May Memories

 I can't quite put a finger on why but, May has been sort of an emotion filled month for me. Maybe it's all of the leftover emotions from our big birthday month (especially little Emma turning one!) and the two wonderful weddings we attended in April, maybe it's because of Mother's Day and all of this gratitude I feel over my role as "mom", or maybe it's that my little baby sister will be leaving the nest next week to try her wings in Portland (So far away--we'll miss her!) A big part of it is probably seeing all of this change in Emma! She is in fast forward mode and each new milestone is exciting and at the same time, it means she's changing and growing! Who is this toddler and where did my baby go?? Whatever the reason, I found myself wanting to just enjoy all of the little moments.

I thought this month was going to be just a really restful, uneventful month but, I guess that's really not our style. Birthdays, Mother's  Day, day trips, cherry picking, grandma visits, park trips, and lots of family fun; May was a really good time for our family. Here are some of the highlights:

Olivia turned 21 on the 21st! Olive will be leaving soon to Portland and we're going to miss her so much! Emma loves her aunt Livvy and it's not going to be the same without her here. We wanted to spend some good time with her before she leaves so I was glad that Emma and I got to join her and my mom for a birthday celebration in Las Vegas. We went to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, Cheesecake Factory in Ceasar's Palace for lunch, the gardens at Bellagio, and shopping at Liv's favorite place; Forever 21 (which seemed appropriate on her 21st birthday.) Emma was a champ considering she woke up with a teensy fever thanks to the immunizations she'd had a few days earlier. She had a few rough moments but with the help of Tylenol and my two most willing babysitters, she had lots of fun too. We had a blast being together and we were exhausted by the time we got back to mom and dad's house. Vegas is always fun to visit and always a relief to leave. Emma and I had a sleepover in St. George and enjoyed spending birthday morning with Olivia.  

The lighting wasn't great for pictures in the Shark Reef but, I snapped
a few anyway. Emma only wanted to walk (NOT ride in her stroller) and enjoyed
running back and forth from tank to tank, pressing her face up against the glass.

The Bellagio Garden was in the middle of a transition so we only got to walk into part of it
this time. It's always one of my favorite things to see in Vegas.

Emma was fascinated by the world's largest chocolate fountain
at the Bellagio. Maybe she'll be a chocolate lover like mom and dad.

Is there anything better than cheesecake?? No, no there isn't.
I got the salted caramel this time. YUM. 

These two babies. We headed home after this and
they both slept most of the way home. 

Later that same day, I decided I wasn't quite as tired as I'd thought and wanted to go on a walk. Dad and I walked through the neighborhood and had a nice talk. My family moved a few times as I was growing up but, my parents have now ended up in the same neighborhood that I was in as a baby Emma's age. We visited the house my dad built for us and I found my brother and I's hand prints in the back yard. 

One weekend, we enjoyed a jaunt up to Duck Creek with two of my nephews and mother-in-law. We got to try out Emma's new back pack and she loved it! She was so content to just look around and hang out on daddy's back. We had a nice leisurely walk until.....until we found the swing. It was just a long rope tied to an old bike handle hanging from a tree. Sam immediately started swinging back and forth, legs kicking, half forgetting that he had a baby strapped to his back! After a minute or two of swinging, Sam swung backwards toward the tree with poor Emma getting the brunt of the blow. She was fine but, NOT HAPPY and no longer wanted to be in her pack. My cute nephews gave Sam quite a lecture about how he should be a more careful dad!  After Emma was safely out of her pack and in moms arms, Sam and the boys continued to swing for quite a while. The boys would take turns and Sam would catch them on the back swing so we didn't end up with someone else smacking into the tree. It was a fun time.

I love these boys. 

Sam swinging with Emma (Pre tree incident) For some reason I took a picture
rather than thinking to stop the craziness. Probably because Emma was laughing
her head off and having the time of her life. 

 Last weekend we decided to head up the canyon again (This time, Parawon Canyon) to have a picnic/BBQ with family. So fun! Plenty of good food, time with family, a little fishing, a nice walk, beautiful setting, perfect weather--what more can you ask for? Despite the crowds due to Memorial Day weekend, we found a perfect spot to picnic with no one around. Emma is in love with the outdoors and was happy as could be playing in the dirt and throwing rocks (when she wasn't trying to eat them). She spent time with cousins (she only made cousin Cooper cry ONCE this time), the grown ups had nice conversation, and we just enjoyed the whole day together. We actually ended up in Duck Creek area again on a different trail. With all of the ATV's flying passed us, we were all dust-covered by the end of the walk. I'm not sure which of us was dirtier by the time we got home.

