Catching Up

I have been awful at remembering my camera, so there aren't going to be many pictures here.  But for my journaling purposes, there is a lot I want to write.

The trip to CA was great and fun!  We had a blast at the beach house, and then it was great to be home with my family.  It's really good for me to come home and be around familiar faces who know me.  It's hard to explain, but after being in a place where no one knows your name, it's nice to be with people who know you and love you.  Don't get me wrong, I love Utah and life has been great.  But it's just good to come home sometimes.  We of course had a girls night out, and I always LOVE those!  It was also wonderful to spend time with my parents.  They joined Chad and I, when we went to the Mann Chinese Theater to see Harry Potter.  That is such an amazing theater, and it was fun to take Chad to it.

Now, it's back to the routine here.  We have pretty much lived at the pool, and Katelyn is finally getting better at her swim classes.  She still cries and begs not to go for about an hour before, but then she tries so hard to be brave and not cry, while she is there.  Her little chin quivers in fear as she sits on the steps, but she doesn't want to completely lose it in front of the kids or teacher.  Then she musters up enough courage to put her head under and swim, then she screams, "MOM!  Did you see me!?  I did it!"  It is so neat to see her beaming with pride!

For the 24th of July we went hiking with family and then we went swimming and just hung out.  Byron and Hayley came up for the weekend, which is always fun!

We are still trying to sell our condo, and trying to have patience.  It's extra hard because we found the perfect house and we don't want it to go away!  We can't buy it until we sell ours, so we are keeping our fingers crossed!  It's also such a pain to keep the house immaculate all the time, in case someone wants to come and look at it.  Constantly picking up after the girls is exhausting!

Here are some pictures of Taylor.  I got her hair in pigtails in the back for the first time and loved it!  She sure is a character and is in her own little world.  While everyone else is in the pool swimming, Taylor is wandering around the pool looking for bugs and sticks.  She loves to just collect anything she can in her little hands, and won't let them go.  She is talking so much in full sentences and surprises me everyday with what she says.  She can also count to 10.  She is such a ball of energy and is a little monkey...which is surprising for how little she is.

Katelyn made a chore chart for FHE a coupe of weeks ago, and it's working great!  She loves to help me around the house and fill out her chart.  Katelyn is becoming so independent and a big girl.  I am loving this stage!  I love how she can go to the bathroom by herself, get stuff out of the kitchen for herself, help me with Taylor and dress herself.  She still is challenging sometimes, and has a fiercely independent spirit, but she is also such a sweetheart and wants to make sure that everyone is happy.  Her favorite thing lately that she is always begging to do is play tennis with Chad.  It's adorable to watch and I will have to post some pictures.

Preschool Info

My mom's preschool is starting Aug 17th!!! I have been down here the past week and I am so impressed with how it's all set up, and how great the house looks! Anyway, if you are interested in enrolling your child or getting more info, let either me or my mom know. The slots are filling up, so spread the word if you know anyone who might be interested!

Beach House

We have had a crazy fun filled week here in CA! Chad's family rented a beach house in Oceanside for a week and we loved it.  The girls loved being on the beach everyday and playing with their cousins.  I think I got my dose of sand and ocean for the summer!  It's nice to get into a bed without sand in it! Marci and Julio came down for a day and it was fun to see them.  On Weds we all went to Disneyland and that was quite the day!  Keeping 25 people together on a busy day was no easy task-but it was a success.  Katelyn went on all of the rides, including Splash Mountain and Space Mountain for the first time.  After Space Mountain she ran up to me and said, "Mom, that was so much fun! (pause) I never want to ride it again!"

Then on Thursday night we went to the Coldplay concert in San Diego.  It was second time seeing them this tour, and I loved it even more!  They are an amazing live band.  Then we headed back to Santa Clarita the next day and stopped at The Grove on the way.  I unfortunately got really sick and am still dealing with this bad head cold.  Why do vacations and sickness go hand in hand!?  Chad is heading back to Salt Lake in the morning and I am staying with my family til Weds.  I have enjoyed these two weeks in CA, but I definitely don't miss the heat!

Happy Fourth of July!

We had such a fun Fourth of July weekend.  On Friday we headed up to Matt and Kristin's cabin in Brighton.  We stayed overnight and the kids had a lot of fun.  We walked around the lake and hiked as well.  The kids saw ducks and deer and loved just being in the outdoors. There were plenty of mosquitos there and Katelyn kept calling them "Spageetos"-too cute! They have a dog named Tahoe, and Taylor just couldn't get enough of her!  She followed that dog everywhere and loved to squeeze and pet it.  I had to take a picture of the two of them because their hair matched perfectly!  Then Sat morning we had a huge breakfast up there and then participated in the parade.  We got the kids and the car dressed up then paraded around and threw everyone candy.  Katelyn loved being on a float and throwing candy.  Then we headed back and went swimming at our pool and made smores.  This was the highlight of Katelyn's weekend, and now she just begs for them!  She calls the marshmallows "marshpillows".  Then it was off to the golf course to watch the fireworks show.  We had a ton of sparklers left over from the wedding so the kids had a lot of fun with those.  It was a packed weekend, and we had a lot of fun!  I missed my family and our Moorpark tradition, but being in the mountains with family was sure awesome!

Parent Preschool Meeting

Those of you who said you were interested about my mom's and Shirley's "Young Stars" preschool will be getting a letter in the mail early next week with all the info.  But I wanted to let you know about the Parent meeting next week so you can mark your calendars.  They will be having a Parent Meeting Thurs. the 9th at 7pm at my mom's house.  Come and ask all your questions and check it all out!  

Lots to do!

We have had another fun filled week!  I am really enjoying discovering all the fun things to do here.  We are always trying something new, and most of it is cheap or free!  We went up Millcreek Canyon with the family after Sunday dinner, and it was beautiful.  It's so neat that the canyon is less than a mile form our house.  Then we went to the Open House of the Oquirrh Temple.  It is beautiful!  It was the first Open House I had ever been to, and it was fun to take the girls.  Katelyn was so excited to go into a temple, since she couldn't go in when Chad and I got married.  The next day I met up with my cousin Chris' wife, Melanie.  She has two girls that are close in age to mine, so it was a lot of fun.  We went to the children's garden at Thanksgiving Point.  They had a Noahs Ark there where the kids could play in the water.  Then they had trails in the garden area with cute stuff like a bear cave.  The girls loved it, and it was great to spend time with Melanie.  And of course I had to put some dress up pictures on here.  Both of the girls love to dress up and twirl around.  Taylor loves the heels!