Knudsen Corner

The 2012 Knudsen Summit

2012-01-05T10:47:00.000-08:00

Well Chris and I for a while have been wanting to take a night, without distractions and really figure out what our short term and long term goals are for our family. Chris surprised me last Friday he sent me to Message Envy to get a message first of all...I guess he figured that setting goals was going to be a bit stressful and I would need the decompression time first (ha ha ha!) Anyways then he had arranged for his brother Justin and his Wife Lindsey and cute Brooks to come and stay at our house over night.

We checked into the Hotel Monaco (one of my all time favorite Hotels in SLC...not like I have stayed at very many:) I am telling ya they put something in the air there that is AMAZING!!! The room was so stinking cool and we were on the 12th floor so the view was also AMAZING.

Then it was off to dinner, he figured we couldn't set goals on an empty stomach. So lucky for us one of our new favorite restaurants was within walking distance. *We also love the Hotel Monaco because we usually just take trax everywhere we go and leave our car in parking! Settabello's was so yummy as usualy...I am seriously OBSESSED with their pizza it doesn't leave you feeling all greasy and gross for sure!

Then it was back to the room to figure out what we want for our family! All I can say is I would highly recommend this to anyone, it was so nice to spend a couple of hours just discussing what we want for our family, our marriage, out of work, church and lots of other things. We were able to set time lines for certain goals so that we don't feel like we have goals but no real direction. By about 11:00 we were both in need of a break so we headed to the best place we could find open at that time that wasn't a bar...Denny's. I got their yummy brownie Sunday, let's just say I was glad I had run 8 miles that morning or else I would've felt really guilty (ha ha ha!)

It was such a nice surprise, I was so glad that Justin and Lindsey were willing to watch our kids and give us that opportunity. We were both GIDDY driving on Bangerter knowing we were going to get to see our kids in a couple of minutes...I love them and am so grateful for them and hope that we can really reach the goals we have set for them!

Can't beat their dessert...or the people watching that goes on at 11 pm (ha ha ha!)

The Margherita Pizza...AMAZING!!!

WE LOVE STAYING HERE!!!

Chris sprung for the delux and it was pretty awesome!

Christmas 2012

2012-01-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was so much fun, I think that each year it will progressively get more and more exciting for our kids...I love it! We woke up early and my parents and younger brother Tyler came out and we all went to our ward. Both Chris and I agreed that we wish every year was on a Sunday, it was so nice to feel the spirit so strongly and to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas, before all the craziness began. Out ward did such an amazing job on the program and the spirit was undeniable.

Afterwards we all come home and got our pajama's back on...you can't open presents in a dress (ha ha ha!) Lydia was so excited with each present, she would squeal and scream and couldn't have been any cuter. Then because Liddy was so excited Audrey was really getting into it too...LOVED it! Liddy had been asking for a while for a scooter and a lady bug blanket. Luckily our darling baby sitter Mackenzie got Lid this cute lady bug blanket and Auds a little mermaid one. She is so cute to our girls. Both girls got lots of fun toys, LIddy got her Lala loopsy dolls, a barbie car, some tools to work with dad, some play dough, a little mermaid and rapunzel toy and of course her scooter. Audrey got a build a bear, a little people farm, a new barbie, a shopping cart, and some little toys as well. I got totally spoiled this year by Chris he got me a $100 gift card to H&M, $100 towards new ski's (mine are ancient) and new pots and pans from Costco...I had been coveting them for a long time. Poor Chris didn't get too spoiled this year, at least on Christmas. He got a gun safe, with $100 towards a new gun. some clothes, and then after Christmas we got him this AMAZING shower head. I should say we both benefit from that present (ha ha ha!) Anyways overall we all got pretty dang spoiled!

After we had my mom's infamous stuffed french toast and I made an egg casserole. We then cleaned up and put Audrey down for a nap and my parents and Ty went home. We then met up at my parents again at 3:00 because Derek and Ashley had gotten in from St. George visiting her family. It was fun to be all together and as usual my parents SPOILED us. They surprised us all by getting each family an iPad 2. Yes we are officially cool...ha ha ha! It was so much fun seeing every one surprised. We then did our family gift exchange, had some yummy bean soup, and played a couple of games of catch phrase! It was a great Christmas, loved being able to spend time with my family.

The night after we had dinner at our dear friends the Babcock's. My dad baptized Liz's family while he was on his mission and we consider them to be our family. We got to see their new house for the first time...it was beautiful. And as usual the food, and the company was great! We always love any time we get to spend with them. Later in the week we also ventured down to American fork to visit my Grandma Pierce. She seems to be doing so well, and the girls loved playing with all of her toys.

It was yet another great Christmas and so nice to spend time together as a family!

Christmas Eve

My dad and Chris are both obsessed with getting the wrapping paper right into the trash...ha ha ha!

Auds and Nana

Lydia was one happy little girl!

The fam!

Grandpa keeping Audrey occupied and LIddy opening yet another present!

So spoiled

Tyler and Derek opened their iPad's at the same time and were so SURPRISED!!!

My cute brother Derek

Darling Ashley...being cute as usual!

Nana and Grandma Pierce

Christmas Eve

2012-01-04T12:19:00.001-08:00

This year we spent Christmas Eve with Chris' family! We had a great dinner followed by some games (Spot it...was way fun!), the kid's gift exchange, and the best was the kids acting out the Nativity story! It is always so fun to see the kids learning and excited about the true meaning of Christmas. It was a great Christmas Eve, so fun spending time with family!

Lydia was "Mary" and was so excited about it!

Audrey was an "Angel" even though she was quite the little stinker ( ha ha ha!)

Bode was the Donkey, Liddy Mary, Hawk a shepherd, Raini one of the Wisemen and Audrey an angel on a horse (she wouldn't get off of that horse all nigh)

And Brooks the newest addition to the family was the baby Jesus, doesn't he look so cute all wrapped in swaddling clothes? I am obsessed with his rolls...what a cutie!

Mary riding in on her Donkey

The kids looking at the "Baby" and Audrey trying to touch

SO CUTE!!!

The kid's opening their presents for the gift exchange.

Yup, Audrey is still on the horse...she seriously has spent hours on that thing.

When we got home Simon our elf had left us a note and some presents to open up before we went to bed! That Simon sure is sneaky:-)

You wouldn't believe how excited my kids were about new Pajamas...I hope they are always that excited!

Afterwards we put out cookie's and milk for Santa, went and spread some reindeer food on the front lawn and put out our "Santa's Magic Key" Lydia was so worried because we don't have a fire place so "Santa" sent a magic key so he can get into our house. Then they were both exhausted and it was off to bed!

It was a great night, and so fun to carry on traditions with our own little family. Chris and I had a great night too, we didn't have any big presents to put together so we watched a movie and actually got to go to bed before 2 am...con't complain about that!

Lydia's Pre-school Program!

2012-01-04T12:11:00.000-08:00

Lydia had her first pre-school program. It was absolutely DARLING!!! It was so fun to hear these darling kids sing their little hearts out! Lydia was SO serious the whole time, we could hardly get her to crack a smile, which if you know Lydia she is not normally a shy little girl (ha ha ha!) We LOVE Lydia's pre-school teacher Miss Angie...she is seriously the BEST, and Lydia is OBSESSED with her. I love that she is so excited to go and see Miss Angie every pre-school day.

Holding up their Christmas signs

Ringing their Jingle Bells

Liddy with cute Miss Angie

Sun Valley 2011

2011-12-21T16:27:00.000-08:00

Well we went to Sun Valley again this year...it was LONG overdue since we hadn't been in almost 3 yrs. We went with our good friends the Miller's and as always it was seriously such an amazing vacation! We stayed at the Lodge, Lydia was loving that they gave us chocolates each night. We ended up leaving Audrey at home with my mom and my mother in law helped too. It was nice not to have to wrestle that little stinker all day while trying to get some skiing in as well. I am pretty sure that she LOVED all the attention from my parents and brothers and didn't miss us a bit. I know it was much needed one on one time with Lydia too. She seriously couldn't stop smiling the whole drive there, and any time anyone asked her if she missed her sister her answer was a very definitive "NO" can you blame her...she is only 3 afterall (ha ha ha!)

Day 1: Anyways we got down there Friday afternoon and after checking in we headed to Smoky Mt. Pizza and Pasta. It is a tradition and I used to work at the one in Sandy while I was in college so it holds a special place in my heart...and I LOVE their Greek Penne it is the BOMB!!!

Lydia so excited to Finally be in Sun Valley (or Sun Balley as she says it!)

Smoky Mt. Pizza...Cash was so good the whole trip but he didn't want his picture taken for sure (ha ha ha!)

Chris wanted to go get a treat at Rocky Mt. Chocolate but it was closed...so we resorted to taking pictures instead!

Day 2: That morning we woke up hit "Gretchen's" this really yummy restaurant in the hotel and headed to River Run Lodge. First on the list...teach Liddy to ski. Not going to lie I was super nervous because she tends to be very stubborn (not sure where she gets that at all...ha ha ha!) But honestly she LOVED it, she kept saying "mom go FASTER!" They had a little magic carpet conveyor and she loved it. Perfect first introduction to skiing. It was also a fun day because Chris and Colby got to ski (yes Chris and I both skied this trip.) And Meg and I got to ski as well. It was so much fun. That night we went to the village and got some yummy hot chocolate and cookies, got to see the Christmas tree lighting and Santa even pulled up in his Sleigh. We were next in line to see Santa and the lights in the entire Sun Valley resort went out...it was still great and Santa was so cute with Lydia, she LOVED it! Afterwards we got one of Colby and Meg's niece's to watch the kids and headed out for a nice dinner kid free! Because the power was out everything in town was CRAZY so we actually ended up driving into Hailey and going to a FABULOUS mexican joint! It was delicious! Afterwards we headed to the Herriman house where Colby's brothers were staying and had some yummy dessert! Great day had by all for sure.

Faster mommy...faster!

My little Ski Bunny...I was so glad it was warm I think if it had been as cold as usual it might not have been as much fun for her.

Riding the magic carpet up

Weeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!

Day 3: The boys woke up early and headed to the slopes. They were going to try to get a few runs in before we got there. Meg and I met for breakfast and the Konditoeri and then we took the kiddo's to the day care at Dollar Lodge. It was such a cute daycare and Liddy was so excited to have friends and kids to play with. It was also great because we all got a good 4 hours in skiing and snowboarding. Chris and Colby snowboarded and meg and I skied. Then we picked up the kids and we took Liddy to Dollar Mt. It is an entire mountain with lifts, magic carpet all dedicated to beginners and kids. Lydia LOVED riding up on the lift and this time we let her hold onto our pole and eventually Chris even tied my belt to her pants and we let her go down on her own but we slowed her down with the belt. It was such a great day and I loved spending it with friends and our little family! That night Colby's Sister in law Jen made the best Taco Soup for everyone and we got some ice cream and hit up Ice Skating. It was so much fun, Lydia wasn't as sure on her ice skates as she was on her ski's but that is to be expected!

At the top of Seattle Ridge...Chris really wanted a pic of the view, it is seriously so AMAZING!

This pictures seriously doesn't do it justice but it is always so hard to explain to people how steep and how long the Sun Valley runs are. Just when you think you have got to be close to the bottom you will see that there is a lift dropping off which means you have a ways to go. There really isn't a resort nearly as amazing anywhere else (that I have been...that is)

Lydia after she was finished...and yes she still has a smile on her face!

Holding onto mommy's pole

This was the night at the Christmas tree lighting...before the lights went out!

P.S. DOn't you love Cash's hat...I am a little obsessed with him, he is seriously so stinking cute and such a good baby, Colby and Meg definitely got a keeper!

I love that Sun Valley has all of these ice sculptors everywhere. And seriously I felt like I had Hot Chocolate running through my veins, I have never drank so much in my entire life (and I loved every sip!)

Lydia petting one of Santa's reindeer

Telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas

Meggie and Cashus

Lydia with her game face on...ha ha ha!

I think you can tell by her face she eventually loved it!

So many fun family memories were made...I can't wait until we can take Audrey too and share all of these fun things with her too!

Colby, Meg and Cash...our besties!

Lydia had given up, and Sky and Izzy got her to go one more time around the rink.

Overall it was an AMAZING vacation, it was so nice to get away and spend some quality time together. Chris has been super busy at work and I think he needed it more then any of us! I am always grateful to be able to spend time with great friends and my family!

