Really?

Yes, really.

Since we have been in Arizona we have been to the Crawdad Festival in Camp Verde:




We DID eat crawdads, they were NOT good and we will be skipping the "festival" next year. The kids had fun though and that's what's important....I guess.

Whitney's dream finally came true on Friday. Her first tooth came out - I actually looped some dental floss around it and gave it a tug. She was ecstatic! And so dang cute.


About a week ago we bought a carrier for Livvy so we could do some hiking as a family...which is kind of funny considering we never went when we lived in Idaho and all of my friends there are very outdoorsy. Anyhoo, we went on a trail near our home on Wednesday and then Saturday morning we drove to Prescott - which is about 10 minutes away and decided to try one of the trails by Willow Lake which is just off a main road in town. We hiked for about 2 hours and had SO much fun. This place is honestly right in Prescott, which is a city of around 30,000 people. We felt like we were hours away from anyone. We loved it and can't wait to go back again this week.





Quick note: Olivia is going to suck the life out of me. I have NEVER been around a child that is SOOOO busy. She is into everything, she goes from taking things out of the cabinets, to pulling all of my clothes out of my drawers, playing in the toilet (ugghh) to eating crayons. We love this girl! She is definitely keeping life interesting.

These Ladies are Genius!

Who am I referring to? The two moms/cooking geniuses that run this blog - http://www.ourbestbites.com/. I have been following their blog for some time now and have gotten some killer ideas for dinners and desserts. They are the masterminds behind these:


These breadsticks are AMAZING!!! The best part is the homemade garlic/parmesan seasoning that goes on top. And SO easy!
This:

What is this? Why, it's homemade strawberry sauce. We had it on pancakes with whip cream. There was a tiny bit left and I scraped it up with a spoon and had the last bite.

And our latest favorite:



I made these pizza poppers two nights ago and even Jeremy, who has a tendency to point out what is wrong with something rather than right had no helpful suggestions on how to make this better - he just kept piling them on his plate until I looked at him and he shrugged his shoulders and said, these are soooo good. And for the most part the recipes on Our Best Bites are very easy.

Whitney's Word of Wisdom

Today we were driving home from Walmart (of course) and we passed a restaurant that was having some sort of party, etc. today. They had a sand volleyball court set up, a big bounce house and a big blown up can of beer. So the girls saw it and thought it looked fun and this was our conversation:


Gracie: Look at that big can of pop!

Me: Gracie, that's not pop it's beer.

Gracie: What's beer?

Whitney: That's what Satan drinks!

Happy Birthday Dear Bubby.....

I can't believe my baby is 1!!! Time has gone too quickly - well, the last 8 months have. The first 4 months she was here and we were wondering what on earth possessed us to have another baby dragged on and on and on and....well, you get the point.

What can I say about Livvy - or Bubby as she is mostly called in our house? She is the light of our lives. Adored by her big sisters, idolized by her daddy and is the reason I smile when I feel like crying and/or screaming for various reasons. She has learned how to walk and will do so intermitently, she is babbling a ton and can definitely say Dadda. She has also hit that tricky age between 12 months and 18 months where she is throwing fits when she doesn't get what she wants, it told no and just smiles and prefers to be on the ground crawling if at all possible - which is why Jeremy and I spent a better part of Gospel Doctorine and Elders Quorom/Relief Society out in the hall with our little bug. We are really looking forward to nursery! =)

Her first birthday was as exciting as it can be for a one-year-old who has no idea what's going on. We did have hot dogs (her favorite! Not kidding, the kid will eat two faster than you can dump them on her tray) and I made her a cake. Two members of our bishopric had asked if they could come and visit with us last night which was very nice, and we just sang to Livvy while they were here and they had some cake and ice cream with us too!



Apparently Livvy enjoys cake. She ate the whole thing and washed it down with a bit of mint chocolate chip ice cream.


After a much needed bath she was ready for presents. I have never seen a baby do this, but she got a couple of cute outfits from Grandma and Grandpa VanDyke and she picked them up, rubbed them against her face, and showed more interest in them than I expected. It was VERY cute. Grandma and Grandpa Van Dyke also gave her a little walker/scooter. She loves it! The best part is she looks like a little old lady with a walker - she has the straight legs, is a bit hunced over and rattles it as she goes. Grandma Holt sent an adorable card with some cash to buy something cute! I will accomodate that request!



Mommy, Daddy and the twins gave her a new skirt, a tube for the pool, a new beach towel and a baby Elmo. It was love at first site! She adores watching Elmo on television and she talks in this high voice when he is on. As soon as we unwrapped the present She stood up and started babbling in her Elmo voice. She loves his head the most - it is plastic and she really enjoys chewing on his eyeballs.


I can't imagine our lives without Olivia. I can't help but think back to the day she was born and the complications we had during labor. I am so thankful for the power of priesthood blessings and the comfort that comes when making hard decisions. I am in awe of my children and the love I have for them. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for the three beautiful girls that I have the privilege of raising in the gospel.