eight

Today marks eight years of marriage.  Time flies.  Can't wait to see what the next eight will bring!

Durango

 We just got back from an awesome family trip to Durango, Colorado.  We had so much fun!  Jeff's amazing parents planned the whole thing and we are so grateful to them for providing such a neat opportunity for our family.  They rented a cabin so we could all be together.  It was so fun to catch up with Jeff's sisters and their families and it was so good for Heidi to get to know her cousins a little bit better.  There was a bench in front of the cabin that Heidi just loved to sit on.

 The first day we went to Mesa Verde.  It was hot, but awesome.  I had never been before and the tours we went on were really cool.  Thank you to Peggy for watching a grumpy Heidi so I could go on the first tour since Heidi was too little to climb the big ladders.

 Heidi was able to go on the second tour with the smaller ladders and she was happy as could be.  I couldn't believe how well she climbed the ladders and sat patiently while the tour guides gave information.  Of course, all of her cousins helped her stay happy.

 Grateful for a little shade from the sun while listening to the tour guide.

 Heidi absolutely LOVES her cousin, Kyler.  The first thing she would say in the morning was, "Where did Kyler go?"  Then when she went to bed she would say, "Kyler come too?"  He was so cute with her and didn't seem to mind his 2-year old shadow.  The only downer of the Mesa Verde day was when we went to go have lunch and Peggy tripped over the leg of a picnic table and broke her arm.  Thankfully the hospital in Durango was great, but we of course wish it had never happened.

 The hot tub at the cabin was a hit.  Heidi was too little to get in that hot of water, but she loved splashing her legs and watching her cousins.  She seriously loves her cousins and as you can see from this picture, they gave her plenty of attention!

 One of the highlights was riding the train up to Silverton.  Peggy and Bruno had BRIGHT green shirts for all of us, so we definitely stood out!  We got a lot of comments about the shirts, but it sure made it easy to find each other!

 Heidi absolutely loved, loved, loved riding the train.  I could not believe how good she was.  She wanted to stick her head out the window and watch the whole time.  She didn't fall asleep until we reached Silverton because she didn't want to miss a thing.

 We drove up to Silverton the next day to check out some of the old mines.  Heidi had fun looking for a gold nugget.  I was feeling pretty lousy that day so we didn't get to see as much as we would have liked, but I'm glad Heidi got to go for a little while.

 We were all sad when the trip came to an end.  We stopped at a park to play while we waited for Peggy and Bruno to pick up the x-rays of Peggy's arm.  All the girl cousins had fun on the swings together.  The boys definitely outnumber the girls so it's a good thing we are having another girl.

 Then everyone played "Don't touch the ground tag".  I think they would have played all day if we didn't have to hit the road.

 It would be so nice if we lived closer so the cousins could play together more often.  We all had SO much fun.  I am so grateful to have such wonderful in-laws.  I hear people complain all the time about the family they marry into, but I am so incredibly blessed.  I am so glad Heidi has all these amazing people in her life.

We went home through Ouray...so pretty.  You can't really see the waterfall here, but Heidi was very excited about it.

Thank you for the amazing trip and amazing memories!!  

We can't wait for the next time we all get together!

part of the process

Heidi has really had a blast watching the house being built and being a part of the whole process.  She reminds us frequently that "Todd build Heila's new, pretty house".  (Todd is our contractor).

 She loved watching the tractors dig the hole, she loved watching the cement trucks pour the foundation, she loved standing and looking down at the "big, huge hole".

 The framing has really taken the excitement to a whole new level.  Now she tells us how the hole is all gone and she is getting walls.  I just wish I had known when they were pouring the cement for the driveway because I really wanted to put her little hands in it.

Today she was going absolutely crazy running around on her new house.  She loved playing peek-a-boo and especially hearing the sound of her feet racing across the sub floor.  We are so grateful to all the people working so hard to build our home.  One of the framers ended up in the hospital today due to heat exhaustion...yeah, they are working really hard and the heat has been pretty intense the last few days.  We can't wait to see the continued progress!

Daddy and his girl(s)

 Ever since we found we are having another girl, people ask me how Jeff feels.  Probably because if you know Jeff, he is pretty into "boy stuff".  To tell you the truth, he is over the moon.  When they told us the baby was a girl, you couldn't wipe the enormous smile off his face.