Temple Square Lights

2011-12-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

Let me just start by saying if you know me you know that I LOVE the holiday's basically Thanksgiving til New Years is my FAVORITE time of year. I love the smell, the lights, the treats, the songs (yes I LOVE the music being played after Thanksgiving.) I loved going to see the lights every year as a kid so after being married for 6 1/2 yrs. I was finally able to convince Chris A.K.A Scrooge...he hates that kind of stuff, to go to see the lights at Temple Square. I can also officially say I think it is going to take another 6 yrs to get him back. It was fun to take the kids but it was SO crowded. We had a lot of fun with the couples in our ward that we went with, and we were glad that they were able to get us to go!

The kids weren't quite as excited as I had hoped...ha ha ha my unreal expectations coming out for sure!

Audrey was a snug as a bug in a rug!

Liddy did love playing with any kid she could find!

Yup gotta get a one armed photo in their

Not going to lie..."I'm in Love, I'm in Love and I don't care who konw's it"-Buddy Elf

It was so crowded it took us 10 minutes waiting in line just to get up to see the Christ statue...one of my all time favorite parts of Temple square for sure though!

It was also FREEZING

Merry, Merry Christmas...and Bah Humbug!

Gingerbread House

2011-12-21T16:05:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite Christmas traditions has definitely carried on to Lydia. She had so much fun and couldn't wait to decorate it. I know why she loves it so much...I caught her practically inhaling the frosting, and who wouldn't love all that candy!

She decorated her own gingerbread man

The final product!

Old pics!

2011-12-21T15:58:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics I found on my camera that I haven't uploaded in forever...

Hair cuts, Halloween face painting, sister's wrestling and the yummy applesauce my neighbor and I made this year!

Academy of Dance Winter Concert 2011

2011-12-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Well we had our 7th dance recital as Academy of Dance. It was a bit stressful, but extremely rewarding all at the same time. This year they double booked us with the high school so we ended up having to move our rehearsal to the Jr. High and had our recital at Herriman High School again. It worked out, but I will say I don't ever want to have them at 2 different places again (ha ha ha...I lost way too much sleep over all of that:))

Anyways as always my girls did AMAZING, it was so much fun seeing them all up on that stage. I am always amazed how much they have progressed over the past couple of years. I can't even begin to say how lucky I feel to be able to do what I do. Dance is such an amazing part of my life and I feel so lucky to be able to share it with such incredible little girls! I am also so lucky to have such great teachers teaching at the studio this year...they are all so dedicated and LOVE dance just as much as I do:) Anyways here are some pics from last night!

P.S. My dad took pictures and I had him video Lydia's class because our card on our video camera was full so I don't have any pictures of Lydia's class...but they were stinking CUTE!!! I am sure I can track some down so I will try to add them in later!

Lydia waiting to go to her recital...she was being a stinker and I didn't get any great pics of her before

I love their little flapper costumes!~

2-3 yr old Big Girls Don't Cry...they were darling! I am always amazed with how well little 2 and 3 yr olds do on the stage.

5-8 yr olds When will my life begin, our darling Rapunzel dancers...they were absolutely FABULOUS!!!

Marie Choreographed this one and it was so well done!

3-4 yr olds..."Little Itty Bitty" they were so cute...each one had a huge smile on their face the whole time. This was another one of Marie's and it was so stinking cute!

Academy E (4-7 yr olds) "Party Rock Anthem" Let's just say this was one of my favorites...they got so into it and with the song it was so CUTE!!!

Academy C (7-8 yr olds) "Pump It" Keri choreographed this one and it was so cute...the girls have improved in their hip hop a ton this year!

Academy D (5-6 yr olds) "Can't Buy Me Love" They were so stinking good, most of these girls have taken from me for a few years and it showed, they were seriously so good!

Academy A "Imma Shine" Keri Choreographed this amazing hip hop for the oldest girls, she did a fabulous job and the girls honestly looked AMAZING they had worked hard and it showed!

Academy E (4-7 yr olds) "I can't get no Satisfaction" These girls danced their little hearts out, they are such a fun group and it showed in their dancing!

Academy B (9-10 yr olds) "Beggin" Keri choreographed this hip hop as well, it was so good and so fun to watch, the girls did amazing!

Academy A "Sky Scraper" Nichol choreographed this AMAZING lyrical...I was in tears by the end. The girls have grown so much over the past few months and it is hard not to get emotional about them. I love these girls, they are the BEST!!!

Loved this shot!

Acadmey D (5-6 yr olds) "That's what little girls are for" Oh my goodness I can not tell you how much I loved this dance and these dancers. It was a hard routine and they knew it so well and danced their hearts out. I am so proud of what a good job they did!

Academy C (7-8 yr olds) "Jump Jive n' Wail" this was one of my favorites by far, the girls were so into it and they had so much fun. It is so fun when they get a little older and really start to get it...they were AWESOME!!!

Academy B (9-10 yr olds) "Magic" Oh my goodness these girls are seriously so AMAZING...they have improved so much and the difficulty of this dance was insane. They worked so hard and they looked so stinking cute up on stage. Love it when they get to show off how hard they have worked!

Academy A "Good Luck" What else can I say other then AMAZING...these girls looked so good and are such great examples of what a lot of hard work and dedication will get you. I loved watching them up on stage and seeing how much they have grown over the past few months. I seriously can't say enough nice things about these girls...so fun to watch!

FINALE'

Part of Academy A...I LOVED their costumes, so cute!

My teachers, Keri, Marie, Nicole and my Best Friend Meg to ran the show back stage...they are all so amazing and I am lucky to have them as teachers and friends!

I am so lucky to do what I love...don't know what I would do without this in my life!

Bad Mommy!

2011-12-13T14:22:00.000-08:00

So the other day I put my girls in Lydia's room in hopes they would play together for a little bit so I could get the house cleaned. Well to my surprise they played so well. I checked to see and it had been over an hour. I kept thinking I don't want to go in there and disrupt them, usually they will play together for 20 minutes or so and then they get in a fight and sister time is OVER!!! Not this day though. Anyways I was cleaning my bathroom and could hear Auds approaching...in crawled the little stinker and she was COVERED in marker. I was horrified...I ran into Lydia's room expecting to see a room covered in marker...well pretty close both girls and their 5 foot teddy bear. I pulled them out and was trying to figure out what to do first (well after taking pictures.) Lydia kept asking "Are you going to put me in time out?" Now usually miss-use of markers is time out worthy but this time I just couldn't...I was the bad mom that thought, I am just going to leave them. We had a big talk about not using the markers to draw on ourselves, at which point Lydia informed me she just wanted to look like a tiger, and so did Audrey and Teddy. Anyways after a good bath, and scrubbing Teddy with carpet cleaner they were all marker free! I had to laugh, especially at Audrey because she was just as happy as can be! Lydia even went as far as to put red marker on Audrey's lips so it looked like a creepy combination of the Joker and chucky...ha ha ha! Anyways I love my girls, and even though I don't love cleaning up markers I love to think of them getting along and being best friends...something I never had the chance to have!

Lydia knew she was in trouble and when I got in there she was in the bathroom trying to wipe it off, so her picture is slightly less obvious how bad it was.

Audrey on the other hand was clueless as to what she looked like (ha ha ha!)

I had to post this little gem, our Simon is so creative...we love finding where he is going to be hiding every day (ha ha ha!)

Welcome back...Simon!

2011-12-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a long time since I have posted...life has been a bit CRAZY to say the least!

Anyways here are a few things I haven't been able to post about and probably won't get around to...

1. We had a great Thanksgiving spent with family and friends. Got some snowboarding in, ate some yummy food and played Settlers!

2. Saw Twilight, other then the totally cheesy wolf seen I LOVED it! I am already excited for the last one to come out!

3. Did some black Friday shopping. We live a block away from Walmart and we had to park all the way by the clubhouse...to say that it was CRAZY would be an understatement. We got very few things, sleep but we had a lot of laughs, and I got rammed by quite a few carts from psycho lady at walmart. I don't think that I will ever do that again (unless I have a big item in mind.) I value my sleep way to much, and I think Chris realized I am not a fun person to be around on no sleep (ha ha ha!)

4. Audrey got her first hair cut...I was so glad I paid to have it done after seeing how wiggley she was, I had debated but if I had tried pretty sure it would've been butchered!

5. The most important and exciting new for our family is....

SIMON "the elf" is back!!!

We have had so much fun looking for Simon each morning. Lydia found him in the fridge, in her barbie's tub taking a break, on top of the star on the Christmas tree, sneaking some gold fish from the pantry and today she found him cuddling with Snow White!

Can I just say I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Christmas time with a toddler...SO MUCH FUN!

A sneak peak!

2011-11-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

Our good friend Andee Mcdonald did my family shots. My parents LOVED our so much so my dad got that for my mom for her birthday. We wanted some fall shots and we were so lucky to have the weather cooperate. It had snowed off and on all day but I seriously think they turned out darling. Thanks again to Andee I seriously can not

say enough nice things about her, we just feel lucky to know her! Check out her blog at andeesphotos.blogspot.com or her website www.andeemcdonaldphotography.com!

My darling parents!

Liddy we a bit freezing and highly uncooperative while the photographer was taking pics...ha ha ha

Little stinker was more concerned with the geese then getting her picture taken (ha ha ha!)

My brother Derek...I am pretty sure this picture will be on the back of one of his books he writes. He is destined to be a famous author for sure.

My brother Tyler...yes ladies he is single so if you have anyone to set him up with let me know (my kids need some cousins ASAP...ha ha ha!)

Our little family

A picture of Chris and I w/o kids...very rare (ha ha ha!)

I love Audrey's face...you can tell she is totally holding in a laugh!

Love the red in the background...so CUTE!!!

Nana and Grandpa LOVE their granddaughters...and they love them too!

My dad made the mistake of running through a bunch of birds while holding Liddy's hand and scared her half to death so we were trying to get her happy again!

Love, Love, Love this photo...the colors couldn't have worked any better!

A fan already

2011-11-07T21:57:00.000-08:00

If you are a fan you will completely understand (ha ha ha!)

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

It was another great Halloween. I had the perfect day planned out in my mind, and let's just say it didn't turn out anything like I had imagined. I made soup...no one touched it (I had the left over's the next day and I thought they were pretty dang good if I may say so myself...ha ha ha!) I got caught in traffic driving the babysitter home after dance so I was rushing to get my glowstick luminaries put together...which in turn left my kitchen a DISASTER area, I don't do well with messy. Chris was stuck in traffic as well so I was a bit frazzled trying to get kid's ready and out the door (luckily my parents decided to ditch the 8 trick-or-treater's they would've had in their neighborhood and come with us so they were a HUGE help.) Anyways I had envisioned soup, trick-or-treating, pics of kids in cute skeleton jammie's, kids to sleep and watch a scary movie...ha ha ha and honestly even though it didn't turn out the way I imagined it was still a fun filled night with lot's of tricks and treats!

My mom and dad were good sports to come trick or treating with us in the cold, while Chris stayed back and handed out treats.

Liddy and Peyton...best of friends!

Grandpa was on car duty with Audrey...she was freezing by the end of the night but didn't even say boo, she loved every second she got in that little red car (ha ha ha!)

Nana and the girls!

Disclaimer* Yes Chris and I are adults, do we always act like it (NO...ha ha ha!)

Chris has had this plan for almost a year to play a prank on a bunch of our neighbor's...hence goblin boy. We placed him on our neighbor's doorsteps after 8:30 and to say that it was a bit creepy would be an understatement. We had a lot of really funny reactions, from throwing the dummy, to throwing candy at the dummy to giving the dummy choices of candy and asking if it was ok. Overall it was one of the funniest nights I have had in a LONG time. We will have to plan a new trick for next year...don't worry we are that immature (Ha ha ha!)

You have to admit if this was on your doorstep not moving a muscle you would be a bit nervous!

Kid's Halloween Party!

2011-11-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

Our cute neighbor's up the street hosted a FABULOUS family halloween party. We weren't sure if we were going to be able to make, but boy am I SO glad we did. They went ALL OUT. The kids had yummy pizza, then played outside for a bit. Afterwards the kids decorated cookies, made spooky puppets, and went through their spook alley in the basement where the kids got to find friends like Dora, Belle, Buzz and many more. It was SO much fun, we were so glad we were able to make it!

