Going Private

Well folks, I have been tossing the idea around for awhile. I know Private blogs are a pain, but after watching yesterday's Oprah, I've decided it is time to make the change. I know I don't have a ton of people that read us, so if you are one of the few, please leave your email so that I can send you an invite. Don't be shy, we love you all! Have a great day!

It's about time...

I'm officially organizing a babysitting co-op for the Utah Valley Area. I've got lots of friends here, and I know you all have more friends and neighbors, that would be interested and excited about participating. If you are like me, you want to go out more, have regular date nights with the hubby, MAYBE weekly girls- nights, BUT the mother's guilt, lack of funds or available sitters stand in your way. Those days are OVER, as far as I am concerned.

A babysitting co-op gives you:

* no-cost, quality childcare

* a support network of other women who deal with many of the same daily issues as you do.

* the opportunity to spend time on yourself.

* a new group of friends for you and your children.

* Guilt-free because it is a give and take.

Because a co-op is a give-and-take proposition, it's necessary to have a record keeping system so that all members benefit from the co-op. (I volunteer to get this all organize and be the first "secretary" to keep track of everyone's points).

* Each member begins with a 30-point base and is charged one point for one child per hour and an additional point for each additional child per hour. Members who do the babysitting call in their earned points to a secretary who debits and credits the member "accounts." The secretary is a position that rotates among members monthly; she is paid five points for keeping the books updated.

All co-op members receive membership lists from their co-ops which contain the name, address and phone number of each member, their children's names and ages, an emergency number and the name and phone number of the children's doctor.

I am EXTREMELY excited about this and I hope you all are too. I propose that we start collecting names and email addresses of those interested and then we will have a meeting for all the woman to meet, where we can also pass out a membership list.

So...please leave your name and email address and SPREAD THE WORD to your friends and neighbors and have them also leave their name and email address as a comment on this blog post :)

ADORABLE....check it out!

So a friend of mine from high school just opened this great shop on ETSY. You have to check it out! I could buy everything on there...but spread the word- I know many of you will drool over this! Tea Party Jewelry ... I'm thinking Christmas presents FOR SURE! Some of my Fav's:

Always want to remember...

This afternoon when I went to get Brooklynn out of her crib from her nap, I asked her the usual...

Me: "Good afternoon! How did you sleep?"
Brooklynn: "Good."
Me: "What did you dream about?"
Brooklynn: "Jesus."
Me: "Oh really!? Did you talk to him?"
Brooklynn: "No...he doesn't have a cell phone!"

Huge Grin!
Kids say the darnedest things :)

My Brother...

CODY...isn't he handsome!?

He received his mission call to serve the Lord as a representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for two years in Columbia South America and will be reporting to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on Wednesday, December 8th, 2010!
We are so proud of him and his decision to serve a mission...
We know he will learn a lot, grow a lot, and share a special message with a lot of people that will change their lives for the better :)

Opening his call...

CONGRATULATIONS!


In the mean time, Cody is living here with us.
He needed to get out of California for awhile and prepare to leave, so he decided to stay with us for a few months.
We couldn't be happier to have him around.
We love you Code!

Sisters...sisters!

Brooklynn will be 3 in January and time is flying. These days she is:
- Obsessed with bracelets...and wearing them both on her wrists and ankles.
- In love with her flip flops because of the sound they make.
- Sleeping with shoes on sometimes.
- Sleeping with a million other things in bed with her...i.e. books, dolls, shoes, the works!
- Counting to ten in Spanish (thanks Dora).
- Loving to wear my shoes/jewelry/clothes...anything mommy really.
- ALL GIRL! Wants to wear princess dresses and dance like a ballerina.
- Not playing with her bath toys...she washes/cleans them and then lines them up on the side of the tub for me to dry off and put away.
- SO emotional... I hear this is what I have to look forward to with girls :)
- Weighing in at 25 lbs...a little petite.
- Loving to eat Maylee's baby food.
- Obsessed with asking me what time it is, even though she has no idea what that means.
- Loves to play with her friends.