One word: Pigtails.

She really is the boss. If you have a toddler in your life that needs this
T.Shirt--Link HERE. 

Walking with uncle Mike

Trying to look at daddy's face

Love this picture, love these two

She insisted on holding BOTH grandma AND aunt Katy's hands

Emma stuck her feet in the water for a minute. It was way to cold but,
she would have stayed in for hours if we'd let her. The girl loves water.

This was near the end of the day. Pigtails pulled out, muddy and marshmallow
covered. She's not the kind of  girl that's afraid to get a little dirty. ;) 

May has been fun. Emma is growing SO very much. She says all kinds of words (or tries to) including Daisy, mama, daddy (that's her favorite, over and over again!), mouth, wow, and her own version of "thank you". She walks ALL the time and as fast as you can walk without calling it a run quite yet. She'll be running in no time (eek!). She is very social, always talking, always on the go, and just completely full of sass and attitude. The tantrums have begun and this girl demands to be heard. Especially in the grocery store and at church. On the other hand, she's also very sweet and affectionate (when she feels like it.) She learned how to blow kisses and give high fives this month. I love watching her mother her dolls and she is always giving me "pat pats" on the back when I hold her. She is the best thing ever and we love her so. 

In June, Olivia moves and mom and dad head to Scotland for a MONTH LONG adventure! It's certainly going to be different for us here but, we're excited for them to go out and have those experiences in different corners of the world. We will sure miss them. Hoping for lots of family time and summer adventures coming our way in the next few weeks. 

Mommy + Emma Weekend Adventure

Once a year, Sam goes on a fishing trip to Boulder Mountain with his brother-in-law, Mike. Since there is a bit of a long distance drive involved in the trip, they usually end up camping there for a couple of nights. It might be just me but, it seems like every year the trip gets longer and longer. Don't get me wrong, I love that Sam gets to go off on a fun fishing trip to a place he loves (really, I do!) and I love that he has such a great time with Mike. It's just that I miss him! Like a lot. In fact, so much that I really have a hard time just staying at home while he's gone...I get too lonely. 

Lucky for me, I have a built in buddy to keep me company AND really great family nearby. We missed daddy but, we sure had fun hanging out with a bunch of our other favorite people. 

The weekend included an overnight stay at grandma and grandpa Stucki's house.We went shopping in the morning and I found my favorite shoes majorly on sale--I bought two more pairs of course. We chatted about mom and dad's upcoming trip to Scotland. They'll be gone AN ENTIRE MONTH!!! Don't know what I'll do without our daily phone calls and weekly hangouts...not to mention my on call babysitters!! 

Friday night, my dad babysat Emma and I got to go to a movie with mom and aunt Brenda. The movie was fine but the company was even better. Oh-and the nutella hot chocolate. If you haven't been to The Crepery, you really should go. I've loved everything I've tried. 

I hadn't eaten breakfast when I got there Friday morning so mom
brought me this lovely berry medley to go. Couldn't help but snatch a picture.

Saturday was a full day of fun for sure! Emma and I got to join my mother & sister-in-law on a day trip. First stop was cherry picking in Hurricane. The cherries were just starting to ripen so we didn't get as many as we wanted to but, It was fun to be there with everybody. I enjoyed watching my cute nephews, Connor and Caleb climb trees to reach for the ripest cherries and seeing Emma and cousin Cooper interact with each other. 

Coop's face kills me! These two are the cutest. 

My little fashionista! Go check out The Children's Place for
super cute and inexpensive clothes. I've been having a blast online shopping
for my little cutie. Link HERE. 

 Next stop was Zion National Park. It was crazy busy but, Mary knew a place that the kids would enjoy that wouldn't be very busy. We took the kids down to a section in the Virgin River. I thought Emma might like to put her feet in for a second but, she had other ideas. She was practically ready to swim the second we touched the water and I could hardly get her clothes off fast enough before she sat all the way down in the river. Cooper joined her soon after and we had two naked babies loving life in the water. I think they would have been content to splash around and play in the water and mud all day long.

After some yummy ice cream and a little shopping in Springdale, we were ready to head back home. I had some fun with Emma on the ride back......

Later in the day, Emma and I went back to g-ma & g-pa Stucki's house to find that grandpa had filled up the new back yard swim pool. Of course, we had to go for a little dip. Especially because Emma had a new swimsuit to try out! (Also from The Children's Place.) Grandma bought Emma a special bath tub baby especially for pool play and she LOVED it. 

Thank goodness Sam made it home safe and sound--I don't think I've ever seen a bigger grin from Emma before. We're happy to have him home but, grateful for all of the fun and company we had while he was away.