P.S. My visiting teacher's husband does a charity where if you donate canned food he takes your kids Halloween pics for free...such a great idea! Anyways the girls were still happy after the party so we headed straight there and I will say he did a great job and was DARLING with my girls!

The cute halloween pic by Kevin Lunt photograpy

I didn't get a lot of pics, but honestly if I had left Audrey in this swing I am pretty sure she would have been content til next week (ha ha ha!)

The cute spooky treats that were provided

My little witch playing "Haunted House!"

Hi-Ho-Halloween!

2011-10-31T21:45:00.000-07:00

Lydia had her pre-school Halloween mini program...it was SUPER cute! She sang songs like "Mean old with" and Hi-Ho Halloween. She was all smiles, and so excited to get to see her pre-school friends in their Halloween costumes as well.

Gardner Village wit Nana!

2011-10-27T17:34:00.000-07:00

It has become a tradition to hit Gardner Village to see the witches. Lydia loved it so much last year that she wanted to be one this year. We went on Thursday the first day of UEA because my mom had it off, a lot of other people must have had the exact same idea (ha ha ha!) Lydia LOVED showing nana all the witches and Audrey was a good sport as usual. Not going to lie love seeing my girls faces light up seeing all the fun festivities!

The Knudsen Girls!

Lydia was so excited to dress in her costume and look like the witches!

Audrey looks bored but it is only because I didn't dare get her out.

I LOVE all the decorations...I wish I could have them decorate my house each year as well.

Sista's

Lydia talked about the hoola hooping witch all year...she was so excited when she finally found her!

My little witches!

Auds...my little pumpkin

Diddy and Nana

Love her sideways smiles!

She was so excited to get to ride THUNDER!!!

Dash After Dark

2011-10-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

Some friends in my neighborhood all ran the Riverton 5 mile dash after dark. We all dressed up, only to show up to the race to find out we were literally the only people dressed up (minus 1 lady who I am pretty sure walked the entire race.) Fun night, had a lot of laughs with good friends! Not a ton of people ran it but it was pretty cool, we all received medals for taking 1st-3rd place in our age divisions. I was pretty stoked to take 1st in my age division and finish 6th overall (ha ha ha!) Gotta love small races for that very reason:)

3rd Annual Cornbelly's Farm Day!!!

2011-10-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

This year I was so excited for Cornbelly's farm, especially because I was able to get a groupon for a season pass for a huge discount which means we will get to go more then once...something I am sure Lydia will be super excited about as well.

It hadn't been the best weather the past couple of weeks and so finally Friday it was great weather and I told Lydia if she was brave while getting her flu shot she could bring a friend with us to Cornbelly's...she was SO excited to invite her bestie Peyton.

We headed to Cornbelly's after my friend Jeni (Peyt's mom offered to watch Audrey...such a relief.) The girls were in heaven, we couldn't get to each little even quick enough. They did the pillow tramps, the slides, the dress-ups, we even got some Magelby's sweet potato fries...YUMMY! Loved seeing these girls have so much fun, and I am already so excited to go back again!

Lydia LOVED jumping on the tramps!

Peyton

I think these slides are the COOLEST...not going to lie I wanted to go down them myself.

Playing in the pirate ship!

Best Friends

The ducks

Their favorite part was by far the dress ups...we spent the most time there for sure!

Such a cute princess

Welcome to the ball

They LOVED dancing on the stage...it was so cute!

Love nothing more that seeing my kids having fun!!!

The Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

2011-10-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

Lydia had her first field trip for pre-school. We went to the pumpkin patch on 11800 S and 3600 W. It is seriously the cutest pumpkin patch EVER...we have been going there for years and this year did not disappoint! It was so fun to see Lydia with her cute little classmates, and her darling pre-school teacher Miss Angie bought each student a little pumpkin and they got to decorate them there at the pumpkin patch. So much fun, and seriously a family tradition that I hope we can do every year for a long long time!

Lu Lu wtih her classmates!

The Knudsen Crew

Liddy's decorated pumpkin

What cuties!

Beep, Beep

It was definitely nap time for Auds, so to say that she was a bit onrey would definitely be an understatement. Luckily Miss Angie gave her a little debbie cake...which made "miss piggy" very happy (ha ha ha!)

We were excited to get to use our cool back pack we bought in Hawaii...we got it for $15 and seriously such a good find. So long as we kept moving Audrey LOVED it!!!

AUDS turns 1!

2011-10-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well I can hardly believe that it has been a year since this little girlie joined our family...and who are we kidding we are so lucky to have her. She is such a sweet, sassy, little miss piggy with a jack-o-lantern smile. She is talking, crawling, and will eat just about anything. She loves Che, Che and really loves to fight with her big sister Lyd. She is obsessed with her daddy, binky and her pink blankey. She is super stubborn, and yet just about the sweetest little thing you will ever meet. I haven't taken her in for her 1yr yet but as soon as I do I will put her stats! Audrey we love you so much and are so blessed to have you in our family! I can't believe you are already 1 and we are so excited for all that life has in store for you.

This year we celebrated Aud's B-day just with our little family. Lydia loved helping Audrey open her presents, and blow out the candle. We enjoyed a nice quiet night, and enjoyed some time to spend with out kids without a million other things going on. I wanted to do an owl cake for Audrey but I will be honest I just plain ran out of time, so we did owl cupcakes and a pink cake! I LOVED seeing how excited she got when she knew she was going to get a cupcake...she throughly enjoyed every bite, and Che' enjoyed cleaning up the mess.

Happy Birthday Auds, Auddy, Auds-pods, Audge Podge, ree-ree, and miss piggy...we don't know what we would do without ya!

Audrey got some one on one time with mommy and daddy while liddy was at preschool!

Love that face...that is her pick me up already face!

Doesn't she look so old? It makes me so sad.

Love her ruffled little bum!

We didn't do a party but the "Smother" in me had to put up a few decorations (ha ha ha!)

I think Lydia was just as excited as me!

Her pink coconut cake...not super proud of the way this one looks, but it tastes DELICIOUS!

If only I had more time I would've had a cake to match it!

Auds and her favorite...DADDY!

Lydia helping out sis...Audrey wanted to do it her self.

She really got the hang of opening presents

Lydia LOVED the box

Audrey loved the toy...fffeeewww!

She is pointing to the cupcake...ha ha ha (we call her miss piggy for a reason!)

She was not messing around...she meant business!

Trying to share with daddy!

My little birthday girl all cleaned up and playing with one of her new b-day presents!

Had to put this one...I can't believe how big Lydia is getting too. She LOVES pre-school and she wakes up so excited to go. She is learning so much. Poems, songs, letters, and so much more. I love both of my girls and can't believe how truly blessed I am!

26.2

2011-10-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

October 1st I participated in the St. George Marathon. It was so much fun and definitely worth all the hard work. I felt so lucky to have such a great running buddy my neighbor Emily who talked me into actually training for this, and even though waking up at 4:15 am to do our 20 miler on a Thursday wasn't super fun I was so happy and felt way more prepared (especially since having kids makes training so much harder!)

Anyways we got on the bus around 4:30 am and headed to the top. Once we got up there we were blown away by how many people, fires, bathrooms, and especially people there were. It was cold but not nearly as cold as the 2nd one I did. They even handed out space blankets which made such a HUGE difference. After we both hit up the bathrooms twice, sat around a fire for an hour chatting it up with fellow racers it was finally time to start. Right before I really had to go and the bathroom line was WAY too long so I apologize to any fellow bush people that may or may not have seen a full moon out (ha ha ha!)

We felt so good at the beginning and were keeping way good time. We really wanted to finish 4:15ish which was my first marathon time. We stayed pretty strong through Veyo, and the 2 mile incline hill. Mile 14 hit and I seriously had my doubts that I was going to be able to finish, luckily Emily was able to keep my spirits up and keep me running. Then came mile 20 and we both started to feel the pain. We pushed through it and even though I think so much of it was mental we kept on RUNNING.

The highlight for me was mile 21 when I saw a huge yellow "GO MOMMY" sign with my cute daughters, husband, and best friends the Millers right by. I will say my emotions got the best of me and I started to cry. Those last 5 miles may have been the hardest but I was reminded of why I was doing this crazy race, not just for me but for my family. We finally made it to the finish and we appreciated all the goodies along the way, the misters, popcicles, and especially the ice cold wash cloths!

We finished in 4hr 34 min (if you take out the bathroom breaks along the way it was 4hrs and 27 minutes...my watch keeps track, ha ha ha!) I didn't beat my first marathon time but I did beat my second time and I am extremely happy with that! Nothing beats running through that finish line and knowing that it is all OVER!!! YEAH!!!

Overall it was an incredible race, and experience. Emily and I went running this morning and we are already strategizing how we can do better next year...yes we are that crazy we already can't wait til next year! I feel so blessed to be able to run, dance, play and enjoy so much of life. There really isn't a day that I don't thank my heavenly father for all he has given me, and I am so glad that my cute family was there to share it with me.

So lucky to have such great little cheer-leaders!

Auds and Cash were good sports!

I know I look rough, but hey I just ran 26.2 miles (ha ha ha!)

My cute friends Emily...it was so much fun starting all our training together and finishing it together too!

Are you kidding me...who wouldn't be motivated by this, Can't even express how much I love them!

P.S. Thanks Meg for taking pics, and getting my girls ready. I know Chris was a bit overwhelmed and who are we kidding we love ya to death for it!

Lake Powell and other adventures

2011-10-06T12:02:00.001-07:00

We went to Lake Powell with my family the weekend after Labor day. It was quite an adventure and definitely a trip we will never forget! Here are the highlights

1. Changed our tires right before so our alignment was way off...we ended up having to stay the night in price and get our car fixed in the morning.

2. Lydia got the 24 hr flu. The pic below is of her on our walk to get breakfast. She was so weak she couldn't walk any farther. She still mustered up a smile (ha ha ha!)

Audrey was tuckered out by all the car excitement as well.

3. We finally got to Lake Powell. It was a great trip with both sets of grandparents, my younger bro and his friends. It was even such a full house we got to stay on a friends house boat and we had the whole thing to ourselves...so nice.

4. We did a lot of surfing, skiing and wakeboarding

5. Lydia and Audrey loved spending time on the boat, and I loved Lydia taking a nap.

6. Of course we got ice cream at Halls...yummy

7.Played a few games of Scum and watched a bit of Modern Family

8. Went on a hike and cliff diving...I watched from the boat on the cliff diving, those days are long gone for me (ha ha ha!)

9.Lydia went off the slide with Chris, she wasn't very happy about it but she told everyone when we got home.

10. The highlight of the trip was seeing my 77yr old grandma go off the slide...it was AWESOME!!!

Lydia's reward after going off the slide

Audrey's serious ghetto booty after swimming...I obviously didn't have her in a swimmer (ha ha ha!0

$2 Tuesday

2011-10-04T15:47:00.001-07:00

The last Tuesday in August my BFF Meg and I headed to Thanksgiving Point to participate in their $2 Tuesday's. It was super crowded but also way fun and nice and cheap! We hit up the dino museum, the petting zoo and Meg took me to the Harvest for my birthday as well (I LOVE that restaurant!) They even did $2 kids meals at the harvest and $2 cheesecake...pretty sure I gained like 10 pounds just at that lunch alone (ha ha ha!) We love any time we get to spend with Meg and Cash, everywhere we go Lydia is always telling Meg things, not me but Meg. I am lucky to have such a great friend!

Lyd Loving the smoke...kind of reminds me of "LOST" good thing this smoke monster doesn't attack (ha ha ha!)

My future farm girl, if I can ever talk Chris into moving us to Oakley:)

Meg and Cashus on the hey ride...isn't Cash such a stud, I just want to squeeze those cheeks!

The Knudsen girls...looking a bit hot and tired!

Audrey doing what she does best...CHILL!

Lydia was in HEAVEN with so many fun things to do!

The crew

Love Popcorn!

Go Blue Ninja's!!!

2011-09-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

Lydia had her first soccer game a couple of weeks ago...it was the CUTEST thing ever! She was a little nervous to get in the action but had a lot of fun chasing the ball. Luckily there are some really good boys and girls on the team so they make up for little Lydia's shyness towards the ball! I am sure I will have more pics as the season goes on and hopefully her favorite part won't always be the treat (ha ha ha!)

Lydia's biggest fan...little sis!

