Pennsylvania 2011

We have been blessed with an amazing summer so far!! Dave had a test that was only given in Philadelphia...so, thanks to my awesome parents, we decided to make a family trip of it. I had never been to Pennsylvania nor had my parents so we were all excited to see that part of the country and get away from the heat. Sure enough Philadelphia was having one of their worst heat waves on record so no reprieve from the high temps but it was still a super fun trip!! Here as some highlights:Our secret for surviving the long flights....dum dums! James has been on more flights than I care to count but as he gets older and more active he gets to be more and more difficult to fly with. I debated all sorts of methods to keep him happy, but the options were few. He doesn't get sugar often, not even juice...so this was like baby crack for him....it only took two suckers to get him there and three to get him home...the result, happy baby, happy passengers, happy mom and dad!

Day 1 Reading Terminal, Philly Cheese Steaks and Ice Cream..YUM!

Day 2 Lancaster PA, Amish Country

Science Factory

Lancaster and the surrounding Amish towns were BEAUTIFUL. It was amazing to see the pristine gardens and land maintained by the Amish using horse drawn tractors and plows. We were able to go to a Farmer's market where we got lots of yummy produce, jams, popcorn, cheeses...afterwards we ate at a fresh garden restaurant for dutch oven cooking.

Day 3 Downtown Philadelphia Tour and Test Day for Dave
Dave had already seen Philadelphia so we took a tour of the city while he took his big test. We saw lots of fun things!!!
The Liberty Bell
Enjoying ice cream just outside of the Church where many founding father's attended church including George Washington, John Adams, & Benjamin Franklin.

James getting recruited for the Continental Army

I think James' face in this picture shows how we all really felt about the heat...It was in the high 90-low 100's and super humid! But it was still so fun to see the beautiful city and learn so much American History!

Day 4 Gettysburg

Gettysburg was beyond beautiful. The history there is incredible.

Day 5 Constitutional Center and more downtown Philly

James hanging out with Ben

James' Inaugural Address (He did amazing)

James LOVED the fountains that were throughout the City

James and Dave giving the weather report at the Franklin Institute

For our final adventure James climbed the Rocky Step...all by himself....it took a while.
It was such a GREAT trip. Thanks so much to my mom and dad for making it possible for us all to go and thanks to Dave for letting us all tag along for his big test!!!

Lots of Catching Up

To say it has been crazy around here is not doing us justice. Since my last post there has been a break-in, a painful good-bye to my beloved Grandma, a car accident (I hit my boss' car), a clinical rotation out-of-town, multiple doctor visits for multiple ear infections, 8 plane rides with a one year old, and lots and lots and lots of happiness in-between that keeps us going....so brace yourself this is a long overdue catch up post...

About two months ago my beautiful Grandma was placed on hospice. She had been battling Multiple Sclerosis for many many many years and was, understandably, tired of the fight. Being away from home was horrible. I wanted so badly to be there to help her and my granddad but all I could do was call and pray for them. She had said she wanted me to come to see her and I said I would. With work, Dave's schooling, James and other obligations it would be a challenge but I am eternally grateful that I made it happen as soon as I did. James and I came up for a very quick 36 hour trip, spending every moment I could with my grandma saying a very hard and bittersweet goodbye. She passed away peacefully less than two days later. She was a beautiful person. She was smart, witty and the most giving and selfless person I have ever known. I miss her dearly.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/obituary.aspx?n=shirlee-charon&pid=151281270

About a month before my grandma's passing this happened:Our home was broken into. Dave was out-of-town doing a month long rotation in Prescott. While this was super scary and stressful to say the least there were many tender mercies involved with this incident. First I had come home about three hours early from work that day (which I almost never do). The police believe that my coming home spooked the kid and he left. As a result he did not get away with very much stuff. Second the police came to my home before I even realized what had happened because the kid had broken into a home earlier and been seen and he was hiding out in his parents house which unfortunately is just behind ours...so the 'suspect' was caught and I had help right away. Finally while it was awful to have Dave out of town it was a blessing that he was still close enough to drive home that first evening so I didn't have to be alone that night. I still feel very safe in my home and neighborhood. It is sad that people are so desperate and have no problem violating or hurting other people to get what they want. I am just so grateful that everyone is okay!!
Enough sadness here are the happy parts of the past two and a half months..

James had his one-year photo shoot as a gift from my mom (thanks again mom) by this talented girl http://www.megsphotographyanddesign.com/
He is so cute!

We played with these guys. For James' birthday we came to Utah to celebrate some more (because two parties in AZ wasn't enough!). It was so much fun playing with all our friends and family. Thanks to my sweet parents Dave and I had our first night away with out James!

These guys came to visit us !!! Soon after we left Utah my sister jenn (not pictured, she is the photographer of this photo) and her wonderful family came to play with us while Dave was in Prescott. We had so much fun going to the zoo, hiking, playing wii, visiting the science center and eating lots of yummy things! We loved having the Tullis' here!!