Maylee is now 8 months old and:
- Weighing in at a whopping' 14 lbs...another petite little thing!
- Screaming LOUDLY.
- Shaking her head back and forth like Shamu...so adorable.
- Moving around a room in every possible position you can imagine, except on her hands and knees.
- Loving her baby food...especially likes for me to mix in with her cereal.
- Nursing 3x a day.
- Sleeping like a champ- 14 hours at night, plus two 2 hour naps during the day.
- Has the longest tongue I've ever seen on a baby and is ALWAYS sticking it out.
- Wearing size 2 diapers still.
- Is such a happy and content baby.


These Two laugh, bathe, smile, take pictures, cry, and play TOGETHER. I really hope this is the start to a beautiful, healthy, lasting sister relationship! I am anxious, as I am sure Brooklynn is, for Maylee to get a little bit older and walking so that they can really be playmates. I envision disagreements in the future for sure, but a lot of wonderful moments together as well.










** Do you notice that most of my pictures are of the girls in their PJ's...that's reality folks...we rarely get out of them :)

California Trip

Our much anticipated trip to California for my brother's homecoming was a success! And we were able to squeeze so much into it (as usual). Alongside the big airport pick-ups, homecoming talk, get togethers...we were also able to see and spend time with Paul's Mother and Adam, Grammy, Uncle Marc, Grandma and Grandpa Giddings, Cassie/Violet/Baby Zachary, and long time friends! It was a jammed-pack, exhausting trip but full of beautiful memories.

The girls and I flew out on a Tuesday (they did great, but it was a challenge to carry them and our carry on's and car seats and luggage all by myself), and picked up our Uncle Marc at a different airport on our way home. Paul joined us on Friday. We picked up my brother and family from England on Saturday. And we drove back to Utah on Thursday with my Dad, Cody and Skyler. We didn't leave until 6pm Cali time, so we arrived home at 5am Utah time...it was quite a long/tiring night! But I am grateful all the travel arrangements worked out! Thanks mom and dad!

My girls...make me laugh.

I could seriously eat her.

Adam. Mother. Paul.

Coloring with Grandpa...love capturing moments like these.

Enjoying Grandma's 90 degree pool. That's my kind of swimming pool.

Brooklynn is OBSESSED with these ducks...plays with them every time we swim at Grandma Giddings'.

Little Munchkin got into ALL of Auntie Shayna's jewelry and had an absolute ball...not too sure it made Shayna happy though :) Sorry Sis.

Silly Goose.

Lots of playing...Brooklynn always asks these days for me to take a picture of her and sister. Cute.

Violet. Brooklynn. For not seeing each other for 8 months, I thought they got along great!
Violet shared all of her toys with Brooklynn so nicely.

Plane ride out...B was such a helper!

Crazy Grandma (she likes to be called that) and Maylee.

Love me some Paul.

What do we have here? Oh yes, making a mess...the usual.
Grandma didn't mind though.

Brittney. Briana. Me
Visiting with old friends and our girls!
It was great to catch up and see these beautiful mama's and gorgeous little ladies.
Thank you.

In parking lot after picking up Skyler and fam from England!
Joyous reunion for sure.
Yes this is my beautiful baby sister!

For Sale... Interested?

After much persuasion, I have convinced Paul to sell his precious truck. Thinking we might need to invest in a.. (ah GASP!) mini van in the near future, one of our vehicles needs to go and his truck is the most obvious choice. So away it goes...but we need to find a buyer first.

Here are the details:

2008 Toyota Tundra SR5 TRD Crew Max 4x4. Black exterior/tan interior. Automatic transmission with sport shifting. Automatic windows and locks. 6-Disc CD player. JBL sound/aux port. Bed Liner. Sun Roof. All-weather tundra floor mats. A LOW 22K miles. 6" Pro-comp lift. NEW Toyo Open Country M/T 35x12.5 tires. NEW 20" XD Monster rims.
We are asking $31K.

It's a great truck, and it will be greatly missed.
If you or anyone you know may be interested, PLEASE let us know!