The game plan from Coach...i.e. kick the ball that way (ha ha ha!)

She was a pretty fast little runner

What mom...I am with my friends quit taking pictures!

Go Blue Ninja's

1st Annual Pheasant Pointe Bike Parade!

2011-09-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

Our ward had our first Bike Parade. I will say I may have gotten a little carried away decorating Lydia's bike and Chris made me tone down the 12 balloons I bought to only 3 (ha ha ha!) She gave 2 away to kids that their balloons flew away...she is so sweet. Anyways I had a lot of fun, Lydia was a little nervous and it didn't help that I attached empty cans to her bike so she was by far the loudest little rascal there too but all in all it was a very fun day! I am already looking forward to next year and hopefully little Auds will be able to participate in the fun as well!

It was a red, white and blue theme...yes she has flowers in her basket and yes I got carried away!

She has her game face on for sure!

Running and the Journey!

2011-08-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

***Just to preface for once this post will not be about my kids...shocker I know (ha ha ha!)

Well I am just over a month away from the St. George marathon and I have been doing some reflecting about what it is that I love so much about running. I don't love the waking up early but I love the feeling after I finish. I don't love being a seriously sweaty mess but I do love feeling like I have earned my breakfast for the day. I don't love sore knees and feeling like my body is telling me I am not 16 anymore but I also love feeling sore and knowing that I can still run every day. I love the therapy sessions with friends, and discussing and finding out that I am not as bad of a mother as I sometimes feel. Or that I am not the only one with certain issues. I love the feeling of accomplishment as well as how much happier I am the days I run. I love the health benefits but for me it is so much more a mental help (honestly!)

My running journey started young. I can remember waking up at 6:00 am in Jr. High to go and work out before school with my dad. I would run on the treadmill...and I couldn't tell ya how fast or far but I knew I loved the feeling I had. I wouldn't say I was consistent by any means but for a 13yr old I guess I knew that me and running were in it for the long haul!

By high school all running was put almost a complete stop as Dance took over my life. Instead of waking up early to run I was waking up early for Drill and Dance company. I would occasionally run but other things took over my life like competitions, dances, boys (well one boy in particular...but he occupied a lot of my time, guess some things never change)

In college running and I got re-acquainted I moved to Boise my freshmen year to dance on the Boise State Drill team. To say I didn't love my freshmen year would be an understatement but I did find my love of running. I would leave my house after classes and run as far as I could before it got dark. I loved running in a new an unfamiliar place. I loved seeing Boise from a different point of view and I especially loved running the green belt. A beautiful track that runs along the river that takes you through the better part of Boise. I loved seeing the wildlife, as well as all the other runners, bikers, bladers. I saw a few things on my run like when a student on a bike accidentally ran over a squirrel which exploded all over the kid. It was totally disgusting but I actually made a friend out of it (we later found out we had an English class together, and we stayed in contact after I moved home to SLC.)

Once I moved home and to Provo my love of running continued. After a couple of years of inconsistent running I decided to run a marathon. So I ran, and ran and ran...I rarely new how far but it was never more then the 1/2 marathon's I did. Looking back I was young, and obviously a little clueless. I only wish I could do that now. I ran the 1st marathon with Chris, who had only been home off of his mission for a couple of weeks and hit two brothers. My second marathon I did after I had kids, I ran it with my BFF Meg and again I never ran further then the 13.1 miles I did at my 1/2 marathons. The second one was much more difficult and I finished 30 minutes later then my first time...but at least I finished.

After having kids I thought I will never run a marathon again. There is way too much time involved and when would I find the time. I found a running buddy that whipped my butt into shape (thanks Jill) and at least got me loving running again. I started to find that I needed the running for the outlet more then anything else...and I started calling it my therapy session. Jill will always hold a special place in my heart (for many reasons...she is just a very amazing person all around and I felt lucky to get to know her so well on our runs!)

Then came Audrey and came the drive...Marathon time again. Lucky for me I have a sister-in-law that talked me into it, and a neighbor to train with. This time around I have actually trained. I just finished running 18 miles this morning and I can honestly say I loved every second of it. I loved the hills and the unexpected pit stops and getting lost there for a min. I loved it all. I am so excited for the marathon, I don't know that I will ever beat my first marathon time but I will be so happy to finish the marathon and know I got a few new running buddies along the way. All in all running I believe will always be apart of my life, and as long as my body is able I am grateful to be able to get out their and RUN!!!

First day

2011-08-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

I can not believe it but my baby girl had her first day of pre-school. I was so nervous, was she going to like it, would she listen to her teacher, would she make new friends and fit in. I had to actually wake her up to go the first day and by the third day she was yelling at me..."MOM, hurry I don't want to be late for pre-school!"

We are actually so lucky that she is going to a darling pre-school of a dear family I love. Many of you may have heard me talk about my favorite babysitter Mackenzie. She was actually in my first third grade class I taught at Ridgecrest Elementary. Then randomly after we had moved to Riverton I ran into her mom at Costco and she got her girls signed up for dance, and Mackenzie has been babysitting for us ever since. Her mom is actually Lydia's pre-school teacher and Lydia absolutely ADORES her. She says "Mom I love miss Angie!"

I can hardly believe that she is growing up so fast! I always think I just want to enjoy every second, before I know it she will be going to kinder-garten, then jr. high where she is too cool for me. I told Chris every time she says "mom, hold my hand" I can't help but try to take a mental note...enjoy this before you know she won't want to hold your hand. Or when she wants me to read her a story before bed, before I know it she will be texting and talking on the phone to friends (I am sure after I have gone to bed.) But right now I just want to enjoy this. I want to enjoy her saying "mom, watch this" and needing me to give her a hug when she falls. Or wanting a band-aide even if I can't see the "Owie" I love being a mom more then anything in the world. I love seeing my children grow and develop and I just never want to take that for granted. This past week has been a reminder that it goes too fast...so enjoy it!

I am pretty sure her back-pack is bigger then her (ha ha ha!)

She was so excited...didn't even act for one minute that she was sad I was leaving her there. Just walked right in and waved good-bye!

Lydia and her favorite "Miss Angie"

Hawaiian family vacation!

2011-08-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

We went to Oahu, Hawaii at the end of July with my family! It was such a fun trip, filled with a lot of fun. We stayed at the Ko Olina Marriott Resort which was so nice and so family oriented. Besides my luggage getting lost on the way there, my parents getting hit in their rental car, and always being either lost or in traffic we had such a great week. We made lots of memories and it is definitely a place we will look forward to going to again! Thanks mom and dad for such an amazing vacation, we can not even begin to say how grateful we are for all you do for us!

Day 1: Travel/Beach Day

Surprisingly Lydia and Audrey did AMAZING on the 6 1/2 hr plane ride. Not a single tear was shed and Audrey even got a nap in. I was so nervous about the plane ride and once we got going I was so relieved!

Auds hanging out with daddy!

We got there and my luggage hadn't made it to Hawaii with everyone else's so they gave us the go ahead to buy a few things that they would reimburse us for. So we grabbed dinner on the property (the rest of the trip we joked about the $18.00 burger) after dinner we hit up target and costco to get the essentials (Like Peanut M&M's...ha ha ha!) Audrey was obviously LOVING the fries!

We were so excited about the place we were staying...it was BEAUTIFUL!

The view from our condo

there is a cave beneath the waterfalls...Lydia LOVED it!

There were 4 pool, several hot tubs, a water slide, and then the lagoon you can see in the background.

Day 2: Beach and Costco Day

We woke up and headed the Aloha Stadium swap meet. We all found some good cheap stuff, and the best was we weren't going to get sucked into other more expensive things as the trip went on.

After we hit McDonald's for breakfast and then it was off to Costco to get meals for the week. To say that we spent much more time and bought much more then we should would be an understatement. It was so nice having a kitchen because we were able to make meals which saved us a lot of money. Then we spent the rest of the day at the beach and pools. It was so nice to finally be able to enjoy our day.

That night Chris, Ty and I also went to the far west side of the island. It isn't touristy at all and is somewhat of a poor part of the island. There were people who were living on the beaches squatting in tents. It was so sad to see. But they had so much fun at one of the far end beaches. We also saw some seriously amazing rainbows while at the "Shanty Beach" as we ended up calling it the rest of the trip (ha ha ha!)

Chris was getting Auds down for a nap and so we decided to take a walk...Lydia had so much fun with her uncle Tyler. Luckily for us he is sort of a big kid so I think he had as much fun with her (ha ha ha!)

Me and my little buddy!

Lyds and grandpa looking at the tide pools

Such a beautiful place

We were only seconds away from the golf coarse and the Marina. I loved running around the properties because it was so beautiful.

Day 3: Hunama Bay and Sandy's Beach

We woke up what we thought was early and headed to Hunama bay. Only to find out that the parking lot was full. We ended up having to pay a guy with a van to take us in to the park and then pick us up and take us out after we were done. Then once we got to the park, even more waiting we had to wait to watch a movie about the bay. This was very different from the last time we visited and my patience isn't a virtue that us Hardman's have! Once we finally got down to the bay it was a lot of fun, we were able to see a lot of beautiful fish and once we got out past the crowds we actually had a lot of fun.

After the Bay we headed to "Sandy's Beach" a beach where 10 years ago Tyler was actually hit so hard by a wave that he blew his eardrum...it is intense. We got in the water only to hear a lifeguard of the P.A. saying get in the water only at your own risk (ha ha ha...I think they could see us coming from a mile away) We still had fun and we discovered Audrey's LOVE of sand...yes she loves it. That night we played some serious Settlers and watched episodes of Arrested development...great day!

The View from above

Waiting while the boys and nana snorkeled

Waiting for the "time is money" guy to come and pick us up and take us back to our cars.

Nana holding down the fort at Sandy's beach

Yes she LOVES sand!

Daddy burying liddy

Day 3: Beach Day

We spent the day at the beach and at the pools. It was nice to have enough time in our vacation to be able to have a few days to just relax and enjoy our time together! We did a lot of snokeling in the Lagoon and every day we were able to see and swim with sea turtles, it was so AMAZING!

Uncle Tyler building Liddy a sand castle so she could destroy it

Me and my buddy!

Day 4: Sea Life Park, Temple, Cholos and the Dole Plantation.

Day 4 Chris, Tyler, the girls and I headed to the Sea Life park. It is sort of like a mini Sea WOrld without the orca whales. It was a lot of fun and luckily we had done some research and got a "Makai" card at Foodmart so we got in for $10.00 a person vs. $30.00 (so worth it)

After the park we headed to the North Shore and met my parents at the temple to take a few pictures and they had gone to the visitor center before we got there. Then we hit up "Ted's Bakery" for a little snack and then on the Cholo's...the most amazing mexican food on the Island (in my opinion) My spinach and cheese enchilada's were the bomb.

Afterwards we headed to the Dole plantation and got our pineapple sorbet fix for the trip. We had such a great day and were able to see so much of the island in just a day. Such a beautiful island.

People were constantly stopping us to tell us how stinking cute Audrey is...I have to agree (ha ha ha!)

When you first get to the park you see a little pool which looks like next to nothing but as you walk down you realize it is a huge aquarium. It was incredible.

We got there right when it opened and were able to get a few pictures with the dolphins before they started shows and a million people got there.

They had some really cool shows.

The Lihue Temple...so Beautiful!

The Hardman's minus Derek and Shelby the 3rd of course.

SO SO SO Yummy!

Enjoying some yummy sopapia's

Day 5: Peal Harbor and Beach Day

We got up a little bit more on Hawaii time and headed to Pearl Harbor. To say that we were lost 90% of the time would be an understatement. Even with Chris and Tyler's navigation systems on their phone we were still constantly lost. And going to pearl harbor was no different.

When we finally were on the right track and within sight of the Harbor Chris looking in his rear view window says "your parents just got hit" They had infact been hit by a "little girl" as she became referred to in a big truck. It ended up taking about 45 minutes with waiting for the police to come and all the fun stuff. So by the time we got to the Harbor our kids were tired and we were going to have to wait for 2hrs to ride to the Arizona. We compromised since our family had been before years before, Chris did the audio tour and he was able to still learn a lot about it without having to wait SO long.

Afterwards we played again at the beach and pools. By now Lydia had honestly started to grow gills, we couldn't get that little girl out of the pool.

Such a stud!

You can't help but feel such a feeling of gratitude for the men and women that lost their lives on that day.