 Jeff is such an incredible dad, and he is especially good with little girls.

 He was so nervous when Heidi came along, but she has had him completely wrapped around her finger from the day she was born.  He has jumped right in to all the girly things she likes to do...like dressing up cute, shopping, painting nails, dancing, and playing paper dolls.

 Jeff was the one to insist on going to the store to get Heidi red, white, and blue nail polish.  He patiently searched through rows of nail polish to find white.  No matter what she has on, he is the first one to tell her how pretty she is.  It's no wonder every morning after she gets dressed the first words out of her mouth are, "Show dad cute clothes."  When I was working he even put bows in her hair.

I have no doubt my girls will always have a special bond with their sweet, patient daddy!  We love you Jeff!

Fourth of July and other news

Warning: This post is a bit overloaded with pictures...

 I realized Heidi had a few more Fourth of Julyish outfits than I thought so we started wearing them when July hit.  We were a little excited for the holiday.

 We were extra excited this year because we were going to Utah to visit grandma and grandpa and go to the doctor to find out if Heidi was going to have a brother or a sister.

 If you don't follow facebook...she's having a sister.  We are seriously thrilled.  We would have been more than excited for a boy too and we are really just excited to hear that so far, the baby looks healthy and is growing well.  We just love having a girl so much that the thought of another one is thrilling.  Plus, I am so excited for Heidi.  I always wanted a sister growing up and I am so excited for her to have one.  Also, with being in transition when the baby is born, we are excited to already have clothes, bedding, etc.  Now we just need to find a name.  It's going to be really hard this time.

 On Sunday Heidi made a Fourth of July hat in nursery. They wore their hats while they carried flags around outside marching like they were in a parade.  Heidi had such a fun time and was grinning from ear to ear shouting, "MARCH, MARCH!" while lifting her legs to the sky.  I don't really think any of the other kids were marching, but boy was she.  She insisted on wearing the hat most of the day.

 Oh yes, and the next day.  She wore it for our morning walk.  She got a whole lot of extra looks and smiles.  She was so thrilled about I just couldn't say no.  She wore it the whole time, which really surprised me.

 We headed to grandma and grandpa's house on Tuesday.  We were so excited to see them and Heidi was especially excited. She just loves going to their house and we are glad to be a little closer now.

 We went to the zoo on the Fourth of July. It was awesome because we got free admission with Bruno's military ID.  Thanks, grandpa!  Heidi had an absolute BLAST.  We knew she would because she loves, loves, loves animals.  It was extra fun with grandpa and grandma.

 Heidi was seriously so cute.  She would bend down to get a closer look.  She would wave to the animals and say, "Hi Heila!  Hi Heila!"  She would show them her red, white, and blue fingernails.  And of course she has been talking non-stop about the zoo and the animals she saw.

 We really had such a wonderful time and are excited to take her back again.  The other cute thing she did at the zoo was point out how many of each animal there were.  "Three giraffes!  Two green birds! Only one yellow bird!"

Heidi loved the giraffes.  One of them was chewing food and grandma mentioned it might be chewing gum.  That really stuck with Heidi and if you ask her about the giraffes she will make sure to tell you about the one chewing gum and how he shouldn't swallow.

We had a wonderful holiday and we are so grateful to live in a free country.  We love America!!!

I'm sure it's just the beginning...

If you know my Heidi, you know that she is extremely verbal for her age.  It has started to become an embarrassment at times because as I have mentioned before, she commentates on everything.

Today while we were waiting for church to start, she happened to notice a young man in a very dark purple shirt.  She stands up and at the top of her lungs she shouts and points to him, "GUY WEAR PURKLE SHIRT!!!!  SILLY GUY!!"  I am sure everyone within the first 15 rows turned to look at us.  I wouldn't know, my head was down hiding--I think I turned 5 shades of purple myself.  If people hadn't noticed us before, I have no doubt they know who we are now!

(Oh and I forgot to mention how she made sure her nursery knew "mama throw up church in grass"...yeah, I had a migraine and darted out after sacrament.  Not knowing where the bathroom was, and not wanting to chance throwing up in the hall, I decided I would race to the car and see if I could make it home.  Nope, I ended up running with Heidi in tow as far as I could get, but ended up barely missing the trash by the pavilion...I know TMI.  Exactly why I need to teach this girl some tact.)