All tied-up

I just had to post this picture.  The other night Gabby had a restless night and this is how I found her in the morning.  As you can see, her shirt is all tied-up around her.  Oh, how I love this girl!  I hope I always remember how she is so much fun to cuddle.  She loves to curl up in my lap then she takes my arms and wraps them around her just how she wants them.  She keeps readjusting my arms until she has them exactly to her comfort.

We love St. George

We love spending time in St. George with my parents. It is therapeutic to leave our worries and responsibilities at home and dedicate a weekend, in which, the only objective is to have fun with family.  We had fun swimming. We hiked in  Zions.  Gib and I celebrated our anniversary by going out while my parents watched the girls.  It was the perfect balance of fun, rest and relaxation.  Can't wait for next time!

A Visit from Gib's family!

Gib's family was able to visit from Pennsylvania.  Emmy and Gabby loved spending time with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  Here are a few of our favorite moments from the visit:


Ghost Towns!
We toured through Tooele county looking for abandoned Ghost towns.

 

 Below is a picture of the "buried treasures" we found with metal detectors.  Despite our inability to strike it rich, everyone had a great time being outside and the kids loved digging for treasure.

Good Food!
We had some fantastic cook-outs.  Phillip made delicious bacon-Swiss burgers and Gib made Tri-tip that was to-die-for!  My favorite part of the night was an enactment from a creative 13 year-old.  Love you Nick!

 

Gateway Discovery Center!
This place is so creative.  Fun for the kids and adults, together.

 It was the best when Gib was made into a robot-man.

First steps!

Gabby has been timidly taking a few steps for some time, now. Last weekend, at almost 16 months old, she developed enough confidence that she really started cruising. Much to her delight, it was just in time for Easter egg hunting. Below I have posted a short video of her walking. She is thrilled to keep up with her big Sis.



We have had so much fun together the past few months. Here are a few highlights.

We celebrated my 34th birthday in St. George. Emmy hiked like a champ in Snow Canyon. We kept her busy looking for lizards and birds; before she knew it, we were at the top. It was rewarding to see how proud she was to have hiked the whole thing herself. We spent lots of time in the pool and Emmy and I got pedicures. A perfect way to celebrate a birthday!


St. Patricks Day celebrations with corn-beef and cabbage and homemade green-frosted sugar cookies. We had a sneaky leprechaun who left us with green toilet water and green milk.

We survived 8 days without Gib while he traveled to South Carolina for work. Whew, it was tricky, but we made it. The girls were soooo happy to see their Daddy when we picked him up. As a distraction, we went to St. George with Britt's family over the weekend. We had so much fun swimming! Ash and I got to go on a rare shopping trip together without kiddos. Thanks to my Mom and Dad and Chad for watching the kids! Also, Logan introduced my kids to the Muppets, one of their new favorites. Sadly, I didn't get a single picture this trip.

Easter Celebration. Breakfast with Britt's family and dinner with Gib's family. The girls were certainly spoiled by the Easter Bunny. He seems to know exactly where to find them, all day.It was adorable how Gabby was just as interested in the rocks as the Easter eggs.


One last video of Emmy on her scooter. She loves to ride!

Ducks

Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July celebrations started with a BBQ and swimming with the Gilberts.
Gabby was crying and Uncle John thought a loooong time about picking her up. He slowly worked his way closer and closer to her.


Finally, he overcame his fears. . .


and he almost smiled about it.


Gotta love that face!

Uncle Greg's back flip.


Gib's cannon ball.

Gabby's funny reactions to the fireworks.



Below is my favorite picture from the day. Emmy's expression says it all!

More squash, please!

At 5 months old, Gabby had her first vegetable today and loved it!

It was Gib's birthday last month. I took Emmy to buy his birthday gift. She was dissapointed when I said we were getting him a ceiling fan and said she was getting him balloons, instead. She was so excited about it she told him about his balloons before it was his birthday. What a sweetie! She was so proud to give them to him.