within walking distance.

We love our little family

By the end of day we are pretty tired.

THE END :)

Chloe - aka. Coco, Coco Bean, Coco Moco, Chloekins, Guber, and Munchkin (Maggie calls her Munkins)

Today was Chloe's 9 month visit at the Doctor. She is strong and healthy. I can't believe my little one is almost 10 months old.

Chloe is a joy. I absolutely love her little face and body and cute personality. She has turned into quite a little monkey these days, she loves to climb. It seemed to happen overnight. One day she was just rolling around on the floor, then the next day she was pulling herself up and trying to get on the couch, in the toy basket, in the book shelf and anywhere else she can manage to get to.
She has learned to clap and loves to do patty-cake, Maggie thinks it's great.
She loves to dance, anytime there is any sort of music, this girl is bopping and wiggling to the beat. She's got a beautiful singing 'gargle' and enjoys performing for us.
Maggie and Chloe are best buds. Maggie is so good with her little sister, and Chloe absolutely adores Mags, I love watching them interact with each other.

Chloe's Stats
Weight - 19lbs 4 ounces 55%
Length - 29 inches 90%
Head - 46 cm 93%

The day I lowered the crib mattress. I came in to get her from her nap and this is what I found. Does she look a little proud of herself?

Showing off another new trick.

Everyone loves Coco

Sometimes a little too much.

Maggie loves to hang out with Chloe in her crib. They will play in there together for quite a while, I won't complain :)

Some kids wear Fruit Loop Necklaces....we like Cheerio Earrings around here.

Sometimes I can't even believe this wonderful little creature belongs to me. I can't help but kiss that cute little face all day long.