I'm trying to catch up on my summer. So there is going to be a lot of posts and pictures today. All in good fun. After Maranda had Audrie their whole family came and stayed with us for about 2-3 weeks. We had so much fun with the Huffines. I think the girls thought they were sisters by the end of it!
Here are some snapshots of all the fun. They went swimming. We even went to the Zoo. Aspen refused her stroller and opted for Uncle Tyson's shoulders. Thank goodness he was there because I could not have carried her all over the Zoo on such a hot day!

Sophies Birthday

My niece Sophie and I are so lucky to have the same birthday! Although there is a slight age difference (22 years) I love sharing my birthday with Sophie. She (or I could say we) had a minnie mouse all pink birthday. Grandma got Aspen and Sophie some cell phone and I could not resist snapping a picture. How cute!

Meeting Audrie

Maranda had her little baby girl at the end of June. We were lucky enough to be able to go see them in provo. This is Aspen meeting her new cousin Audrie, who may I say is just adorable! Sophie and Aspen also got to go swimming with each other. It was a really fun day.

Lindsey and I had the opportunity to go visit Mandy in Arizona. We had such a fabulous time. I loved getting to know Cooper and Pyper and spending time with my wonderful sister and brother in law. The kiddos had a blast! Aspen loved hanging with the boys and loved lovin on Pyper! Here are some fun photos of the kids and just hanging out.

The Diva with her glasses and purse as always!

The other morning I was making breakfast as usual, but as I turned around to put Aspen in her seat this is what I saw. Now I never thought I would have to explain to and 18 month old that "it is time to put down the I pod!!" What a little grown up diva I have!

Grandma and Grandpas cat had some kitties. Aspen loves them. She will pick them, give them kisses and put them all in her basket to carry around. It is hilarious. My little angel is just so sweet!

Aspen and I go walking every morning. This particular morning I let her put on whatever she wanted. She reminded me of an '80's dance star. Her outfit just made my whole day! I will let the pictures do the talking.

April Showers

I am not the biggest writer. I often lack inspiration and time. But the other day a remarkable thing happened. I looked outside and it was not raining, the temperature had risen to around 42 degrees and the ever present 25 mph wind had ceased. I needed no more prodding I put on my running shoes, threw Aspen in the stroller and headed out. Passing cars in our neighborhood probably thought I was insane. I had my sweats on with my beanie and sunglasses with a perma grin on my face. I could not stop smiling. I love the smell of wet dirt, gravel and weeds (which our neighborhood is full of). As I took Aspen around we were able to see 3 horses, two dogs and a bunch of chickens. It filled all my senses with the coming of Spring.
I was sad to head back home to face my day. But I am glad for that walk, it has uplifted my whole week. I have not been able to take Aspen out for a walk in over 6 months and it has been killing me. There is something great about the outdoors that I love. The next day of course it snowed and I have yet to be out again. But I have found my inspiration, my running shoes are by the door and every morning I check outside to see if maybe the weather will cooperate with me. Thank you Sunshine for giving me one day in April!

Cake Mania

Adrian turned a whopping 28 this past week. We had a wonderful day together in Idaho Falls and on Sunday we enjoyed opening presents with some family. Thank you to everyone who came out to say Happy Birthday.
The tradition in our family is whoevers Birthday it is gets to choose what is for dinner and what cake they make. I then proceed to make it all. So Adrian wanted parmesan chicken with Fettucinni, french bread, ceaser salad and trifle. It was a lot of work and thank you to Drurene for making the trifle it was delicioso! Anyways Adrian also wanted a lemon cake so I got a wonderful recipe from my sister Lindsey and I made a lemon cake. I had to take a picture because this cake was all from scratch. So a couple of hours and 8 freshly squeezed lemons later here is the cake. And boy did it taste good!

Logans Blessing

We had the great opportunity to be present at my nephews blessing. It was such a special day to share with the Ten Eyck family. Aspen I think is just in love with Logan, she cannot give him enough hugs and kisses. Here are some pictures of our fun day!

So my Mother in law was asked to make and decorate a cake for our wards Relief Society Birthday Party. She used to make wedding cakes so she is really good. Anyways she asked me to help her decorate them. It was a blast and I learned so much! We had a great time running around the kitchen. Especially since we running so late and Aspen just wanted to be held. I just kept feeding her cake to keep her occupied, which I never give her that much sugar or treats ever and I apparently lost track of how much cake she had. When we got to the church she was all ready to play with everyone. So I took her to the nursery to play with the other kids and about 30 minutes later I hear her from down the hall SCREAMING. The poor young woman said that Aspen was doing great and then all of sudden she lost it. My baby had a sugar high and crashed right there in the church! She was asleep in no time. Lesson learned: Aspen will not eat cake for a while! So here are some pics of our cakes, I did the yellow one.

Long time no blog. I have been awful I know. It seems that lately my days are so jammed pack that I don't have the energy to sit and blog. I am trying to do better seeing how my baby is growing up so fast and I want my family who doesn't get to see her to be able to share in some memories. Life up here in Idaho is going well. Adrian is working so hard and I am learning lots of things being a stay at home mom. I love being with Aspen everyday. She is my very best friend. We do everything together: shop, cook, clean (she is excellent at vacuuming) and read stories. Here are a few special memories that have happened in the last couple of months.

I love my Aspen. Everyday when I cook anything, she insists on putting on an apron, sitting on the counter and helping me. We have so much fun together and I think my 1 year old is becoming a pretty good cook! Everyday when I get ready she pretends to put on makeup and walks around with her brush doing her hair. She is such a girlie girl but she can still throw a ball just as far as any of her boy cousins! So one day I decided to curl her hair. She was such a good client. I loved her curly hair and so did she!

Aspen was so lucky to have 2 birthday parties. We celebrated while we were visiting SLC with my parents and grandparents. Of course there was presents singing and cake. My Dad made this wagon with the blocks in it. He is amazing with that stuff. Aspen pulls it and takes rides in it everyday. She loves it!

A birthday would not be a BIRTHDAY without CAKE. Aspen is all girl. There is no cake like chocolate cake and she ate all she could and got it everywhere!

Aspen is so spoiled, she got to have the whole Bybee clan at her birthday it was a blast

Aspen had a cupcake party for her 1st birthday! We had so much fun watching Aspen open her presents.