my heart is full.

i am so thankful to have these two in my life. forever.
happy thanksgiving.

ocd

numerous times i've found ivy lining objects in a row.
whether it be water bottles, pots, canned food, or shoes....
i think she might have a slight obsession with it.

ha, she makes me laugh everyday.

Tuesday tidbits

01. ivy loves any chance she can get to play in the dishwasher....she loves taking out and handing me all the utensils.
this only helps me when they are clean.
02. she is always wanting to put shoes on - pretty sure she has a thing for boots.
03. we head to the post office multiple times a week - she is known as the "happy baby" to all the workers there.
she gets just as excited to see them, as they do to see her.
04. if we are ever missing our phone/channel changer/etc we check the shutters or my purse.
both are her favorite hiding places.
we are glad we caught on pretty quick.
05. when you ask where her eyes/ears/hair/nose are...she points to her head.
we are still working on it.
anything with her mouth (teeth/tongue) she's got down.

mission accomplished

we spent the entire day yesterday raking leaves from our yard.
it was serious manual labor - i was not real optimistic about it all...i thought we were never going to be finished, especially the back yard.
we tackled the front in pretty good time - then put ivy down for her nap so we could get started on the back.

(really, these pictures don't even do it justice how many leaves we had)

we didn't get very far before the little bugger woke from her nap

so we hooked the monitor up and put elmo on in hopes to keep her entertained.

it worked.
genius idea right?

and we ended up with 44 garbage bags full of leaves.

chris and i woke up this morning both feeling the pain.
at least it's done.

dead leaves can still be fun.

(this was last week before the snow came)

Tuesday tidbits

ivy's not much of a talker...mostly just her own language,

recently she's been saying/or trying to say...
01. emo (elmo)
thanks to grammy terry for the dvd which she loves
02. a-ba (apple)
03. a-daa (addie)
my family was up last week and ivy followed addie around the house saying "a-daa" - she hardly left her side
04. when we say "amen" she immediately follows with "uh-sha"
which doesn't sound a thing like amen
05. and now when you ask her what a dog says she sticks her tongue out and pants like one.
we have no idea where she got that from
i cannot even begin to express how much i am loving this stage she is at right now,
she may not be able to say a whole lot - but she understands everything-
she is so much fun.

*the night before last i was reading her a story and was telling her to show me where the cookie was...she pointed to it right away and said "ccc" like she was trying to say it.

princess ivy

the tying of the cape

grabbing her blankie

away she goes

all throughout the house

it doesn't take much for her to be a princess in our world.

*she would carry around my silky g's all day if i would let her...
not sure how she always manages to find them.
smart girl.
can you tell she is obsessed with all things silky?

afternoon at the park

{november 7}

we are hoping we have a few more days
before the snow starts falling.
(please don't come winter)

she found her shadow

she apparently got tired chasing after her new friend.

(this picture was not staged, nor did she fall...just laid down to let us know she was ready for a nap?
never a dull moment with her...so full of personality)

Tuesday tidbits

by looking at her, you wouldn't be able to tell
but it's sometimes hard to find something she will eat.
as of late, she's into...
01. nature valley granola bars

02. peanut butter + jelly sandwiches
03. frosted mini wheats - in milk
04. cafe rio mints (not the whole thing - just pieces)
05. hot dogs
she's really only had one but ate the entire thing...plus some of another.
(we had dinner at some friends house and hot dogs was on the menu for the kiddies - guess i should buy some next time i'm at the store)

piggies + baking + baby shower

over the last few weeks i've put piggies in ivy's hair
but then took them out during the day
because i couldn't stand how old it made her look....
especially now that she's walking.

this time, they stayed in the entire day!

they are a little crazy - it's quite the task now that she doesn't sit still very long.

but she likes the way she looks...
she'll stand in front of the mirror and shake her head back and forth checking them out.
(i may have to resort to piggies since she won't keep any type of headband/clip in her hair)

these may look like more pictures of ivy's birthday party...
but it's not.
i threw a baby shower for my friend and decided to do basically the same thing.



of course these are the only pictures i managed to get...
nothing of the actual shower - totally lame of me.
everything turned out perfect - laura got so many darling things.
i can't wait to meet that baby girl!

ivy was on her best behavior helping me prepare for the night.
she basically played in her favorite cupboard for most of the afternoon...