All the people who lost their lives.

This anchor was found something like 2 football fields away from the Arizona ship it was on...which can only make you see how huge the blast had to have been.

Day 6: Scuba Day

My parents were so sweet and paid for Chris, Ty and I to go on a scuba day while they watched the girls. It was so much fun, and just made me realize even more that I want to get certified. This was my second time and Chris' like 8th (he was lucky to go in Bonaire with our good friends who are all certified)

We were able to go on two dives and we saw quite a bit. We were able to see frog fish, eels, parrot fish, crabs, lobsters and shrimp. The highlight though for me atleast was after we were done with our dives. We came up and there were about 20 dolphins swimming and jumping just feet from our boat. I guess they come in every day to socialize with the boats. I tried to upload the video I took but of course blogger stinks and won't let me do it for some reason. It was pretty cool though.

Once we got back we had another beach and pool day (yes we did a lot of that!)

Thanks Mom and Dad that was such an amazing experience and one I will always remember.

Our gear!

We actually scuba dived just out from the resort

Aaawww!

Chris and Tyler...dorks!

After our first dive...it was seriously so thrilling!

The dolphins

Tyler with Rachel our cute Scuba instructor. If you are in Hawaii look up Hawaiian Nautical they were so awesome!

The real Black Pearl.

Day 7:

This was the day we went home. We had to get all packed up and then we were able to do the "Linger Longer" where they give you a key and you still have access to all of the ameneties as well as a locker room with showers, steam room, and sauna. This was actually Chris favorite day.

We hit up the Aloha Stadium again to get some luggage so we would have room to take home all of our new finds and then we were out to the beach and pools. Even though we didn't have a room it was so much fun because we new we could really just enjoy our time. Lydia was so excited because they had a "mermaid" reading stories and swimming with the kids. She was SO excited and kept wanting to touch her fins (ha ha ha!) Audrey did great and even took a nap in her stroller (yes she is a total champ.)

After the beach we headed to the Airport for the trip home. The flight was surprisingly great. Lydia cried the first 15 minutes of us trying to put her down and then she was out the rest of the trip. Lydia was great too and she slept on the floor and slept the whole time as well. Chris and I didn't sleep at all, we were both so afraid Audrey would roll off and land on Lydia.

Once we got home I thought great we are going to be dead. Both girls went back down and we all slept until 2:30 p.m. it was such a shock for me.

Packing up...the girls playing!

The mermaid

Liddy getting in all the fun she can before we have to leave!

Chris and Ty snorkeling

My little beach baby...trying to keep her from the sand (yet again!)

Good-bye Hawaii...what a dream!

Maxing and relaxing!!!

Such a great trip, so lucky to have had such an amazing vacation spent with family! I will say I love that my kids are still sort of on Hawaii time which means they sleep til 9:30...that will all change when Lydia start pre-school Tuesday though (boo!):)

Family Pictures

2011-07-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky to have a good friend of ours that is an AMAZINGLY talented photographer! She did our family pictures today and posted a few to her blog...I had to sneak them and post, who are we kidding I LOVE THEM!

Andee if you read this I can not thank you enough they turned out so dang cute!

You can check out her blog www.andeesphotos.blogspot.com or her website here she is so talented and so reasonably priced! If you are interested in family pics you won't be disappointed!

Someone is 9months!!!

2011-07-21T11:15:00.001-07:00

AUDREY LYNN

I feel bad because technically she is closer to being 10 months then 9...but it is summer and who are we kidding I am all over the place.

So much has changed I can hardly believe how much my little babe has grown up. Here are her stats

Weight 18 lbs 30%

Height 26 1/2" 30%

Head size 75% (I don't remember the exact measurement)

-Crawling: This little girlie is all over the place. She started crawling a couple of weeks ago. IT started slow and it was actually pretty funny my mom watched her while I was at the dentist and Audrey crawled all over my mom's house, as soon as I showed up she wasn't having any of it. She would just cry for me to pick her up (ha ha ha!) She is now definitely past that stage and her favorite thing is to crawl to the oven so she can look at herself. *Side note Lydia is so cute with her, she will crawl all over the place so that Auds has a friend.

-Talking: Well I can officially put talking down now she can say "mama" which was her first word by the way (Lydia's was dada and it was a bit sad for me...ha ha ha!) "dada" , "Uh-OH" and "buble" which we know doesn't mean bottle it must be really easy for her to say.

-Teeth: She now has 4 teeth, two bottom and two top teeth. I will say she has been a bit fussier then I am used to so I blame it on the teeth...I will be blaming all her fussy times on that for the rest of her life (ha ha ha!)

-Sleeping: Still a champ, takes 2 for sure and sometimes 3 naps daily and she sleeps from 7:30-8:00 (love her to death, she lets mom get her runs in, in the morning...what a doll!)

-Blankey: Yes she has a favorite blanket and WILL NOT sleep without it. Lydia's obsession with "White blanket" took much longer to develop Audrey not so much.

-Mama's girl: She is definitely a little obsessed with me, not that I am complaining but it does make me see that my kids are SO different. Lydia loved anyone and everyone and didn't think twice about being left with people. Audrey I swear has a 6th sense and knows as soon as I leave and makes sure everyone knows about it.

-Standing: She loves to stand and it always makes me giggle a little when I go in to get her from her nap and she is just standing up waiting for me, silly girl!

-Sun Baby: She loves the pool, I put her in her little floaty and honestly she would fall asleep in there if I would let her. She is maxing and relaxing all the way. She also can't get enough of bath time, she loves to play with the water while it is running and her and Lydia have a grand old time...I usually end up soaked from them splashing so much!

-No Bottle: This little girl still won't touch a bottle, which means yes I am still nursing and may end up on the "MAury Povitch" show because I am nursing my baby at 12 (ok not really...my doc gave me the go ahead to add whole milk at 11 months so I will definitely be weaning then and hoping to be done for sure by a year)

-Little Miss Piggy: This girl will eat any and everything and she isn't afraid to let you know when she is HUNGRY!!! We call her little miss piggy because honestly I have never seen a kid down food like she does. She will eats 4 veggies and 4 fruits a day plus bread, crackers or totrillas and extra fruits (depending on what Lyd doesn't eat for her fruit at lunch) she loves PBandJ as well as quesadilla's. Even though she loves food she definitely doesn't have Miss Piggy's waistline that is for sure.

-"Mom can I take Audrey for a walk?": Lydia LOVES taking Audrey for walks in the umbrella stroller, it gives me a chance to try to tackle the horrible weeds we have and Audrey loves her sister time!

All in all I am having so much fun with little Audrey. I feel so lucky to have such great little girls, not a day goes by that I don't feel so dang blessed. I never thought I would have girls (just based on family history...ha ha ha!~) But I couldn't be more thrilled to have two little buddies to share my life with, I will even say I have already gotten a little sad thinking about sending Lyd to pre-school this fall, I don't know what I will do with one of my sidekicks missing...I know I may change my tune as I stroll around the grocery store with only one but still. Love being a mom and love my little family!

Little Lydia update:

She is "Free" or "three" as most people say.

She still has a hard time saying her S's so words like Popcicle come out "popasir" and fonge Bob fare pants...lives in a pineapple under the sea. And she really love "Farties"...who doesn't (ha ha ha!)

She has learned to ride her bike (still with training wheels!)

She HATES ants, and for some reason is deathly afraid of them.

Loves to snuggle and play with Che' who she also blesses each night in her prayers. She has her 1st and 2nd articles of faith memorized.

She loves the song "you are my sunshine"

Right now her favorite movies are "Little Rascals" and Aladdin

Miss Peyton is her best friend and she tells me she is going to Marry Collin. I couldn't find her at the park one day and finally I found four little feet hanging out of the slide and sure enough it was Collin and Lydia (SO CUTE!)

She loves to swim, and will go in the deep end with her life jacket all by her self. She loves to play "Chop, Chop timber" and "Alligator, Alligator" in the pool.

She would play outside all day long if she could.

Still obsessed with her cousins Bode and Raini

Her favorite shows on T.V. are Olivia and Fresh beat band.

She loves PB&J sandwiches and cinnamon toast.

Love this little girl!

Also a huge shout out to my amazing husband...he has called this the summer of work and honestly he has worked harder than ever. I know that he does it all for us, and even though I complain sometimes about having to eat dinner without him, or him getting home late because of last minute appointments but deep down inside I couldn't be more grateful for all he does for us. We love you Chris, as we speak you are at the Office working on your day off...we appreciate all you do for us and hope you know it!

Everybody's going surfin'

2011-07-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

One of my all time favorite things to do in the world is going boating. I feel like since we have had kids we haven't been able to go nearly as much as I would like to. But we are turning over a new leaf and since I have great parents that will let us take their boat whenever we want...we are going to start taking much better advantage. We took Chris' Darin, Justin and Linds and even though it was a quick trip and the water wasn't perfect it was still a total blast! We even bribed Lydia with a new Barbie and got her on the surf board! I gotta say I LOVED seeing her on there with Chris...hopefully she will start to like boating as much as her mama!

The first time Chris tried to give Liddy a kiss once they got going and it threw off his balance so they fell, Lydia wasn't too happy to say the least.

Not so sure about this surfing thing.

Surfin' Utah Lake (ha ha ha!)

And my other little munchkin who LOVED the boat...she loved watching all the wakeboarder's and when we would try to put her in her car seat she would hold herself up so she could see what was going on in the water!

The Knudsen Girlies!

Herriman Rec Center+Kenzie, Liddy's Favorite!!!

2011-07-15T17:44:00.001-07:00

My mom came out last week so we could go to the pool, and just as she got here it started to storm. So we decided to go and check out the Herriman Rec center. As we were driving there I was telling my mom how our cute little baby-sitter's (don't ask for her number cause we won't share it...ha ha ha!) family has a pass there. Well no sooner had we walked in and we found cute Kenzie and her family. Lydia was SSOOOOO excited. It was like Christmas for her, she loves her Kenzie and honestly talks about her all the time. I honestly hope that my girls turn out just like her...we LOVE her. She was darling she took Lydia around almost the entire time, and as usual Lydia loved every second. For days afterwards she kept asking if we could go to the pool with Kenzie.

Liddy and cute Kenz

I want to say Lydia went down this slide a minamum of about 50 times...no joke!

Nana and Auds!

The girls in the lazy river!

Liddy and her atomic WEDGIE!!!

P.S. The "Up" house is right by there too so we got to see that as well...so cool!

Hollywood Connection B-day!

2011-07-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

It was Liddy's cute friends Kaylee and Emma Visser's Birthday. They had a combined B-day party at Hollywood Connection. As usual any time the Visser's throw a party they go all out. I want to say they had over 20 kids and it wasn't complete chaos (ha ha ha!) Lydia had a total blast and even got me to go on a few of the rides. I will say I was ill afterwards, I guess my stomach just isn't what it used to be.

Had to get the traditional shot of Auddy in her car seat...ha ha ha!

My cute friend Meg who is due in Nov. went on a bunch of the rides with her little guy Sam. I was so impressed that she was able to go on the rides without getting sick...ha ha ha!

Kaylee one of the birthday girls!

Liddy and Amelia loving the carousel!

4th of July fun!

2011-07-05T20:57:00.001-07:00

I can honestly say that the 4th of July is by far one of my all time favorite holiday's. I can't go the entire holiday without getting chills from witnessing patriotism, or getting teary eyed just thinking about how grateful I am to live in the amazing country. I am a total nerd and I "LOVE" politics (mostly because of the family that I grew up in) but I am honestly proud to be an american and there is no better way to celebrate the birth of this country then to go to the RODEO and enjoy some time in the mountains enjoying the amazing scenery that God has blessed this amazing country with!

We started our Holiday off Friday night by going to the "Oakley Rodeo" if you have never been I highly suggest it, there is something about that rodeo, it is by far one of the best I have ever been to. We have been for the past three years and I look forward to this tradition for the years to come!

Saturday morning the boys woke up bright and early to go golfing and we slept in (both of my kids slept in past 9...oh happy day!) Then we all met at the Yolk for breakfast and headed to the outlets. Afterwards Chris surprised our family with 2 "yellow boats" as Lydia calls them they are kayaks, we have been wanting to get into camping but Chris really wanted for us to have something to do while we camp and Kayak's seemed to be a fun way to spend time as a family. We headed up to Smith and Morehouse and spend the evening Kayaking around. That night we had a little bonfire and roasted marshmellows...a camping must!

