Me and my girls

Sometimes being a mother can be very challenging and so rewarding all at once. The tantrums can flip just like a switch from bad to good. That's what this day was like. A mom always has the camera ready to try and capture all of the fun, new and exciting things in their children's lives. You get some and miss some. But I was lucky enough to have a talented friend take pictures of me and my angels for mother's day and Leah turning two.

I can't ever remember my life without my little girls. They have challenged me so much with the everyday things. I have been less than perfect and yet they still think I'm the cat's meow. Hannah often tells me that I'm the bestest mom ever and she could never ever ask for a better mommy! Although I know that I am far from perfect, she thinks I am and that's all that matters!
Hannah was having a "difficult" day when we first arrived and she had been crying quite a bit. Even through tear stained eyes, she is the most beautiful lil lady I have ever met.
She knows how to get out of trouble and knows just what to say to skip out on punishments.
She knows that a simple kiss and hug cure everything, whether it is giving or receiving them.
She knows how to work the camera and "strike" a pose.
And I love every freckle on her little nose.
Cuddling with her is the thing I look forward to the most everyday. Every night we lay in bed together, talk about our days both likes and dislikes. And when asked what her favorite part of the day was she always replies, "Cuddling with my mommy!" Even though I know it's coming, it still melts my heart.
She is so silly and has the largest heart out of all of us.
She is so stubborn in a lot of ways and I love that about her. She won't give in if it's something she really wants.
I admire her compassion. She has a spirit about her and she can literally change my moods from bad to good with her jokes or her kisses. I really am a lucky mamma!
My little Leah, is always ready to play!
I can't get enough of her lovin. And lovin is what she always gives.
She just turned two last week and she has been the best addition to our home. Making everyone smile with her outrageous personality.
These are the best pictures because as a mom we see our children in a certain way, a certain light and we can't always catch those moments on film.
Well through my friends lens and motherly eye, she caught some of my most favorite Leah moments. The millions of faces she makes are all my favorite. She is so curious and always up to something.
Her beauty is priceless and angelic. I love her lips so much and they are always ready for kissin!
"Look over there!" She is adventurous and gets into everything. But I love that nothing, no boundaries, not even a tall locked cabinet can stop her from getting what she wants and figuring things out.
I love her pouty face. She can change looks so fast, but everyone makes her who she is.
She enjoys enjoys life and all it's little wonders.
I love the saying, "We may not have it all together, but together, we have it all." It's so true for us particularly. We make choices both good and bad. We yell, we fight, we argue and we cry. But we also love endlessly. Through all the things that come and go in this life, through all the crappy parts, all the happy times, the learning experiences, and the simple joys I know that I have two little human beings that look up to me and love me no matter what. I feel so extremely blessed to have my sweet girls and they came to me so easily. I wonder what I did to deserve such an amazing set of daughters, and pray that I can continue to wonder that the rest of their very full lives. I am so in love with my babies and love every moment with them, the good, the bad, and the sacred little moments that I share with them daily. I am so grateful for a husband who works so hard for all his ladies so I can stay at home with our two greatest accomplishments. And I am so thankful for my friend Ashley, who captured on film exactly how I see my girls.

Leah turns 2!

Leah had her second birthday this week. We decided to go to Pretend City for her birthday. I had never been but heard great things about it, and let me tell you, we had more fun than Disneyland! My sister in law and my two nieces came to join us for the fun, which made it so much better. So Leah got to open her first present in the parking lot :) She loved it and we play with it everyday so far.

Our first stop was to the post office and Hannah loved playing dress up. But there was so much to see and do that she quickly got over it and moved on.
They played at this water station for hours. Every time they would move onto something else, they always ended up back there. We enjoyed watching them play. Leah absolutely loved fishing.
The fire station was super cute. I just think Leah looks good in anything especially a fire hat! They were able to punch a time card at each area and then put it into the ATM and get cash! They loved it and it helped them learn to work for their money. Each station they wanted to make sure they got the time stamp so they could get money to grocery shop.

This was the best area. Leah was here for days! Picking the fruits and vegetables was so much fun for her. She and Hannah gardened for a long time and enjoyed it very much. I loved seeing them do this, new for me, but enjoyed watching them learn new things.
They even worked well together to build this house. They received no help from me and actually worked as a team! I was shocked because unlike other "perfect" families, our girls have a little sibling rivalry and are learning to work together. So they did, and I was proud of my lil builders. It was one of those personal mommy moments where I was happy to see hard work and encouragement pay off.
Off to painting! Oh my, this was so fun and messy. Luckily I new it would wash out. But it's always fun to see what they create without assistance. Leah is learning so much and she was enjoying knowing her colors. This place is all about learning and working with your kids to have fun. Using your imagination is so hard with all of the technology out there and this place reminded me how fun it is to be a kid.
This was the Ralph's they had set up. Pretty much the coolest thing I have ever seen! All of the kids seemed like they left right as we were getting in there so we had the place to ourselves which was awesome. Hannah took the lead of the cashier and was exchanging money with the "shoppers". It was so much fun to see them interact with each other. They really do pick up on the things they see everyday such as grocery shopping. It was a great place to end our day there.
My girls are so lucky to have cousins to play with all the time. Cousins who are very close in age and enjoy the fun shared each time they see one another.
Afterward we had a small family celebration for this big personality. She was very excited about her gifts. Her aunt Ashley came over to join in on the fun and now we get to go to Build-a-bear! So excited about that!
She was having a great time in her discovery tent. Leah is such a beautiful baby!