...and was also my little taste tester.

she's walking!

it's official.
last week she decided she was ready,
ready to walk all over the place.

she's been doing such a good job!
(only a few minor falls...so far)

it hasn't been too much of a change...
but once she starts running,
i know we're in for it.

dinner in a pumkin

{october 29}

shawn + kristin invited us over for their traditional
'dinner in a pumkin.'
it really was pretty tasty...chris couldn't stop talking about it all night.

thanks again for having us over!
(and thanks for the pictures)

meg

oh, happy birthday.

01. She had tons of dark hair when she was born.

02. She had just about every primary song memorized at age 3.

03. She had a binky for a long time.

04. She has a beautiful natural singing voice.

05. She is always singing or humming.

06. She has the best eyebrows.
07. And has to have them done every 2 weeks.

08. She got blessed with the prettiest feet in the family....perfect aligned toes.

09. She is a closet actress.

10. She has a hilarious sense of humor.

11. She can memorize music/movie lines like no other.

12. Grandma Bowler always asked her to sing "I love to see the Temple."

13. She wore a skirt everyday/everywhere for about a year in high school.

14. She loves reese's peanut butter cups.

15. She is soft spoken.

16. She is very patient.

17. She doesn't like confrontation.

18. She doesn't like talking on the phone.

19. She is a good student - seldom asks for help.

20. She is the enrichment leader in her ward.

21. She is very neat.
22. Growing up her room was always spotless - with everything in its right place.

23. She makes her bed the minute she gets up.

24. She likes things tidy - She's not a fan of clutter.

25. She is very creative.

26. She has great fashion sense - can make anything look good. (even when nothing matches)

27. She and laura cheered together her senior year, laur's sophomore year.

28. Mom told her she would give her 500 dollars if she'd try out...i'm not sure if she ever got the money?...at least she made it!

29. She loves children.

30. She is a total homebody.

31. She is not over adventurous...but getting better

32. She has overcome her fear of roller coasters. (just within the last few years)

33. She loves t.v.

34. She loves going to movies.

35. She loves michael jackson.
36. She worked at the county attorney's office for 1 day.
37. She got class clown in 9th grade and senior year. (which was a little surprising in 9th grade because she was so quiet at home)
38. She auditioned for tuacahn Joseph...didn't make it. (pretty much scarred her)
39. She lost her favorite mermaid jelly shoe in the idaho snake river during the fireworks on the 4th of july.

40. She had calling/response drills for addie and clay.

41. She cut her own hair in the middle of the night when she was little and tried to sew it back on.
42. She loves disneyland.
43. She got married at 20.
44. She used to have the longest hair and cut it her junior year.

45. She looks just like zooey deschanel.

46. She stood on a chair to perform stories for us.

47. She liked to boss laura around when they were little.
48. She and Matt have always been the best of cousins.
49. They used to call everyone "doebays" (no clue where they got that)
50. She loves the biggest loser.
51. She doesn't like to hug.
52. She has a great memory.
53. She is fun to be around.
54. She started babysitting real young.
55. Everyone used to try to convince her to perform when she was little....she was good!
56. She's broken her collarbone twice.
57. She used to never get in the sun.
58. She works at village bank and has for two and a half years.

59. She had the perfect wedding reception.
60. She has cockroaches in her house...she won't go in the rooms they are in.
61. She loves milk.
62. She has long, thick eyelashes.
63. She is very spiritual.
64. She likes john grisham books.
65. She loves blake very much.
66. She has neat handwriting.
67. She puts her feet in the sink full of hot water while putting her makeup on.
68. She is addicted to ice.
69. She doesn't like chit chat very much.
70. She had braces.
71. She doesn't like animals.
72. She loves her family.
73. She is a great dancer.
74. She loves lays potato chips.
75. She is very thoughtful.
76. She and amy are the best of friends.
77. She loves her mac book.
78. She loves cafe rio.
79. She is very considerate.
80. She loves SYTYCD.
81. She can get a little moody at times.
82. She got her associates from dixie state.
83. All her guy friends had a crush on her in high school.
84. She was the first of her group of friends to get married.
85. She has a sweet tooth.
86. She can write real well (unlike the rest of us sisters)
87. She loves cheese.
88. She loves to shop online.
89. She knows everyone from working at the bank.
90. She's decorated her house darling!
91. She has the tiniest legs.
92. She loves the gospel and has a strong testimony.
93. She kept a wedding chain countdown in her room.
94. She doesn't like to wear bracelets.
95. She loves her niece very much. She is going to be a great mom one of these days.
96. She is a great party host.
97. She doesn't like to cook.
98. She rarely wears jeans...always in a dress or skirt.
99. She loves bright lipstick.
100. She is the best sister/daughter in the world.

