Bloggin' it up!

So I'm back in the blogging world. It's been a while, but it's not because I didn't have pictures! I just have had to get up the energy to do it. (Even though it doesn't take much.) Not too much has been going on here, we just are enjoying the summer heat and loving Texas. 

We found a house that we like and have put an offer down on it however, just before doing so we found out that there was another offer put on it. It's a short sale so unfortunately that means everything takes lifetimes to figure things out. We are hoping to hear this week if the other offer was accepted or not and if not, then they will consider ours. Even though it's an awesomely long waiting game, we feel like the house is well worth it. We have found this house in great condition, has 2188 square feet (which is pretty good sized!) and is $100,000. We are loving the Texas housing market right now! We hope to get it, but if we don't we feel like it would be a wise decision to rent for about a year and pay off the van. In doing so, we will open up so many more options for us. We also hope to pay off my student loans, which will only leave us Tad's student loans! I LOVE paying off debt! We can actually pay off my loans but if we get into the house we want to not feel like we are drowning right after we get into it. If we move into an apartment we are hoping to stay in the ward! So that's the news on the housing front.

Reesa and Afton are just growing up like weeds. I can't believe how one day it just seemed like I was having conversations with Reesa. She is talking so much now. She understands me. She tells me when she's "all done," if she wants to "eat," or drink, she asks please for almost everything she wants, tells me she wants up/down, runs to the door and yells Daddy when he comes home, loves to act like a doggy with her tongue out, asks for "nana's" (bananas) all the time, says when things are hot, tells me she got an "owie," and loves to grab my hand and say, "mere" (come here) when she wants me to do something with her. I'm loving this age and just can't get enough of her. Afton is saying the funniest things, which she mostly gets from listening to Mommy and Daddy or from movies. The other day I was telling Tad about that new Oreo commercial and said at the end the Grandpa says, "Franklin Delano!" Afton caught on immediately said, "Freakin' Delado!" We were rolling on the floor! Also, I took her to the bathroom the other day and asked her if her legs hurt from a little sunburn. She replied, "Well, um...that's easy for you to say!" I'm not sure what made her think that fit, but she had just been watching Tangled and I soon found out that's a line in the movie. So funny! She is such a good girl, helping Mommy and making us all laugh!

So since this is already a long update, I'll get Tad and me in the next post!

Reesa LOVES reading books!

These bottom two pictures are from a little campout we had for the Young Women in our ward. It was so much fun! We have such amazing girls and I am so happy to be in young women's with them. 

Quick update!

So I found my camera finally but we leave tomorrow for Georgia! Yeah!! Can't wait! So I have some pictures from Tad's iphone that I will put up instead. I do have a few pictures to put up from Sami's camera and mine, but those will have to wait till we get back!

Reesa is such a goober! One night at bed time she could not stop smooshing her face on her pack and play!

Reesa and her allergies!

We went on a campout and Afton got a tinkerbell bedding set. It had this sleep mask and she slept amazingly! So funny!

Afton LOVES trying on shoes!

This is what we do a lot! Roll the ball with Reesa.

I don't remember when these were, but she must have been exhausted!

Oh my sleepy girl!

Things around here are getting better and better! Tad got a raise, already. Our plan was to have a good amount saved by September time so we could get started on the house thing. Now we are hoping to move that up a bit. We have been looking around here in Round Rock for a home and have found a couple that we liked. Then we discovered Hutto. Oh yes, Hutto. A small town just east of Round Rock. The property taxes there are amazing!! We have found that we can get more square footage for cheaper prices, so that may be the place for us. We haven't felt any overwhelming feelings about it yet beside the fact that it is cheaper. I am so excited! We will hopefully be making offers on houses in August. That's sooo soon! Can't wait. Tad is an amazing worker and has made a great bond with his bosses. We couldn't ask for better people to be working for. We are so blessed to be here and to have all that we have and yet continue to be blessed everyday!

Camera, Camera where have you been?

Yayyyyy!! I found my camera! Yeah to more posts coming! (Aunt Katie there will be pictures of the girls in their swimsuits! Can't wait to post it!)

New background...new post?!

Yes, there is a new background and even a new header. However, since moving to Texas I have misplaced my camera which has made posting a little, uh, sparse. So sorry, but I have to rely on others cameras which I keep forgetting to ask for. I always thought I was more organized than to be one of those that would not lose their camera in situations like this, but I guess I'm not as organized as I thought I was. The real thing is that to find it, I'd have to go through our storage unit and that just would not be advisable! So tomorrow, hopefully, I will have stories from our past few weeks of adventures and maybe some pictures. Hopefully you all can control yourselves until then. We are a pretty popular blog here, so just cool your jets and I'll post as soon as I can (or have time, or want to...)!

See ya soon!

Knitted Monsters!

Click on my little button to Make It and Love It. Then go check out the cutest little knitted monster giveaway! Sooo cute!

Beeve Teef

So March 29th is a big day! Well for some of us...it was my sister Beth's birthday. She turned the big 20. I don't remember much about us as kids, but Bethy was super teeny and cried...a lot. There's a picture that I love because it totally fits her and my other sister Leisha. I wish I had it, but an explanation will have to do. They are both little toddlers and are sitting on the bed and Leisha has her arm around Beth and has this huge smile on her face. Bethy, on the other hand, is screaming crying. So funny! Lucky for us she grew out of that stage. Before we moved down to Texas, Bethy was up at school in Idaho while we were there. I loved having her so close. I was trying to distract her from her studies pretty much everyday. Bethy is funny, has a great laugh, is willing to take a few jokes, and just wants to be a good person. She is very strong-willed and ready to stand up at a moments notice. I'm so glad that she was up there for a little while and I'm super glad she's my SiS! Put us all in one room and crazy fun times will ensue! Love you Bethy! Hope your birthday was AwEsOmE! 

