Preparing for Takeoff

I have been writing this post in my head for a month or more.  I have known that I need to document all of Ally's various modes of transportation.  But once again that means I have to admit that she is growing up, which is not my favorite thing.  Don't get me wrong I want her to grow and be healthy but part of me wants her to be a baby forever.  Oh well, I had better get over it cause it's a battle that I'm clearly not going to win.  On Wednesday afternoon Ally decided she was going to walk.  Just like that.  She stood up and walked all over the place.  She had been taking a few steps here and there, for the past few weeks, but not without help and lots of encouragement.  She is still pretty wobbly, she falls quite a bit and has to stand back up and start over, a process that seems like it takes forever.  But you can see in her smile how proud she is of herself, of course some of it might also be that all of us are cheering for her.

Before walking, her primary mode of transportation was The Scoot.  For about the last eight months she has sat on her bum and paddled herself around.  Apparently this was also how my Mom got around when she was a baby.  They are so alike, I am in so much trouble! (hehe just kidding Mom, sort of...)

(sorry about the sogginess, it really wasn't as bad as these pictures make it seem.)  

Everywhere we went people would see her scoot and think it was the cutest funniest thing ever.  It was cute, at first, but after she practically ruined every pair of shorts and pants she owned, it was less cute. I am pretty sure that I am single handedly keeping Shout in business.  My Mother in law kept threatening to Velcro a damp cloth to her bum to clean the floor, which I have to admit, is not a bad idea.  She did start crawling about a month ago, everyone told me that she needed to learn how or she would have trouble reading.  She really just crawls to be silly, cause she always flops on her belly while crawling and laughs.  I was glad she learned how to crawl, even though it wasn't the milestone I was looking for at 15 months old.  I can't believe how big she is getting.  My baby......  not so much a baby anymore, but always my baby girl, love you little girl :)

P.S.  I lost....

Happy Birthday Audrey Mae

This pretty girl is not just my friend, she is my Sister.  I didn't have any siblings before I married Ben, I am an only child.  This girl, and her two Sisters, are my dream come true.  I couldn't love them more.  I love you so much Audrey Mae, thanks for being my sister and showing me what that really means.  You will never know how much it means to me.  Happy Birthday.

36 Hours

Last weekend was crazy busy.  It was also crazy fun. Since Ben works most every Saturday, and we usually need to be back for church by 11am on Sunday, we don't often go to far on weekends.  But last weekend we squeezed in everything we possibly could.  Ben's Mom asked if the kids could go with them on Friday night... ummm, yeah!!!!  I said, and I quote, "It would be my pleasure, literally."  Ben had told me earlier in the day that he needed to work on my Mom's tractor that night.  So the two of us hung out together at the shop.  It was just like the old days, Ben works on stuff and I watch.  I am always so amazed that he knows how to fix everything.

Saturday morning Ty's Friend Toby had her Birthday Party.  It was a Puppy Party, and it was to die for.  Toby's mom is amazing, she always has awesome ideas.  I have "why didn't I think of that" moments quite often while in her company.  I told myself I wasn't going to post any of these pictures because it wasn't our party.  But seriously, they are so cute!  (Sorry Steph, I just couldn't help myself.)

Happy Happy Birthday Toby girl!

I am pretty sure this was their favorite part, when Steph old them that puppies don't eat at the table they eat on the floor, there were several squeals of delight.  Ty told me that he is going to eat like this from now on.  To bad his Mom is such a fun hater.  Sorry Buddy, someday you will understand. I hope.....

After the party Ty, Ally and I took a flying trip to Walmart to grab a few things, and then we met Ben who was just getting home, and we frantically loaded up the camp trailer.  Yes we bought a trailer!  WooHoo!  I have been meaning to post about this it just hasn't happened.  Our friends Jason and Nicole and their kids were camping up Payson Canyon and invited us to come up.  Since we hadn't gotten to take our trailer out we were really excited, even if it was only for one night.  

No this is not Ben's bike, him and Jason were trying to convince Jason's son Collin to jump over this big ditch.  If the smile on Ben's face doesn't tell you everything you need to know, then let me tell you, it was a bad idea.   It's a good thing Collin knows these two so well, he wasn't about to be peer pressured into it.  I had good intentions of taking a whole lot more pictures.  But honestly, it was so relaxing, I just sat in a camp chair pretty much the entire time.  I love camping, I am so excited that we have a trailer.  The whole process of  searching for, looking at, and deciding on a trailer was exhausting, but totally worth it.  I hope this is the first of many, many more camping posts.  (My Mother in law also said that our generator will totally run a sewing machine! I haven't told Ben this yet, I am waiting for some perfect timing :))  We got up Sunday morning and packed up and headed home by 10 :(  Jason made us breakfast before we left, and a good portion of the trip was him teaching Ben how everything on our trailer works, can you believe how lucky we are?  I am so grateful for such awesome friends.  We had such a great time, our kids were in heaven.  I learned that I didn't have nearly what I need to cook, and I drastically under estimated the amount of clothing I needed to pack for my children. But that was the whole point, to figure a few of these things out.  It was really a great trip, just way too short, and not nearly enough pictures.  I will do better next time, which will be soon, I am hoping very soon.