My much needed VACATION!!!!

We leave in less than 24 hours for my much needed 2 week vacation! I am so excited for a break from everyday life. I have spent the last week shopping, doing 10 loads of laundry, shopping, setting up a tent, shopping, planning our meals, shopping, and packing. Planning a vacation with several stopping points is actually a lot of work, which made me stop and thank my mom for always taking us (my siblings and me) on fun family vacations.

The Itinerary:
Thursday-Sunday - Grimmett Family Reunion in Hagerman, ID (We will see how camping with a 10 month old in 100 degree heat goes, needless to say this is her first camping trip)
Sunday-Sunday - My Sister's house in Colorado (I am throwing her a baby shower while I am there so I had lots to plan for that)
Sunday-Wednesday - Who knows?
Wednesday - Saturday - My Grandma's in St. George, UT (Every once in a while my mom and her sisters do a big sisters weekend at my Grandma's house. This year my sister Katelyn and I are "lucky" enough to be able to attend. Good thing there is a pool because that is where Kate, Mais and I will be living!)
Saturday-Sunday - DRIVING HOME. Boooooooo.

At least when I get back, I only have a few more weeks of babysitting! YAY! There is something to look forward to when I come home!

I am sure I will update sometime in between, but if not, see you in 2 weeks!

Live Life to the Fullest

Since I've moved to Oregon, I have been able to help my mom finalize some paperwork and other things for my dad. Today, we sold my dad's truck. It's kind of weird to come home and not see it out on the driveway! As I was driving it for the last time today, Tim McGraw's song "Live Like You Were Dying" came on the radio. I really took the time to contemplate life, especially my father's. I am so thankful that my dad made the best of his life. He had great relationships with his family, and with Heavenly Father. He was able to accomplish so much. Even though he is gone, I still look up to him and admire him greatly. He was the perfect example of hard work, testimony, and love. I work everyday to mirror my life after his and to make memories with those that I love. I would encourage all to live life to the fullest, with NO regrets.

The Movies

During the summer time some of the Regal Cinemas do this free kids movie event every week. Today I took Alex, Madi, and Maisey to go see Firehouse Dog. This was Maisey's first time at the movie theatre and she LOVED it. She was so good, which made it easier for me to deal with the other kids. (My mom came to help too. Thanks Mom!). Maisey sat on my lap for most of it and would dance when music was playing and laugh at all of the funny parts like she knew what was going on. It was so cute. The movie actually wasn't too bad for a kids movie. There were some funny parts and the kids really enjoyed it. I hope that every week the kids are this good at the theatre. It makes doing something special with all of them worth it.

The First Day of the Rest of our Lives (and updates from the rest of June)

Today was the first day of Shaun's REAL job! He went up to the Portland office for some training and a pretty low-key first day! I made him stay in his work clothes until I had a minute to take his picture! I am so glad that he has the patience to humor me. I have really enjoyed the last month and a half that we have spent together. We have never spent that much time together since we have been married because we are always either going to school or working. But this last little bit has been a good break for us. I am really going to miss him during the days! Also, yesterday was Father's Day and I just wanted to add that Shaun is a great father to our little Maisey, and a great husband to me. I am so thankful that I have the privalge to spend eternity with him.

The REST of June

Our Trip to Spokane:

We went to Spokane a few weeks ago. It was a short trip, but it went very well. Things usually get pretty chaotic when all of the fam gets together, but I thought things went better than expected. We played lots of games, ate some yummy food, and took family pictures. Here are a few of our shots:





I had to add the picture of Mais with the dog. If you know me, you would be surprised that I let Maisey get close to a dog, let alone actually touch it. But Madison (Shaun's dog) was really good and for some reason, Maisey was just mesmorized by her.

Thanks Janel for spending time getting us all matching shirts. They turned out really well.


The Oregon Zoo:

We took my cousin's kids and Mais to the zoo last week. This was Maisey's first time at the zoo. She liked it for about the first hour and then wasn't such a happy camper the rest of the time. I think it's because she likes to roam free by crawling and walking, but we kept her confined in ther stroller.
Here are the 4 kids that I babysit. Left to Right: Madi (3), Shaun (25), Maisey (10 mo.), and Alex (6). They are quite the bunch!

Maisey loved to play with the monkey. And I think the monkey really liked her!

At the end of the day we took a train ride through the rose gardens and past a lot of the exhibits at the zoo. Everyone really enjoyed it, and Maisey eventually fell asleep! :)

OMSI:

OMSI is a science museum in Portland. Janel came into town to visit, so we thought it would be fun to do something special. We also took my brother Scott, and Alex and Madi with us. Shaun's favorite part of the museum was a REAL submarine that is in the Willamette River just behind OMSI. They got to take a tour of it and really enjoyed it.

This summer, OMSI has a special dinosaur exhibit. Maisey was a little scared and wouldn't take her eyes off of them.

These stuffed animals were more her type of dinosaur.

In one of the exhibits they showed how the human ear worked. Shaun put these head phones on Maisey for her to hear different sounds. They look so big on her!

Maisey and her Aunt Janel! They were such buddies!

On the way home from OMSI, the three boys all fell asleep in the back seat! OMSI must have worn them out!

Tagged:

I have also been tagged by Kira, but I figured this was a long enough post, so I may just have to do it a different night.

So far we have had a pretty busy June, with plenty more to look forward to (My cousin's baby, The Grimmett Family Reunion, and my 2 week vacation). We will work on keeping you better updated!

Playing Chase

I would love to have spent this last week and a half posting about all of the cute things Mais has been doing, but I have been spending every waking minute chasing her around. She totally started taking off this week, both crawling and cruising furniture. She's been scooting around here and there for a while, but now she is sneaky and quick. She has been so cute lately with her new gellie shoes that her daddy bought her and with her one little tooth she has on the bottom, and with all of the kisses she has been giving. But, she hasn't been sleeping well at all! I am sure it has something to do with the teething, but she has been waking up 2-4 times a night and only sleeping like 8 hours at night with 2 short 20 minute naps during the day! This is quite a big adjustment from when we lived in Provo and she was sleeping 12-13 hours a night with out waking up! I sure do miss those days! Anyway, if any of you have any tips on how to deal with this sleep problem, or should I say lack of sleep problem, feel free to send them my way!



As far as other news goes...

My mom and I took Maisey with us to get our haircuts this week! Maisey was being so dang cute and she wanted to get her hair cut too. Daddy said no because she doesn't have much to cut! Maybe one day Mais! (Also, she is wearing her new gellies that Daddy picked out!)

"Look Mom, No Hands!"

My cousin's little girl, Madi, has this pink Barbie Power Wheel. It is Maisey's new best friend (especially now that she doesn't play with Tori). She is getting to be pretty brave on it! I took this picture and the video below on my cell phone so the quality isn't the best, but she has been so funny on it so I had to post them.

In the video below, Maisey learned how to push the button all by her self. She pushes it for 2 seconds and then she stops and claps for her self. She is so silly!

So, that's the latest! Shaun's sister is coming tonight to stay with us until Friday, then we are headed up to Spokane to visit the fam! It should be a busy and fun weekend!