And yes this is my child licking her bowl :)

I really do feel like a lucky woman. All I have ever wanted since I can remember was wanting to be a wife and a mother. I know my dreams have come true since having Hannah and Leah. Leah, luckily for me, has seemed to stay a baby much longer than Hannah did. I don't feel as though I have been robbed of the baby stage. She has been so attached to me since day one and I am very grateful for that. I love how she calls for only me in the mornings and when she sees me I get the warmest greeting. I love how she will crawl on my lap just to cuddle and always wants me to tickle her back. I love how she is to attached to her snuggles and makes me hide under it with her. I love how she enjoys her sleep. I love how she loves all of us. She is the sweetest baby and loves her family so much. She is a great sister and so smart! Even though I can't smell, I love breathing her in. She has the biggest lips with the sweetest kisses. She is so funny and comes up with new stuff everyday. I'm so happy and proud to be her mommy and I look forward to so many more memories with her. Happy birthday my little Leah!

Easter time!

Our family tradition is to have Easter at my mom's house. She makes all the kids their Easter bags and we have a huge money egg hunt and eat all day. It's always so much fun because we get to see the girls have a ton of fun with their cousins.

Our little family
The fab four!
And I love my little girls in their spring colors.
Leah is my little cookie monster. She must have had about a dozen just that day alone.
This year was extra special because we were able to have one of my oldest friends in the world come spend the day with our family. We love spending time with them and I'm so grateful we have such great friends.
My brother and his family, and of course our little stowaway!
Leah had so much fun on her own egg hunt. We had her do her own in the front yard so that it would be more fair. She had a blast!
And Hannah is the sweetest little girl. I just love seeing her grow up, although it's way too fast! I always have fun watching her do these. It's so exciting for her to put all the money in her piggy bank when she is all done.
Not only is she a beautiful little girl, but she is so sweet and compassionate! Love her to pieces!


Hannah saying the blessing on the "kids food". We love easter. We loved being able to watch conference and then hang out with friends and family, that's what it's all about. Plus this year was exciting for me, my mom got really sick and I did the whole Easter dinner by myself! I have done it for my little family for five years now, but for as many people that were there, that was my first time. So, nothing was burned, nothing was cold and no one got sick! hahaha I'm very grateful for my family and friends who show me constant support and I'm so excited about our future! Can't wait to post more about that ;)

Happy 5 year Anniversary!

On March 26th Scott and I celebrated our 5th anniversary! We decided a while ago that we were not going to anything considering all that is going on with us right now. We are trying so hard to save money to get our own home again and it's been really challenging! So with all of the stress going on in our lives and trying to find a house we took a trip anyway to help alleviate some of our stress. And it worked, for the first few days at least! Last year we went to Lake Tahoe and had an amazing time and we think this is our anniversary spot! I love it there so much that I am seriously considering moving there and being a snow bum!

On our 8 hour drive I was totally relaxed reading a book and enjoying the scenery. And after that drive when I finally woke my butt up, we walked the beach at the lake, had dinner and sat in a hammock watching the sun set. So amazing to just relax!
The next morning it was snowing so we decided to go sight seeing. We walked around some historic parts of the Tahoe area and had a blast! Walking into shops with small isles, glass and all kinds of fun stuff to look at without the worry of children breaking everything is sight was bliss. However, with every child I saw, I really did miss my kiddos. Anyway, we took a gondola up the Northstar mountain to the Ritz after all our walking around.
We warmed up by the fire and just talked for a long time enjoying each other as much as we could. It was a great opportunity to unwind and remember all those things about one another that we like and grew to love and eventually try to change! hahaha
On our actual anniversary we went snowboarding! This was more his gift to me since he likes it but I LOVE IT! After all the fresh powder it was the best boarding ever and no one was on the mountain! We literally had the thing to ourselves for a few hours.
The views were amazing and we stopped to build a snowman and just take a breather.
And we wanted to keep going but we had to stop for our dinner reservations.

Sorry, this picture was a must do, this was our anniversary so we had to kiss all day long!
We ate at a very fancy fine dining restaurant and had a great view of the lake! The food was so amazing that we asked each other if it would be trashy of us to lick our plates? hahaha Oh well, we did!
They knew we were celebrating our anniversary so the surprised us with dessert and it was delicious!
To end a great day we enjoyed another walk on the beach.
And we ended the night with making smores! I have not done that in so long that I was so excited to be goofy with my man! We then sat by the fire all night and relaxed and snuggled. A great trip overall. THEN.... wait for it..... du du dunnnnnnn!

Scott's truck breaks down in the middle of nowhere! A total Seinfeld episode here. We broke down in a no cell reception area, finally make it to a gas station and the phone there does not dial long distance and the meth head who is the clerk there has some ducktaped phone that does not dial the numbers 3, 6, or 5! So dialing 951 was out of the question! Sucked so bad, but after hours of waiting, his mom rescued us and we made it home to our most greatest accomplishments ever! It was great because I could not wait to see them so of course I go in and wake Hannah up, she is groggy and says goodnight and then looks up and jumps out of bed saying "Mommy! Daddy!" and big hugs all around. Oh, they make life worth living!