Pictures and more!

Okay, this has all been a long time comin.' So we have been having a blast here in Round Rock with Scott and Stacy and their family. You'd think it would be a big adjustment moving in with another family, but it has been awesome. Stacy is so sweet and is on top of everything which makes life so much easier. The kids have so much fun together. I know their young, but I hope they will remember at least some of this time that they have had together. Shane and Afton have their good days and bad days, but it's like brother and sister. Some days it's so fun to watch them laugh and play together and others they are just butting heads (literally). You think I'm joking but yesterday they were fighting about something and were head to head pushing each other. The wills were strong, but we parted them before we found out who would win. Reesa is so cute just following them around or escaping to the backyard. She has discovered how easy these doors are to open so she can go anyway if they are left unlocked. She LoVeS playing outside. She is growing super fast saying so many things. She says, "Mama," "Dadda," "Sissa" (Sister), "Aton" (Afton), "Lela" (Leisha), "Aun B" (Aunt B), "What's Dat," "Oh Yeah," "Seesa" (Reesa), "Eye," "Weeeee," "Uh-oh" and probably her favorite, "hi."

She sings in her little voice all the time and it is sooo cute. Afton is a little singer too and is learning so many songs with all the words. We went camping and had a talent show and she wanted to sing the ABC's. She did it perfectly. So cute! Afton is getting more strong-willed, but it is a silent thing. The other night I came home from running and it was about 9:15. There she was playing with Lego's in the playroom downstairs. I came upstairs with her and Tad said he had put her down about 45 minutes ago. Little stinker has learned to sneak out of her room already! Reesa will wake up so bubbly and babbling to herself in the morning. I am usually still tired but I just have to smile when I see her little face and hear her say, "Wat's dat?" She makes a lot of animal sounds but her favorite is the dog, which doesn't really sound like a dog, more like a mouse, but what can ya do? She's only 16 months. My favorite is her kitty cat. She offsets her jaw and the cutest little "me-owwww" comes out. Love it. One night I was telling Afton about getting married in the temple and I told her she had to be a good girl to go there. She quickly responded, "Yeah, I actually am." Well, I'm glad we're done with that step. Done and done. She says the funniest things! They are growing up too fast.

I am doing great. Staying busy. Stacy is teaching me all her great freezer meal recipes. It's been awesome only cooking once a month. I had never even thought about all the possibilities of that before, but I am loving it. Since it's actually possible to be oustide here without having your extremities freezing off, I have been running. Stacy has been nice enough to share her friends with me. The had started a running group and so every Monday we go running. Wednesdays we usually do Just Dance 2 on the Wii or Pilates. Which are actually pretty taxing exercises. Saturday mornings we try to go running too. We usually run about 3 to 3.5 miles with all the girls. I am trying to increase my distance because I want to do this half marathon. Saturdays I tend to go by myself and do a big run. It's been awesome! I hated running before but have come to love it. It's that out that makes you feel stress free afterwards and you get healthy in the meantime. So far I have lost 5 lbs and my goal is to lose 8 more. If I can do that I'll be back to my high school weight! How crazy would that be? The half marathon I want to do is in August down in Galveston. It would be around our anniversary so we were thinking of heading down and going to Schlitterban down there as well. So many possibilities when you live in a warmer climate! I also got a calling as the Laurel Advisor. Stacy is the YW President so it's not very surprising, but I am loving it. We have amazing young women who have made me feel so welcomed. It keeps me busy and I am learning so much.

Tad is doing great at his job. He loves working with these amazing people, Shawn and Margaret. They are so inspiring and are really trying to be good, genuine people. He keeps pretty busy with his job working until about 6:30-6:45 everyday. He goes in about 9 in the morning, but I love having that hour to hour and a half before he goes to work. He is also Second Counselor in the Sunday School Presidency. So far he hasn't gotten many assignments because the President has been out of town, but last week he got to conduct Sunday School and ring the bell! How lucky! He is loving being a Texan and we are excited to see what more is in store for us! With that said, here are a bunch of pictures courtesy of Sami and Sadie because I don't know where my camera is!

 Reesa being super cute.

 Afton and Reesa love having a backyard!

Afton, my little goober.

 Silly little girl!

 Oh Tad, my main squeeze! Hehehe!

She is sooo happy!

 Afton is super cute!

 Afton, Shane and Sadie play together a lot! and love it!

Sadie loves my little girls! She's like their second mother!

Stacy was so excited about this jello thing I made. (Recipe on Our Best Bites blog.)

Afton has learned to work the CD player and loves listening to stories on it.

Stacy and I took the kids to the Austin Zoo

Here we are posing in all our Zoo glory! (Sadie is like Oh girls really?!)

We also went camping with some friends at this beautiful place! This is also where I did my first 5K.

Goofy girls!

Sami-lami! So cute!

Us again...Stacy's camping look is so much more attractive than mine!

Reesa loved this little slide and never wanted to get off.

Uncle Tad doing breakfast!

Sadie loving on Reesa!

Afton and Sadie getting ready to go swimming!

Reesa's getting her sunblock ready.

This was Barton Springs where we went swimming. It was soooo cold!

We also took the kids to the park and had a picnic!

Afton, again my goober!

Here we are again!

Reesa is making new friends. She loves saying, "hi!"