A BIG Congrats to...

Two VERY important people in my life...

My Brother Jace & My Fabulous Friend Tiff

I am so proud of my brother. No words can even describe what an amazing person he is. He a great example, and I couldn't be more lucky to have him in my life.

He is leaving June 4th for his 2nd Tour of Duty.

I'm so proud that my brother is serving our country, and I am forever greatful for the sacrifices he has made to protect our Freedom!

We had a BBQ with all of our family and all of Jace's friends last Saturday before he leaves. It was a great turnout!

Jaiya, Jace, and I

SIBLINGS...

Jaiya's 1st time swinging!

4 Generations

Me, Dad & Kayla

CONGRATS to the new Mr. & Mrs. Broderick!

Wow...what a beautiful wedding! It was held at Wadley Farms in Lindon, and I must say, EXCELLENT choice Tiff! It was beautiful...and so was the bride! She looked amazing. I am so proud of her. She is such a sweet person and she found someone who she loves and who loves her so much!

I LOVE love-birds...so sweet!

And my sweet Jijjy-bug did so good for having such a long day...Her and Daddy spent the day together while I ran around...Dust is always SO much help. He was running on 3 hours of sleep, and I don't know how he did it...but THANKS to him for always being so supportive.

Now, I need to get caught up on homework...so that I can enjoy and celebrate this Memorial Day weekend with our family and friends! Enjoy and be safe everyone!

Mother's Day & Remodelling

BIG news!
Jaiya said her first word 5-14-11.

"Dada!"

or more like...

"Dadadadadadadada!!!!"

My mom, Kayla & the kiddos, and Jaiya and I went to lunch on Saturday, and I leaned over to JIJ who was squeeling at the leaves while laying on a blanket on the grass, and I said,"Jaiya, say Dada." And, sure enough, she said it...not believing it, I did it again, and like before, she mimicked me! Now she is saying "Dada" all of the time! My goodness, she is growing up so fast!

MOTHER'S DAY

It was my first "official" Mother's Day. (last year, since I was pregnant, Dust gave me a present and a card so I guess that counts too!) Dust worked, so JIJ and I ran to Wal Mart, ate at Arby's and then went to Mom and Jer's til Dustin got home from work. It was a fun day. Not too much going on, so that's always a nice break from every day stress!

Me and My Madre.

Jaiya and I
I am so lucky that I can be her Mom and enjoy every moment with her. She makes life so much sweeter, and adds so much joy in everything we do. I never knew that such a little person could bring so much life and such a sweet spirit in to our lives.

When Dust got home from work, we went to Mom's Cafe for dinner with Mike and Candi! We are so lucky that we live so close to our wonderful Mom's! They do SO much for us! I admire them so much!

Jaiya and Pappa Mike.

Candi, JIJ, & I

I just had to add some pictures that my cousins, Lana & Ashley, and I took of our little ones. Jaiya and Tara were born the same day, and weighed the exact same! And Jax was born just a month earlier! They are gonna have so much fun growing up together.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to Jer!

He turned 29 on the 9th of May!

Love you Jer! THANK YOU for all you do!

You are such a great person.

Next..

the KITCHEN.

While in AZ for Easter, Dust and I were watching DIY t.v at the hotel. A commercial came on for some DIY countertops (countertop transformation kit). We have been wanting to re-do our countertops for SO long because that's all we had left to do. You can only imagine our excitement when we discovered this kit! The day we got home, we were on the internet picking out colors and we bought it a few days later. It covers 50 sq. ft. so we decided to get the bathroom and kitchen done all at once. It is so simple and so pretty! We did the Java Stone, and I added glitter (of course) to give it a little sparkle. It turned out so good! I am VERY happy with it!

Oh, and...I am always difficult (according to Dust) and since I wanted the dark countertops I "needed" to re-do my cupboards. So..I did them white and antiqued them with a black glaze.

Love the outcome!

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

April Catch Up.