Sunday morning we woke up (Around 9 am, again...YES!!!) and got ready for Church. I love going to Church in Oakley, I haven't been to my home ward for a couple of years and so maybe I have a skewed perception but there is something about the patriotism up there. I have yet to go to a sacrament meeting up there without bawling like a baby and this year was no exception. The rest of the day we hung around and played the game "Settlers"...if you haven't played it yet you should it is SO much fun...we are OBSESSED to say the least.

Then Monday we hit the outlets one more time, had a great lunch with my family, and later had a BBQ with out good friends the MIller's and watched neighborhood fireworks. We had so much fun and I loved seeing how excited Lydia got when she would see all the American flag's. I love this Holiday and enjoyed every second I had to spend with my little family!

P.S. A big "Thank-You" to Chris' family for letting us stay up at the cabin, and a big thank-you to them for sleeping in the truck so we could all sleep in the cabin! It was a really fun weekend and we are looking forward to next year already!

The Oakley Rodeo is the BOMB!!!

Lydia loves the rodeo, but she wasn't loving seeing the horses bucking...I think it made her nervous.

We had the BEST seats this year...Audrey looks really happy to be there!

I loved that they brought out all the baby horses with their parents...yes I was crying...no I am not pregnant (ha ha ha!)

My little cowgirl!

Our Little Family!

Darin got the best outfit award for sure...if I didn't know him I would've thought he was a real cowboy for sure!

Lyd showing off her cute cowgirl boots, it is time to get a new pair those are definitely too small (good thing Audrey will be able to wear them too!)

I honestly didn't feel like I saw Lydia all weekend because she was with her cousins Bode and Raini the entire time. I loved seeing her having so much fun and it just made me realize how grateful I am that she will have such good friends to grow up with!

We took a family picture but I couldn't bring myself to wake her up...doesn't she look like she is zonked?

The family!

Our little family...don't mind Liddy showing off her underoo's, but it is just so fitting (ha ha ha!)

Best Buds

Audrey and Hawk had so much fun together...Clint took it upon himself to try to coach Audrey to crawl, despite his best efforts she never quite caught on (lucky got me...ha ha ha!)

The kids LOVED jumping on the tramp!

Audrey was loving the tramp too...even though next time I will be sure not to put her on the tramp after eating, she spit up all over me about 2 minutes after jumping.

My little rodeo princess at the outlets hanging out with daddy while mommy finished up some shopping!

After we got home Lydia was loving pushing Auds in the stroller...they went up and down the street about 20 times and they were both in HEAVEN!

Watching the fireworks. I had to laugh I told Chris to get some fireworks that shoot up into the air high (fireworks are my all time favorite) he came back with these little fireworks that barley shoot up...luckily our neighbors bought the good kind so we just mooched off of them (ha ha ha!)

Our BFF's the Miller's...I am in LOVE with baby Cash! df

Another family pic without audrey...I swear every time I get out the camera that little one falls asleep! One of these days I swear I will get some good pics!

We have MOVED!!!

2011-07-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

To the pool that is...if you need us we will be there!!!

We have spent more time at the pool this year then we have at home...I can not even begin to say how much I LOVE having a neighborhood pool!

Lydia has become quite the little fish...and I have to say I love seeing her with a little tan line and sunkissed cheeks!

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-05T20:41:00.001-07:00

Lydia had her first session of swimming lessons. She absolutely LOVED it, even though she failed (ha ha ha!) Yes she has to re-take pre-level...she hates putting her face under water which doesn't help (she is definitely my child) Anyways Audrey and I had fun watching Lydia learn ice cream scoop arms, and gorilla-airplane-soilder, and doing supermand and batman. She learned the "Alligator, Alligator, what time is it?" game and she loved doing chop, chop timber with her cute teacher. We will for sure be doing another session next week and hopefully she passes this time (ha ha ha!)

Kicks

Learning "Ice Cream Scoop Arms"

Ring around the Rosies

She didn't look to happy after...but it was because I made her get out!

Welcome Home Elder Knudsen

2011-07-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

WELCOME HOME ELDER DARIN KNUDSEN!!!

We couldn't be more thrilled to have Chris' brother home. He was serving in the San Juan, Puerto Rico mission. He actually extended while on his mission so we were really missing him by the time he got home. It is so nice to have the family all together again

Darin with 5 other elders he served with!

Brother's don't shake hands, brothers gotta hug!

So fun to see him again!

The fam!

Mommy Kay, and Grandpa White...aren't they cute?

The kids with posters in place!

For Lydia it was like meeting him for the first time she was only 1 when he left.

The Princess Festival!

2011-06-17T22:05:00.001-07:00

Princess Festival 2011

So I had seen a billboard about the "Princess Festival" and decided that Lydia needed a fun day dedicated to her! So we got our tickets and headed down to Thanksgiving Point for the festival. We hadn't been before and I had heard mixed reviews from different people but I have to say we had so much fun. I thought we would maybe last an hour and 4 1/2 hours later the festival was closing and Lydia was begging to stay. To say the least it was TOTALLY worth every penny.

Lydia was a little shy with the characters, all I could figure was it was a mix of seeing her favorite characters in real life and trying to decide if they were strangers. It also didn't help that one of the first characters we saw was Beauty and the Beast and the Beast did look a little scary (ha ha ha!)

We got lots of Autograph's, saw all the different shows (except 1) and had a lot of FUN! We will definitely be going again next year!

We hadn't been there for more then 30 seconds when we ran into friends!

Tink was one of the first characters she met, can you tell she is being SO shy?

Getting her nails painted to match her dress!

Beauty...the Beast is in the background but Lydia wasn't going anywhere near him.

Sleeping Beauty...Lyd was still definitely trying to keep her distance.

Making a wish at the wishing well!

Watching the Aladdin show

Auds as always was such a Champ, she really is such a great baby!

I had to put this pic in to show her two new teeth...poor thing teething hasn't been kind to her.

Princess Mila...she is one of the Festival originals

Little mermaid or Little Liddy?

Lydia was so excited to dress up as Rapunzel

Lydia finally warmed up a little bit to Rapunzel...she told her she was her favorite!

When we got home I asked Lyd which princess she was the most excited to meet...she said "CAPTAIN HOOK...he is a PIRATE!"

Lydia told me "Mom, she is BEAUTIFUL!"

The Cinderella show...we got to go to the ball!

Getting her face painted!

Lydia really didn't want to leave, we spent like 15 minutes alone on this carriage outside the festival. I just couldn't get this little girly away!

Lake Powell...oh how I have missed you!

2011-06-15T16:38:00.001-07:00

Well we had our Annual Lake Powell trip, and again it didn't disappoint! Chris wasn't able to come this year due to having to work, this is his "Summer of Work" as we call it, in hopes that next year when Auds is a little older we will be able to have a little more fun together (we will see!)

We drove down Wed. afternoon and who are we kidding other then price canyon (the longest hour of my life) both kids were great in the car. We got in about 4:30 and had dinner, it was pretty windy so we decided to stay on the slip and head to the beach in the morning.

Even though Derek and Ashley were still in South America and Chris wasn't there we still had a full boat. Tyler invited his buddies and 4 girls (for once the girls actually helped, rather then just sat around laying out!)

We anchored the Malibu to an orange bouy and hence was born the theme song of the trip. "How forever feels" by Kenny Chesney. It starts out "Big orange ball sinking in the water" Throughout the trip everyone would randomly sing those words and honestly you couldn't help but bust out laughing. Lydia was even singing along by the end (it may not be that funny unless you were there, that is what Chris has informed me!)

Lydia was so excited to be on the house boat. My dad kept saying Lydia this is your house boat and she was so sure to correct him, "No Grandpa this is your houseboat" itti � l e Ho h5 l be able to have a little more fun together (we will see!)

Even Audrey got settled pretty quickly, she really enjoyed all the attention. All of the girls that Tyler brought were so cute with both of my girls, they got pretty spoiled and not just by Nana and Grandpa.

Thursday morning we were off to the beach. I was so excited, we hadn't been to a beach since before I was even pregnant with Lydia. I was so excited not to have to feel like we were staying in a fish bowl, I swear when you stay on the slip you get no privacy.

Lydia loved helping my dad drive the boat, she was so excited that the boat was actually moving in the water.

Both kiddo's loved loved looking out the window while we were driving!

As soon as we got to the beach, both kids were in swimming attire and ready to PLAY! We got anchored, and got the malibu anchored and we were all ready to start really enjoying our trip. Tyler and his buddies had bought a 100 ft. slip n' slide and so right away they all started digging out the slide from the top of the hill into the water.

Audrey loves, loves, loves her Nana...you can tell that she knows her every time she see's my mom she gets the biggest smile on her face and she reaches for her!

My little drooler...both of her bottom teeth have emerged but there must be more on the way since she just own't stop drooling.

Thursday I got in a few ski runs, and was able to surf a couple of times as well, it was so windy so it wasn't the perfect glass that I always look forward to, but I won't complain I was just glad to be able to do the things I love this year now that the little munchkin above is not hanging out in my belly! Audrey loved her bath time...even if it was in a house boat sink!

We spent the whole first day trying to track down a family friends that had a pump and hose so we could have constant water flowing while doing the slip n' slide, once we got that it was go time. It was so much fun to watch and even more fun to do. Lydia even loved it and went a few times with me and Tyler.

Auds hanging out with Grandpa watching the slip n' sliders.

No lake powell trip is complete without some movies or t.v. this year was no exception, I was able to get everyone on the boat who wasn't already obsessed with Modern Family! Years ago Lake Powell was where I was finally able to convince my family that the office was funny. If the trip had been a little longer I may have gotten them hooked on Parks and Rec and community. Because we literally watched every episode of Modern Family Season 1 twice, Lydia played a lot of leapster and Audrey played with her toys quite a bit!

The boys decided to rig up total hick fishing poles and make hooks out of wire hangers so they could settle a bet with the girls that they brought. Let's just say that fish will have some pretty incredible stories to share with his fishy friends about being kissed by 3 girls. Lydia was so interested in it, when she told Chris about it she said "daddy the girls kissed this fish, and he FREAKED out!" ha ha ha

Love this pic...shows what we did a lot of, playing with toys!

After two days of wind decided to take a day trip to the grotto. As usual it was BEAUTIFUL! Usually in June we go to the grotto for cooler water and to relax, this year the water was only about 74 in the main channel which means the grotto was quite a bit cooler. It was still fun and Lydia loved listening to her echo with uncle Tyler. This was Audrey's very first time on the ski boat, and she did awesome. She didn't cry once, and was even able to fall asleep with the muscle man suit on. She was so cute whenever the music would come on she would tap her hand on her belly to the beat, you can kind of see in the pic above...I guess she has to have rhythm after being in my belly for 9 months listening and dancing to music (ha ha ha!)

This little cutie LOVED being on the boat!

Lydia fell asleep...If only we could go on a boat ride every day (ha ha ha!)

Lydia was SO excited when she saw her playhouse when we got home, we had to go right out and play!!!

We had so much fun, it was such an amazing trip and as usual we had a fabulous time! We were even able to have a bonfire with smores the last night. And I am not going to lie seeing the Lake Powell stars at night really is priceless...even Lydia was amazed by them. I love being able to share the same vacations and same experiences I had with my kids. I hope that they will grow to love lake powell as much as their mom, if they don't they are going to have a lot of "unfun" vacations, cause I am going there til I die (ha ha ha!)

Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?

2011-06-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?

Lyd with a couple of her cute dance friends before the dress rehearsal!

Soccer Graduation!

2011-06-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

Liddy Bug had her soccer graduation...it was a bit of a battle to get her there every week but once she was there she LOVED it! I am glad that we only did the little mini class and not the real thing this year. I do think she will be more ready next year and I am excited to see her running around actually playing soccer and not just doing little drills!

If you know Lydia you know that she is not a shy little girl, but when she is around people she doesn't know she is deathly shy...it sort of breaks my heart but it is something that we will have to work on with her and hopefully something that she will get over!

As part of their reward they had a fun sports bounce house...the kids loved it!

Being ssssooooo shy while getting her award certificate

She always got so excited about the treat, and she loved her medal too!

8 is GREAT!!!