girl, you are the greatest!
party hard at disneyland....
we all wish we were with you!
love you.

san diego

{october 22-25}
chris took the pe exam in california
(you can take it a year earlier than utah)
so we decided to make it a little getaway for just the two of us.
we dropped ivy off in stg with the parents
and we were on our way.

our first stop was of course the beach
then to dinner and our hotel so chris could get some good rest.

while chris was taking the exam....

i laid by the pool and read to my hearts content.
(i finished my book club book and another one!)

each day when chris would break for lunch - this is what i witnessed.
so many people with boxes + backpacks + suitcases full of books.
it was insane.
i'd pick him up and drive straight to the beach for an hour.

where he would study for the remaining portions

and i just took it all in.
(not a huge fan of the self-self portrait pictures...but chris would get mad if i bothered him with the camera)

we did manage to get a few of us together.
most of the time we were wishing little ivy was with us.

after two long days of exams for chris
we finally got to relax together...
the temple grounds was the perfect place.
(ha, where we were asked if we were on our honeymoon..?)

on our way home we had quite the adventure.
we were supposed to get gas in barstow...
about 30 miles past is when chris realized.
i haven't seen him that nervous ever -
he really didn't think we were going to make it.
i tried to remain calm.
we saw a sign that said "baker : 40 miles"
our car said we had 20 miles until empty.
boy did we pray our little hearts out.
finally when we reached this nice gas station

our car had been running on fumes for who knows how long

prayers are answered.

we had such a nice break...
well, i did. ha, chris - not so much.
we'll find out the results in 13 weeks.
i'm sure he did great!

the majority of the time we talked about ivy
and how much we missed her.
three days was a long time to be away.
we could hardly contain ourselves when finally got to see her!
ha, she didn't seem to miss us too much.

Tuesday tidbits

01. we now have to blow dry ivy's hair when she gets out of the bath.
it looks awesome afterward - she seriously has the best hair
02. she loves to push buttons, turn light switches on/off, turn the radio up, etc.
03. she can show you where her belly button is.
04. says "mmm" when taking bites of food.
05. she moves her hands in circular motion when talking...or when she wants something.

"ticka ticka ticka"

the first house...
patiently waiting

picking out candy

putting it in your "satchel"
(i managed to forget to buy a bucket for her...this "satchel" is the first thing i could find in our house)

the jones' house
don't let her expression fool you...she love love loves this family.

when we got back to our house, she insisted on standing at the door...
probably in hopes to get more candy.
how does she know?

she loved every second trick or treating on our street,
she also loved seeing all the kids come knock on our door.

my mom gave her a little halloween book -
and after reading it to her so many times
she now says, "ticka ticka ticka" aka "trick or treat"

holidays are so much more fun through the eyes of kids.

halloween afternoon

we went down to payson to hang out with family,
the wimmer girls were so excited for their baby brother kole to arrive.
(jen had him this morning - we can't wait to meet him)

auntie ashlee introduced ivy to jesse
(the dog...or horse - he's huge!)
this is the only picture i got of jesse...oops

ivy looked too cute with her auntie
so i pretty much just took pictures of them instead.

dog. slide. swings. dirt.
she was in heaven.

gardner village

been without my hard drive for the last couple of weeks.
i just got it back and couldn't resist posting the rest of these...
who cares if halloween was a month ago?

of course ivy loved all the animals.
wish we could have stayed longer
but it was freezing!!

happy halloween

cutest giraffe i've ever seen.

big cottonwood

{october 18}
when the weather was still warm and beautiful
we took a drive up the canyon to see the changing colors...
of course chris drove straight to the creek.

note: colors aren't vibrant at the creek.

all ivy wanted to do was play in the water
and pick up rocks.

she was having fun, until she fell in
(don't worry - it wasn't deep...just got her knees and arms wet)

we managed to get one more self timer family shot

and drove back down the canyon...
where the colors were actually changing.

she obviously didn't want anymore pictures taken.
probably because she didn't have a shirt on. haha
love her.

milk or water?

such a big decision for this girl.

blake

happy happy happy
birthday.