Jaiya had another appointment with the doctor for her second set of immunizations. I always hate going in for those, and this time I wasn't prepared or I wouldn't have went alone. I hate holding her when they stab, yes stab, her in the leg for her shots. Poor little JIJ!:( They also took her measurements, and...are you ready for this?!...she is 25 1/2 in long and 17 lbs, which means 95 % in weight and 85% in height...whoa! Tall? Where on earth did that come from...guess she was blessed cause her dad and I sure didn't contribute to her height in any way. She also is rolling over lots more, sitting up so good, and her hand/eye coordination is great! And, can't leave out the fact that she screams and yells daily. It's a big hollar everytime she wants something. She yells AHHHHHH as loud as she can, then...stops...and again...AHHHHH, and then stops. It's cute, but I hope she doesn't keep it up as she gets older! ha Or we are really in for it!

Brylee, Jaiya, and Lily posing for Easter pics at Grandma Mill's!

She LOVES hanging upside down...

and her new bumbo from Aunt Bree!

We were so glad to have lil' Kassie over to play one day. I had to get lots of pictures! She is such a doll, and her personality is the cutest! I love her! Jaiya loved having someone to play with and Kassie was very entertaining for her. She walks all over, and Jaiya just watched every move she made.

Playing her piano...

Now on to Easter...


We spent Easter this year in Arizona. Mom and Jerry had been wanting to visit Canyon de Chelly and we LOVE road trips and site-seeing so it was the perfect getaway!

I have to be honest, I was so excited I had butterflies thinking about taking Jaiya to the pool for the first time and hiking, but...the weather was less than par, to say the least, and we weren't able to swim or hike (with the baby that is). -sigh- But, I shall be optimistic and just be glad that we were able to see the amazing Anasazi ruins at Canyon de Chelly. And amazing is an understatement. I really am facinated by stuff like this. Mom and Jer have taken us to see ruins several times, and I'm finding that I am growing to love it more and more every time.

Our ride down to Page...

Jerry drove.

I read a PEOPLE... (I always sit up front with Jer cause I get so car-sick, we always have great conversations but I thought that I would give him a break from my "20 Questions" for a bit;)

And Dust and Ma sit in the back and watch movies! Lucky!

Dinner in Page, AZ.

Oh I LOVE this pic. They are 2 happy little lovebirds! Awww...

Day 2

Rise and Shine baby girl. (She is always so happy in the morning!)

Lunch in Chinle, AZ.

Daddy gives her water, and...

Mom gives her the good stuff...;)

Relaxin' with Grandma in between stops!

CANYON DE CHELLY.

LOVE my cute family

The guys and JIJ!

See how cool these are?! Amazing.

On the ride home, I attempted the back seat! Dust and I watched a movie...and suprisingly, I survived without throwing up.

Oh, and let's not forget "Bubba." Dust thought he should seatbelt it in!

Well, that's all for tonight. Next I will attempt to catch up on Mother's Day and stuff!

4 months...Really?!

Here are a few St. Patrick's Day pics that I didn't get a chance to post earlier!... Grandma Mill and J;) And of course, Grandma always brings props... Can you believe it's already been 4 months?! I can't. It's gone by so fast, but you always hear that it will, so I have just tried to take in every little moment that I can!

New news on sweet baby J!:
J is coo-ing more than ever.
She laughs out loud...music to my ears! It is the most precious thing I have ever heard!
She is now 17-ish lbs! WOW!
She starts on cereal today...we did a test trial around lunch time because we were so excited to see what she would do!
She is getting SO good at her hand/eye coordination.
She loves her baby wipe package- it's her favorite toy next to the jungle gym.
And last but not least, we are working on rolling over and sitting up! Not quite there yet, but when it comes to sitting up, that round lil' belly sure comes in handy!;)

This was yesterday...she looked so cute! And here she is today, trying out her new cereal...think she likes it? Hmmmm Guess not! How sad is that face!?

We will try again before bedtime. Hopefully round 2 goes smoother!;) & Happy 4 Month Birthday Baby Girl!!! I love you!