2011-06-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Audrey is 8 months and getting cuter by the day. I have had so much fun with this little girlie, and it is so much fun to see her getting bigger. Sometimes she will do something and all I can think is "is she really old enough to be doing that?" And yes she is, with your second it just goes by so much faster, and you want them to stay little so much more. Here are a few fun things about little Auds!

-Sleeping: Still loves her sleep, she has even modified her sleeping schedule to help me get my run in in the morning no problem! She was even great at Lake Powell, and slept just about anywhere we put her...love it!

-Eating: This girl loves her food. If you have ever seen the movie "Little shop of horrors" they always say "Feed me Seymour" and that is a line Little Audrey hears quite often. She will eat anything you give her but some of her favorite are strawberries, tortilla's, mango, baby mum mum's, gold fish, and she loves any babyfood you give her...well except for the green veggies she does gag on those unfortunately.

-Mobility: She is rolling over, and scooting around on her back and her tummy. She would stand all day long if she could and will walk along the couch without a problem. She still isn't crawling (thank goodness...my life is going to be turned upside down, ha ha ha!) But she will pull herself up onto her knees and rock. She will even launch herself at things that she wants to get to, I think she is going to be just like her sister and be fearless!

-Giggles: This little girl loves to giggle, and she is quite the observer. She loves to see what people are doing and be apart of all the action.

She is honestly such a fun addition to our family, I feel so lucky to be Auds and Lyds mom! Not a day goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars that I have my family to share my life with.

I'm a believer!

2011-06-07T19:58:00.001-07:00

This little "DIVA" got to perform in her second dance recital this past Friday June 3rd...and to say that she ROCKED would be an understatement! It was so much fun watching her up on that stage, with her big smile. We did a "Broadway" theme this year and her class danced to the song "I'm a believer" from Shrek the musical. She Loves the movie Shrek so she was so excited that, that was her song. Her whole class did such a great job and it was a magical night for all of us!

She also loved watching the other girls perform, she even came home and wanted to listen to the C.D. and perform the dances, her own way!

My tiny dancer

Showing me a part in her dance!

Love that smile!

"And then I saw her face...now I'm a believer!"

SSSSOOOOO SWEET!

Liddy and Peyt...adventures at the aquarium!

2011-05-26T10:12:00.001-07:00

I know I say it all the time but I feel so lucky that Lyd has such great friends. I especially feel lucky that her favorite little BFF is Peyton. They play so well together, and who are we kidding Peyton is just the sweetest little thing. A while back we went to the aquarium and Lydia was so excited that Peyton got to come too. Everything is more fun with a friend, and it is always nice to be able to just walk and observe more then entertain (ha ha ha!)

Love these little girls!

Auds along for the ride...being a perfect angel as usual (ha ha ha!)

BFF's

We were lucky and got there just as they were feeding the penguins. Not going to lie those penguins are DARLING...I kind of want one of my own (ha ha ha!)

SSSOOO CUTE!

7 month post...way late!

2011-05-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

Well this little "Cutie" is 7 months (ok almost 8) but I feel bad things got crazy and I have officially forgotten to post about Auds turning 7 months.

A few 7 month stats:

-Weight 16lbs 14 oz (we had to go back in to get her second booster for her flu shot and she had gained almost a pound and a half in one month!!!) Yes she is quite the little chunker!

-Sleeping: She is still a champ when it comes to sleeping. She goes down around 7:30 then wakes up about 7:30 only to go right back down until 9:00. Takes two 2 hour naps during the day and a 45 min-1 hr in the evening.

-Rolling over: FINALLY yes she had added rolling over to her bag of tricks, she is pretty funny about it though. A lot of the time she does it when I am not looking...little houdini (ha ha ah!)

-A tooth has emerged: one little tooth has finally decided to make an appearance, she has been a bit fussy and has slept more often then usual but for the most part she is still sassy little Audrey.

Overall we have had 7 months of pure bliss with this little girlie in our home.

I''m so excited, I'm so excited...I'm so SCARED!!!

2011-05-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

Yup, 137 day 9 hours and 04 seconds from now

I will be running the St.George Marathon

for the 3rd time!!!

Not going to lie, I am way excited and yes a little SCARED.

I haven't done a marathon since having kids and I am hoping that my jiggly butt doesn't

get in the way (ha ha ha!)

Mom's Day!

2011-05-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

I have to say that Mother's day is always a very happy day for me. First of all I am so lucky to have such an amazing mom myself. Not a day goes by that I don't feel so blessed to have her for a mom, she is my best friend and such an example to me in all things. I am also so lucky to have a great Mother-in-law as well. She is so giving and so talented in so many ways. I am always so grateful for what an amazing son she raised. I know I don't tell either of them nearly enough how lucky we are to have them in our lives...but we love them both so much!

I also was completely spoiled as usual...Chris always does a great job with Mother's day, he must know I really need really need it (ha ha ha!) Anyways I came home from church feeling a little sorry for myself because Chris led me to believe that he hadn't had time to get me anything. And of course in perfect Brittani style I was pouting...yes I am a big pouter (ha ha ha!) Anyways I walked in from church to find this...

I have wanted one of these since we got married, so almost 6 years later and honestly I couldn't be more excited.

I was freaking out when I saw this on the counter...I made cookies right after and they were AMAZING!

My flower from Liddy...she made it in Nursery! I have to say I LOVE her nursery leader's they are seriously so stinking cute!

Cute Chris and Auddy...she is a little obsessed with her daddy!

My two reason's for loving being a mom!

I am a little obsessed with this little one, she is so sweet !

Our after church tradition...eggs and toast. Lydia get's home and pulls the chair right out to start the toast, we don't even have to tell her (ha ha ha!)

My little munchkin...love that girl!

Waiting...

2011-05-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

Went out for a girls night out and when I cam home way too late I expected to see both of our kids snuggled safely in their beds...instead this little one wanted to wait for mom to come home. In the process she fell asleep!

Chris said she tried to make a fort to hide out in til I got home...too cute!

Hop, Hop, Easter Fun!

2011-04-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

We had such a great easter weekend. We were finally done with the birthday celebrations, and it was time for easter. Dying eggs, easter egg hunts, easter baskets, and most importantly taking some time to think about the special meaning of easter. We are so lucky to know that when Christ died it wasn't truly the end. It is always a good time to reflect on those sacrifices that were made on our behalf, and take time to make some goals to do better in different aspects of our life. I feel so blessed to know that our Savior was willing to die for us, and provide a way for us to return to him again. I love this time of year, and hope that as a parent I will be able to teach my children that the easter egg hunts, and baskets are fun but there is a much more important reason we celebrate this special time of year!

Saturday-Riverton City Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday morning Riverton City put on a great easter egg hunt. It was so nice it was divided into age groups, and there was a TON of things for the kids to snatch up. We took Lydia as well as a bunch of her little friends to the 2 and under...we thought she has only been 3 for 3 days and we knew she would fare much better against other kids her age then 5 yr olds (ha ha ha!)

Lydia and Peyton...Kate was being camera shy that morning.

My two girls!

Nana and grandpa Hardman wanted to come and see the festivities with us...we were so glad they came!

Grandpa took Lydia into the hunt, and she came back with a little stuffed froggy...she loved it!

Daddy helped Lydia and I think she cleaned up!

Our family...me without make-up (ha ha ha!)

My own little easter bunny!

Chris had to work that day so later I took the girls for a run, I told Lydia we would run to the park...well 2 minutes into the run the above is what happened, I LOVED it!

Lydia and "Lala" her new little lion cub she got from her friends for her B-day

I had to put this pic in...love it!

Dying easter eggs...I am a little paranoid about getting the dye on clothes.

Our eggs!

The girls in their Easter dresses...this is after church so Audrey's poor dress has been a bit drooled on (ha ha ha!)

Lydia is OBSESSED with her dress...if I don't hang it high in the closet she will put it on several times a day with a crown and princess shoes and tell me that she is a princess!

I love Easter dresses!

Cute Auddy, she loved chowing on her shoes...lol!

We did our own little Easter egg hunt in our backyard...too bad we don't have many places to hide the eggs so it wasn't too hard for her!

Like her shoes?

Poor Auddy woke up that morning with a cold...she had no voice it was so sad.

The Easter bunny left some great stuff for the girls...my favorite were their matching swimming suits for Hawaii in July!!!

Liddy getting to the loot!

She wanted to make some adjustments to her outfit...love it!

Later we went to Knudsen's for another easter egg hunt...Lydia loved having her cousins there to share in the fun!

Auddy and Dane they are 4 months apart, just like Lydia and Raini, I think they are going to be little buddies when they are a little older.

The Easter shoes...so "Stylish" as Lydia would say!

On the hunt!

Aren't they cute?

Showing her new "Stick on" earrings!

We had such a great Easter weekend, we are so lucky to have such amazing Family and friends to spend time with. Hope everyone had just as great of a weekend!

Tickled "Pinkalicious" Party!

2011-04-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

The Birthday Girl!

The 21st was Lydia's 3rd Birthday. I Figured that she was old enough this year to have a friend party, and so I talked to Lydia and gave her a few options of birthday party theme's. Well she just kept saying I want "CUPCAKES", well from that came the "Pinkalicous"party. It was so much fun planning and putting it all together. We read the book for weeks before the party and she was so excited. The day we walked around and took the invitations to all of her friends, she cried on the way home when she realized her party wasn't that very day (ha ha ha!)

Overall the party was a total blast. I may have spent the couple nights before staying up until 2am trying to get all the baking, and party favors, and cleaning done (it was too hard with the kids awake...ha ha ha!) But it was totally worth it to see Lydia and all her friends having so much fun.

We started out the party by reading the book, then played a couple games of "musical cupcakes", and then a game of pin the cherry on the cupcake. Afterwards Lydia opened her presents, which she got totally spoiled by all of her friends (I think she was a little on overload, with all the attention) Then we sang happy birthday and then the girls ate all the pink goodies. I was also so glad that my mom and sister in law Patrice were there to help, not sure what I would've done without them!

We did have a couple of mishaps during the party. There was a really bad thunder and hail storm during the party. All of a sudden Lydia started bawling. Everyone thought she was crying because she was worried about che' but once we got him put in the garage and she finally settled down enough to talk I found out she just smashed her thumb in her barbie house garage (ha ha ha!) My friend Julia put it best "It isn't officially your birthday until the birthday girl has cried, so true! Also a couple of the balloons got free and I didn't realize one of the cute little girls there has a very serious fear of balloons, she started bawling and we didn't get her calmed down until the balloon was put into the closet and out of sight (ha ha ha!)

I feel so lucky to live in such a great neighborhood where Lydia and Audrey will be able to have such great friends. I sort of melted my heart to see how much fun they all had together. I love little Lydia and hope she had as great of a party as I had planning and putting it on for her (ha ha ha!)

***These pictures are not in the order I wanted them...but I am too tired to try to rearrange them (ha ha ha!) ***

My first attempt at a fondant cake...it was actually easier then I thought (even though I had baked another cake in a cupcake mold for the top, but it fell apart so what you see is actually plan B!

The Pink presents!

Luckily my mom pointed out my spelling error before the kids got there...my only excuse was that it was like 2:00 am when I was putting this together.

That morning Lydia got to pick out any breakfast she wanted and eat it on her "special day" plate...she chose what she eats almost every day toats, strawberries and milk (ha ha ha!)

The final product

All the pink goodies

My little "Pinkalicious" princess

She LOVES this book!

The party favors

The wands I made for each of the girls...just like in the book!

Do you think there was enough pink?

My cute pink girls!

I actually made the cupcake stand out of a couple plates and cocktail glasses I bought at "Dollar Tree" (very cheap and easy!)

I tried to make the cupcakes look just like the ones in the book!

Auds was in Heaven having Nana hold her the entire time...I Love that even my mom was wearing pink!

Lydia and her BESTEST friend Peyton...she was so excited when she got there she just ran around screaming!

Reading to the kid's took me back to my 3rd grade teaching days!

The girlies listening to the story!

Plaing Musical cupcakes

The kids absolutely loved it!

Can I just say I LOVE this little girl!

I love this pic of Lydia with her cousin Raini, they were the first two out, so they held hands and danced around in the middle!

Getting ready to play pin the cherry on the cupcake

Opening her first present

getting ready to blow out the candles

Eating all their pink goodies

Bode was such a good sport for coming and hanging out with a bunch of girls!

She was SSSSOOOOO excited!

