LOVE

When my mom came to visit, she brought a project she has been working on for some time.

This painting of Alexa.

My mom did the painting from this picture (below), taken of Alexa when she was 18 months old. She was intrigued by something on our little balcony of the apartment that we lived in at the time. Didn't my mom do a fabulous job??

I. LOVE. IT!

The painting needs to be framed but it's already hanging in my upstairs hallway, the first thing I see as I walk upstairs. And I smile each time!

I've already sent her a picture of Payton at about the same age so she can begin working on another painting for my upstairs gallery!! :-)

Thanks mom, I really love it!

A Fun Visit

My dear friend, Stacey, happened to be in Phoenix this week visiting her parents. So they took a day and drove down to Tucson to visit me!! How fun! She and her husband brought their new baby, along with her parents, and we had a great day visiting! I saw her last summer but she was still pretty pregnant at the time, so it was fun to meet their newest addition (they left the older 3 kiddos at home with family).

Aren't our little boys so cute??!!!

(Sorry for the not greatest picture Stace..but you can thank your parents (can't remember which one took the picture) for it...guess we should have checked to make sure it was a decent pic!!) :-) If you have a better one, email it to me and I'll switch it out!!

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

This kid!!!

Our girls never got into cupboards or toilets or toilet paper...I know we got lucky with them, but they just weren't interested in those kinds of things, I guess. However, the tables have turned with our little curious explorer now. He wants to know what is behind EVERY door and what every little thing will do. Thankfully, most of the kitchen cupboards already had child locks on them when we moved into this house, and the ones that didn't are successfully off limits thanks to elastic bands around the knobs...but this one cupboard is the one I let Barrett have free reign on. I let him go to town. I usually have to clean it up 3 or 4 times a day, but he loves it so the extra effort is worth it.

And how can you say no to that smiling face????

An Annual Event???

My parents came to visit again this past week, that's two February's in a row...I think it's going to be an annual thing now since they just tack it onto their annual business convention! Works for us! The kids were sooooo excited for Gramma and Grampa to come visit. They got here late Wednesday night so first thing Thursday morning, they were jumping on Gramma and Grampa's bed to wake them up!! Here's Miss Sassypants herself that morning, sporting a cute new shirt from Gramma!

We ventured to the Desert Museum on Thursday morning and had a lot of fun looking at the snakes and bugs...it's always a favorite of the girls'!

There was LOTS of playing with Gramma while she was here!!

On Friday, we drove to Thatcher for Kevin's cousin Owen's wedding. It worked out perfectly to have my parents with us to watch the kids while we attending the sealing in the Temple. And the girls couldn't wait to see Owen's new wife come out of the temple looking like a princess! I love opportunities like this to really show the girls the importance of the temple and that families can be together forever if they make the right choices.

Yesterday morning, we drove up to Mt. Lemmon to see the snow. I know my parents see it a lot...but it was fun to take them on that drive and show them the differences in climates and environments from the bottom of the mountain (desert, cactus, heat) to the top of the mountain (snow, pine trees, cool). And we even had lunch up there. It was a fun day!

Saying goodbye is never fun...but this time we know we'll see Gramma and Grampa in just a few short months!! That's right, our little family is headed to Canada this summer for a family reunion! I'm really excited. I know I was just there last summer from my grandpa's funeral...but the last time we went as a family, I was pregnant with Payton, so the majority of my family hasn't even met her yet. It will be a fun trip!

Thanks for coming Gramma and Gramps...we'll see you SOON!!!