Happy Birthday Adell!!

She's ONE! YAHOO! I can't believe my little girl is already a year old.

What a fun year it has been!

Her birthday party was small. Just a few friends and family.

She loved having her cousin Maura there to help out :)

So what is this thing in front of me and why is it on fire???

Maybe if I sit still enough it won't get me.

OH I kind of like this. Lots and lots of paper for me to tear up!

And friends to help!

I know this picture is crazy blurry but It turned out pretty good

for all the teasing and wrestling that was going on.

We had so much fun with Bekki Dallin and Maura. I am so glad they came!

It is kind of hard to see because of the bright lights in the background

(poor picture taking on my part) but we hung letters from the ceiling

that said Happy Birthday Adell.

Of course she helped paint the letters!

Yes some of the paint did get on the intended target.

And I even managed to carry on Mom's tradition

of making interesting Birthday cakes.

It's a squid by the way ha ha :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Heart! We Love You!

Summer Fun

Five months is way too long to have gone without blogging anything.

So I guess I will just recap our summer with Adell.

One of our favorite things to do as a family is play games.

Looks like she will carry on the tradition.

Watching fireworks at the fourth of July.

You can almost hear her say "OOH AAH"

She still loves dirt, rocks and sticks.

MMM I think there is a few pictures of me trying this stunt! :)

Dogie kennels make the best toys don't ya know!

On our way to our family reunion in St George we stopped in Vegas.

Adell loved all the lights and sounds. Can you say VEGAS BABY!

Oliver and Adell are still best buds. But Adell loves when Oliver has friends over.

Look! Grass and flowers. Wow! My yard never looked so green!

Adell LOVES being outside!

Much like Maura, Adell is a great help to mom.

Here she is hard at work clipping coupons.

Adell loves visiting grandma and grandpa Todd.

They have the best toys!

Adell loves climbing in and out of this little car. She hasn't really figured out how to make it go. She only succeeds in moving backwards a few steps till she slides off the seat and under the wheels. Then it's mama to the rescue! And she climbs right back in and does it all over again.

I think this picture wonderfully describes

how much fun Kevin, Adelll and Oliver have together.

What a great Summer!

Twigs and Bark

It's Adell's first camping trip! Yahoo!! This was Easter weekend up near Payson Arizona. The days were nice but the nights and mornings were cold! The warmest thing I could find for Adell were her pajamas and the cute little beanie. Of course we took Oliver. It was so nice of him to pose for the picture don't you think?

One of Adell's favorite thing to do is brush her teeth (more accurately her gums, she has no teeth yet) or watch mom and dad brush theirs.

Master chef Kevin hard at work... hard at work keeping warm. Notice his hands are in his pockets not on the pan handle.

Adell and Oliver what great friends!

One of the days we went out shooting and Oliver was so anxious I had to sit with him while he cringed and huddled next to me.

I did find time to shoot the shotgun. I love shooting shotguns but I always have a huge bruise on my arm the next day.

More cringing and hiding.

We went with our good friends the Malicdems. While we shot guns the kids sat with us in the back of the car. As you can see. the guns didn't bother them a bit. Of course it doesn't hurt to have gotten balls stuffed in your ears (as you can see on Adell) On the Left is little Nora the Malicdems 2nd daughter.

This is why I named this post Twigs and Bark. Kevin was bound and determined to give Adell everything a good camping trip could offer and I guess in his mind that meant plenty of bark, twigs, rocks and dirt.

My turn to cook. I prefer the good old fashioned "jonesy method" Ha Ha!

Here they are the two Malicdem girls. Nora on the left (who you can almost see past the foot in her face) and Gwen on the right.

More fun with twigs and bark.

MMM chewy!

Nothin like a dirt caked family picture to put in the photo album :)

Gwen loves to play with Oliver. The Malicdems say they would love to have a dog as long as he is just like Oliver!

Oliver found something very exciting in the ground and went after it!

Don't know what he was after but he had fun looking for it.

Here is Adell helping set up the tent. Notice the twig in her hand. Kevin started on his master plan early.

What a happy Girl. She really does love the great out doors. I don't know what took us so long to go camping!!

Here we are the whole gang from left to right. Lynell, Nora, Marlena, Gwen, Oliver, Adell, Katie
and Kevin. Quite the Crew. We had so much fun camping with our friends! We can't wait till next time!

Mom

As I sit and play with Adell, rock her, make her smile, and hold her hand, I think how great it would be if my mom could be here with me. How great it would be to have her here to see all the amazing things my little one is doing. How great it would be to see my mom tickle her toes and kiss her cheeks. How great it would be to have her put her arms around both of us and give us a great big hug. How great it would be!!
I think about how Adell could have gone trick or treating at Grandmas house or helped her smell the roses. I think about how Adell could have gone on walks with mom and picked wild flowers. I think about how Adell could have made birthday cakes and other special treats with my mom. I think about how Adell would have written her letters and painted her pictures.
I also wonder what my mom thought as she played with me, rocked me, made me smile and held my hand when I was a baby. Was she thinking the same things I do, like how amazing is this little girl, how sweet, how pure, how precious? Was she excited about even the silly little things like a giggle or the clapping of chubby little fingers? Was she anxious every time I had a cold? Was she prayerful as she held me in her arms and sang me to sleep? Was she in awe at the tiny miracle that was so peacefully sleeping?
Yes. I know she did all these things because I am doing them now with Adell.
I love my mother. I am so glad I get to be and hope to be a mother just like the one I had.