The invitations!

It was a "Pinktacular" party...and so much fun seeing my 3yr old's smiling face the entire time.

P.S. My friend Julia took some pictures during the party too that I had to add

Today you are 3

2011-04-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

*Her birthday was actually yesterday (ha ha ha!)

Today you are 3...

Today you love milk more then anything (including pop)

Today you love to hold my hand while walking.

Today you love daddy and me to read you stories before bed.

Today you love to play Barbies, and always want everyone to play them with you.

Today you love watching "Olivia" and loves movies like Aladdin, A Bug's Life, Shrek, Toy Story and Princess and the Frog

Today you love saying "Watch this"

Today you love to play with friends...and any little kid you see is your "friend"

Today you love to sing songs like ABC's, row row row your boat, twinkle twinkle, the wheels on the bus, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, London bridges...and many many more.

Today you love to make Audrey laugh by making silly faces and doing silly things.

Today you love to play outside with Che', but you make us hold his collar while you go down the slide because he get's so excited and jumps on you.

Today you LOVE to have your arm and back tickled

Today you like to get yourself ready and you love putting on your own shoes.

Today you love going on the potty like a big girl!

Today your favorite color is red, and you love to have your finger nails painted red too.

Today you love talking on the phone, and love to tell everyone about the fun things you do with mommy all day.

Today you love to play school...and you are always the "Teacher"

Today you say "popasoar" for popcicle, "funge bob" for Sponge Bob, "farties" for smarties.

Today you love to point out every airplane and helicopter you see.

Today when you wake mommy and daddy up you say "HEY it is morning time...not MOON time!"

Today you love to drive with the window down

Today you aren't afraid of many things, but you have bad dreams every once in a while and you sleep in our room when you do.

Today you give out hugs and kisses to anyone and everyone.

Today you are very stubborn, and bossy but also very sweet and willing to say sorry.

Today when you do something you know you shouldn't you say "Sorry mom, it is all my fault"

Today when I get ready you tell me I look "Stylish"

Today you love to tell me who the manaquins are (mommy's or daddy's babies or little brothers) Old Navy is your favorite because they have a dog manaquin

Today you love the Dino Museum and would go there every day if you could

Today you are 3, I could go on and on but today I am so lucky to have you in my life. I can't imagine what life would be like without you. There is not a day that goes by that I am not amazed by how smart, and cute, and funny, and stubborn you are all at once. I feel so LUCKY and BLESSED to have you in our family!

P.S. Birthday Party Pictures coming soon...it was one fun PARTAY!!!

Smart Start Soccer

2011-04-20T09:23:00.001-07:00

So the Riverton Soccer League (USA) doesn't have soccer for 3 yr olds, but they do have what's called a "Smart Start" program. It is basically a little 6 week, mini workshop. After going for the first time I am glad that we put Lyd in this and not soccer. It cracked me up all she wanted to do at first was go and play on the playground.

Once we got going she actually really liked it and had a lot of fun. They basically move around in 4 different stations and practice different skills. They did, running, kicking, dribbling, and trapping. I myself never did soccer so in some ways I probably looked just as uncoordinated (ha ha ha!) I also may have been one of the only mom's doing this...all the other mom's were sitting on the sidelines watching the dad's (ha ha ha!)

Lining up for the run, as part of their warm-up

Lydia loved the running part.

Stretching...and I thought no one's legs could possibly be whiter then mine, I stand corrected my daughters are way whiter (ha ha ha!)

Warming up their legs.

Afterwards they did a little cheer

"YEAH!!!"

Lyd waiting for her treat...looking a little concerned.

gotta love treats!

Finally she got to play on the playground!

Audrey what are you looking for?

2011-04-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Hey Audrey

Who are you looking for?

Looking...

really looking...

just about doing a back bend....

All to see this little girly!

I know I have mentioned Audrey's obsession with her big sister...but it is becoming more and more evident every day!

P.S. It finally happened...Lydia can dress herself, as such she starts out looking really cute and by the time she has changed 3 or 4 times you end up with what you see above (ha ha ha!)

Run Brittani Run!

2011-04-18T06:49:00.000-07:00

Well Saturday I ran the Salt Lake City 1/2 Marathon! It was such a fun race. I had to get up extra early to nurse Audrey. Drove down to the gateway and took trax up to "Legacy Bridge" where the starting line was. Luckily this is a "Chip" timed race because I was about 15 minutes late...I was a little sad not to even hear the gun go off, but it was nice not running next to a million people for the first few miles.

I felt so much better running this race, I am not sure if it was due to the weather, the route or the fact that there are so many people all along the coarse cheering you on. Not going to lie I am very driven by positive encouragement (ha ha ha!)

I absolutely LOVED running throughout the streets of Salt Lake, and the finish was AMAZING! I had run this race in 2006 (the only reason I remember is because after I ran that race I passed out on my parents couch and missed my sister in laws baby shower...and Bode is turning 5 this year, weird!) Anyways then I didn't remember it being such a fun race, and I actually remember being quite mad at the finish because they didn't have nearly enough water stations along the route BUT this year it was phenomenal. They had water stations every 2 miles at least, they had so many I really only stopped at 3, but I was glad to have the option. I also loved that they had bathrooms at every stop as well (I didn't use them but again I like to have the option...ha ha ha!)

Overall it was so much fun, I had the camera in my purse so Chris didn't get any pictures but again I loved seeing Lydia up on Chris' shoulder's at the finish line. I know it sounds cheesy but really my family is my motivation, I want to be that mom that is able to do things with my kids until I am 102 (just like my Great Grandma Pearl) Anyways I am so glad I did it and I even took some time off from my last one (about a month ago!)

P.S. I know I am a bit of a boob, but I can say that I got emotional at three different times during the race.

1. Saw a guy in army get up running the 1/2 marathon while holding an american flag...couldn't help but get choked up.

2. Saw a father and mother pushing their handicapped son in a wheel chair, I was totally overcome just thinking I would do the same for my child. It is hard not to get emotional when you see the unconditional love and sacrifice of a parent for their child.

3. A guy dressed as a tiger (yes I know it is weird) literally gave high-5's to every single spectator. He was zigging and zagging the entire race. I couldn't believe how much he was loving running. I followed him for about miles and I literally couldn't take my eyes off of him, here I was just happy to still be running and he was running and enjoying every second of it.

Yes I know I am weird, Chris was laughing so hard...we passed a "GEO" car with American flags in the windows and he asked me if I was going to cry because that car had pride in our country too (ha ha ha!)

I finished in 2hr 03min

I was like 1880 of 4440 (ha ha ha!)

Here are some pics I stole from KSL

6 Months Old!

2011-04-10T10:21:00.000-07:00

Audrey Lynn

is 6 months old!

To say that I am in love with this little one would be a definite understatement. She us such a happy baby, and is so much fun. She truly bring such a sweet spirit into our home. We took her in for her 6 month appointment and got her stats.

Height 25"-25%

Weight 15 lbs 8 0z-30%

Head Size 43 1/2 cm

Dr. Boettger is happy with her progress, and was amazed at how much she smiles and how interactive she is. He was also impressed with how much she is standing (but I reminded him that Lydia was the exact same way.) She hasn't gained as much weight as in previous months but Dr. B said it isn't anything to worry about, (especially since she still weighs more then Lydia did when she was 6 months) Anyways she is such a great baby, I feel so lucky every day to be her mommy.

Here are some fun facts about Audrey right now!

Sleep: She is sleeping a solid 11hrs consistently now. I have even had a few 13 hr stretches and not going to lie everything is easier when you are sleeping through the night!She is also a great little napper too, she takes a consistent 2hr morning nap, and a consistent 2hr afternoon nap. Some days we even get a third mini nap in.

Eat: She is still such a good little eater. She loves her solids and is now eating peaches, pears, applesauce, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, squash and even prunes. Dr. Boettger told us to start introducing a sippy cup and gave us the go ahead to also introduce juice (he said to limit it to non-acidic juices though like white grape juice. She still refuses to take a bottle. I tried to give her one every day last week, thinking that maybe I needed to just be persistent. You would've thought I was trying to poison her, she definitely HATES formula and gags at the taste...I even tried 3 different kinds thinking maybe the it was just the formula. She nurses really well though, and eats solids 3-4 times a day, so I can't complain there.

Play:She is getting so fun and interactive. She recognizes people now and get's so excited when we come into the room. She is still OBSESSED with her big sister, and when I can get Lydia to play with her you would think Audrey heard the funniest joke in the world...she doesn't stop laughing. One of her favorite things is to sit in the family room and play with her toys. She loves putting anything and everything in her mouth, and is especially obsessed with empty water bottles. She loves to be thrown up into the air, and loves Peek-A-boo!

Sit and Stand: She isn't crawling yet, but she is definitely showing signs. She will lift her cute little butt in the air and will try to pull herself with her arms towards toys during tummy time. She can sit on her own, and hates laying on her back now. She also loves to be standing, if you are holding her she is most likely on her feet. She still loves her exersaucer...and loves to bounce in that thing. It is pretty funny.

Reflux:Dr. Boettger was happy to hear that she isn't spitting up nearly as often and so he recommended that we finish out this bottle of medicine, but only give it to her once a day and then see how she does without it. I am thinking that she will be totally fine, she hasn't had reflux nearly as bad a Lydia did, and now that she is eating solids and sitting up I think it has really helped.

Ticklish: This little girlie is just like her mama, and SSSSOOOOO ticklish. It is one of our favorite evening past times to gather around and tickle Liddy and Audrey. It is so funny to hear them giggle and laugh. When she giggles I peak in to see if there are any teeth visible yet, and based on the drool you would think she has a mouthful on the way, but no signs of any surfacing yet.

Overall:Audrey is just such a sweet little thing. She is mellow but spunky and even though she is very different from Lydia in a lot of ways I think she is going to be just as energetic as her older sister. I feel so lucky to have such amazing kids. Every night as Chris and I are laying down to go to bed it has become part of our bed time ritual to recap some of the cute and funny things Liddy and Audrey did throughout the day. There really is not a day that goes by that I don't say...we are such lucky to have such amazing kiddo's!

P.S. Someone is really excited about her upcoming birthday too!

I did have to put this in too...Lydia and Audrey do look a little alike, ha ha ha!

Best Friends!

2011-04-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky to live in a neighborhood with such darling neighbors with great friends for our kid's. Lydia absolutely adores her friends Amelia and Peyton, and any time she gets to play with them is like heaven!

Amelia, Peyton and Liddy eathing their pop-cicles

Audrey saying "wait for me!"

Cute girlies

Best Friends!

Dun, Dun, Dun...THE DENTIST!!!

2011-04-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

Well a couple of weeks ago Lydia and I went to the dentist. It was my first time in 3 yrs and Lydia's first time ever. She absolutely LOVED it, she watched me get my teeth clean and by the end she was telling me to get out, because it was her turn. Well I knew she had a few cavities and so a week later we were back to get them filled. I was horrified that she was going to freak out.

Our good friend Brian Black is our dentist...sort of weird but we have known each other since we were in kindergarten (ha ha ha!) Anyways who would've thought he would be drilling on my child's cavities.

Anyways we got there and they put Lydia on the laughing gas, instantly she was ultra relaxed. I can honestly say I have never seen her so still while she was awake. She did great with the shots, and all the drilling. By the 4th tooth (yes she ended up having 5 cavities) she was sick of it and started to cry. Luckily all she had left was to fill one tooth, so we took a little break and then finished.

She did AMAZING!!! It was pretty sad/funny afterwards she was complaining that her teeth were big (I am sure because of the numbing they felt rather large. She also had a little trouble gauging how to drink her water bottle, needless to say it ended up all over her lap.

All in all it wasn't the nightmare that I thought it was going to be, and we are now going to be sure to give her the flouride drops, and brush morning and night and floss. Yes we were only brushing them at night and I wasn't giving her the flouride drops. Anyways hopefully the next check up we don't find any cavities and hopefully she never has to go through that again!

Bath Time!

2011-04-06T09:12:00.001-07:00

Well we LOVE bath time around our house...we take baths in the morning and it seems to be a great way to get the day started!

Audrey has learned how to splash, and that it is her hand doing it so she get's herself absolutely soaked...and loves it!

Lydia sings songs in the bath, and is even known to tell a story or two about a princess and evil dragon.

Baby blue eyes...love them!

My cute little "almost" three year old!