01. His birthday was actually yesterday. oops.
02. He loves to golf....and goes a lot.
03. He is very competitive when playing games with his family.
04. His nephew is named after him. (middle name)
05. He loved his mission.
06. He loves to work on cars.
07. He is extremely nice.
08. He has a cowlick in his hair that drives him crazy.
09. He enjoys speaking in church.
10. You can see in his face how much he loves megan.
11. He drives a Cadillac.
12. He played baseball in high school.
13. He has big lips.
14. He loves pizza.
15. He has a million friends.
16. And keeps in contact with all of them.
17. He loves kids.
18. He had blonde hair as a kid.
19. He is always hungry.
20. He is quiet.
21. He loves the gospel.
22. He works two jobs.
23. He never swears.
24. He has curly hair.
25. He is very considerate of everyone.
26. He's not a huge fan of Cafe Rio.
27. He goes to college at Dixie State.
28. Kids/babies adore him.
29. He is always up for anything.
30. He loves his family.
31. He is good at ping pong.
32. He hit a home run against canyon view.
33. He will be such a great dad one day.
34. He pays attention to detail.
35. He has scars on his face from several accidents while growing up.
36. He likes to listen to his music loud.
37. He was in a car accident on his mission and still suffers neck pains.
38. He can't grow hair on some parts of his face.
39. He really likes old fashioned things and would like to fix up an old house.
40. He doesn't like to play the wii.
41. He doesn't like when things are on his face or clothes.
42. He only gets ketchup and mustard on his hamburgers.
43. He cuts his own hair.
44. He loves to have his back scratched, neck rubbed, etc.
45. He has dimples.
46. He has a very detailed memory.
47. His eyes wrinkle when he smiles.
48. He always has a warm body temperature.
49. He loves fruit.
50. He never ditched a day of high school.
51. He hates small talk.
52. He doesn't like to follow instruction manuals.
53. He is a very talented artist.
54. He loves jello.
55. He is always thirsty.
56. He has a really high pitched laugh when something strikes him funny.
57. He hates the word "maybe."
58. He loves the lake.
59. He never locks his car.
60. He has a hard time telling a lie.
61. He is quite fashion conscious.
62. He worked at fiesta fun in his youth.
63. He grew up at his parents' store.
64. He doesn't like to be asked vague question.s
65. He loves to hold megan's hand.
66. He is quite shy but has a good sense of humor.
67. He doesn't like mayonnaise but loves ketchup and fry sauce.
68. He never raises his voice.
69. He is very knowledgeable on nearly every aspect of cars.
70. He is soft spoken.
71. He would do anything to make megan happy.
72. He doesn't like to read.
73. He rarely gets mad.
74. He loves u-turns.
75. He doesn't like to sleep in.
76. He is an extremely good listener.
77. His car is well-kept and he frequently washes it.
78. He doesn't like contention.
79. He isn't easily scared.
80. He doesn't like how young he looks.
81. He loves inside jokes.
82. He is a handy man.
83. He doesn't like to take naps.
84. He always uses his blinker.
85. He has a nervous laugh.
86. He loves panda express.
87. He likes facebook.
88. He is a good cook.
89. He drove a blue mustang in high school - still has it - actually just bought a new engine for it.
90. He likes reality tv.
91. He loves nibs and swedish fish.
92. He is very adventurous.
93. He loves to watch all kinds of sports.
94. He doesn't fall asleep easily.
95. He has an optimistic outlook on life.
96. He doesn't like to see people upset.
97. He would love to own his own business restoring cars.
98. He always smells good.
99. He never gives himself enough credit for anything.
100. He rarely hesitates to compliment.

we are so happy to have you in the family blake.

hope you had a good one.

so sad.

it's a fact,
i've cried just about every episode this season.
but tonight i bawled like a baby.
abby's story is the most heartbreaking thing in the world.
i cannot imagine what she has gone through.
i'm sad to see her go. she was true inspiration.
in my opinion - it should have been daniel that went home.
(for those that are not watching...i encourage you to do so)

Tuesday tidbits

{what ivy was up to during her time in stg}
01. she went on daily walks with grandpa.

02. she went to the dixie/pine view football game
where she insisted playing in the dirt and eating the rocks.
(first time in 11 years dixie beat pv)
03. she learned to blow kisses.
04. always pointed to outside.
(she must love stg weather - because she doesn't do this at our home)
05. she was obsessed with the family picture in the living room from megan's wedding
she would stand in front of it and point.
(i like to think that she was missing her daddy & mama -ha)

she didn't lack any attention being away from us.
everyone that watched her told us she was the best baby in the world.
but we already knew that!

chris' exam was brutal,
i enjoyed some r + r,
but we couldn't wait to get back to our baby...
it was like christmas!

thanks again terry & duane
and ludlow crew.