I made this. Which resulted in this....
Yes that is my sewing machine needle....no this picture does not do it justice. This was yet another thing that happened while Dave was gone (he misses out on all the fun). I have LOVED my new sewing machine I got for Christmas. I have made james ties, bow ties, toys, a quiet book...I saw this reversible cape on my friends facebook page (thank you Stacy for the idea) and Dave had a bunch of old t-shirts that were just the right colors so I made James one...but stupid me couldn't wait for the next nap to finish it so I was sewing with the one-year-old when I was rethredding my needle and he snuck under the table and sat on my peddle...resulting in a shattered needle that went straight through my finger. It hurt less than I would have guessed. Morale of the story....wait until nap time to sew.

James had his first haircutThanks Uncle Cary!

And his first swim lesson.He LOVES the water!

Thanks to my wonderful husband and amazing baby I had an AMAZING mother's day!And somehow we have found time to play, a lot...At the Zoo

At the Science Museum

At Papago Park

And at the Children's Museum

Also we have been doing lots of family bike rides with our 20$ yard sale find:
A bike trailer for James. He LOVES it!

Finally We just returned from an AWESOME Trip to Philly....but that will have to wait enough catching up for now.

James' First Birthday!

Can you believe it, our baby turned 1!!!! James had his 1st birthday on St. Patty's day. It has truly been the busiest, fastest and GREATEST year of our lives!!!
James' birthday celebration started a couple of days early when his sweet sitter Crystale threw him a party at her place with all of his friends from her house. She made him this beautiful cake and spoiled him with sweet gifts. He LOVED digging into his first birthday cake.
A couple of days later on St. Patty's day we celebrated James' birthday with some of our dear friends from the neighborhood and ward. My mom, James' Lady was able to come too!! Thanks mom for all your help!!!!

I have always looked forward to making my children's birthday cakes...I probably went a little overboard. Thanks to my sweet friend Brie (she provided all the pans and recipe for the fondant, not to mention lots of moral support) this actually was much easier than I thought it would be and it turned out pretty well...not that James really cared.

Some of James' friends playing with the bubbles. It was a BEAUTIFUL day!! We were able to play and lounge outside and fill up on cake and ice cream.

I am sad I didn't get any pictures of James with all of the kids that came but here are some of the little cutie pies. The two beautiful girls next to James (Bryn and Ava) are our dear friend Jenny's girls. Jenny watched James for us for nearly six months when I went back to work. They adore him and he adores them. It is so cute to watch them together!!! The handsome boys on the left are Carson and Landon, Brie's boys. The other kiddos that came were Jay, Alice, Duncan, Eva, Max, Kate, Gabe & McKay...Thanks to all our wonderful friends that were able to come celebrate James' big day. We are blessed with great friends and are SO grateful for all the love and support you show us!

James taking his first bite of cake!

He LOVED it!!! Totally takes after his mom and dad.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sweet Baby James!!!!

Visitors

Dave and I always love visitors (hint hint Jenn and all you other slackers who haven't come to see us!)!! We have been blessed with a few the past few weeks.
First my brother Dallin and his wife Cami came with their sweet little boys Carter & Davey!

Little David loving the bubbles.

James not sure what to think about the bubbles.

Davey loving more bubbles.

And Carter also loving the bubbles.
Okay I promise we did more than just blow bubbles...but that is all I got pictures of. Thanks Dallin and Cami for coming to stay with us for a little while. It was so fun seeing you and spending some time with you and your cute guys!!!
Next we had a great visit from Liz (Dave's mom) and Grandma Lu. Bonnie (a.k.a. Liz) helped us take care of James and cooked us delicious food. It was so much fun spending time with her and Grandma Lu. I know James especially loved it. I of course did not get ANY pictures of either of them while they were here, BUT I did get a picture of James while they were staying with us:

Don't you just LOVE him! oh and Happy very belated Valentines Day! Liz was with us over Valentine's Day. She even sent Dave and I on a well over due date while she watched our little munchkin. It was so-o great having her here!!!

And finally our latest visitor was this super cute little thing:

Amelia

She also brought along her cute parents (not pictured) Nick and Stacy. Her mom Stacy has been one of my dearest friends for 15 years. It was so nice of them to come all the way from LA to play with us for the weekend. The kids LOVED playing together, we will definitely have to get them together again soon!

We went to Tempe Town lake. The park was closed for a Beer festival...we didn't think we should take the babies to a Beer festival...but knowing Arizona we probably could have if we wanted to! This picture sums up how James felt about me taking his picture that afternoon.

James and his daddy walking from the Lake.

I'm sure they will thank us for this one someday!

Obviously if there was a theme for the weekend it would be hygiene. The kids practiced really good hygiene together. And yes I am aware that my son has a pink toothbrush, thank you.
Amelia we LOVED having you and your parents come to visit us. You can bring them to Phoenix anytime!
Thanks to all our wonderful visitors!!! We love you and miss you already...come again soon!!!!