Bzzz and Eww

So, the other day, Jared and I spotted this fairly good sized bee hive in our tree in the front yard. It is a pretty young tree, so with the weight of the bees and hive, the tree was practically falling over. We watched it for two days as it got noticeably larger each day. We were about to spend a good amount of money to have it removed, but a pest control guy in our neighborhood said to try and give it one more day. He said that sometimes bees will nest for a short while and then realize that their location wasn't the best choice. They will just pick up and leave within a few days.



Thinking that we were going to probably end up losing most of our tree if we tried any other method, we decided to wait it out. The next day, they were gone, hive and all. I really wish I could have seen them complete the feat because this nest was larger than a 2 liter bottle, I can't fathom how they just took it all away in one afternoon! Either way, we are glad they moved and our tree and children are safe! :)

Anna has a little boyfriend in the neighborhood. They hate each other most of the time, but those few times when they get along, they are so cute. Here they are about to head out on the town in his hot new Ford truck. He obviously is excited. I thought it was so funny, he's totally thinking, "Eww..."


Emily is now rolling over, mostly when she's upset. She sits up really well for about 15 seconds as long as there is a toy or a big sister in front of her to focus on. Although taken with my phone camera, and not very good quality, I thought this picture of her was super cute.



Anna's hair is finally long enough to justify it being pulled back each day. She's not very patient with me, but it usually turns out pretty well. Here's a style I got a picture of the other day.



That's it for now. :)

Stuff

Not a lot has been going on lately; just the same 0l', same ol'. Here are some pictures of the girls.

Anna, Emily and I went hiking one day just for fun. I love being a non-working mama. It lends itself to random opportunities that I appreciate. We didn't go very far, but it was fun.
(I tried to turn the photo, but it wouldn't the first time. I was too lazy to actually go the extra mile to do so.)



Here is Emily singing...



We took our annual trip to the Renaissance Festival. I love that place. Both girls enjoyed themselves. Anna even was tall enough to ride the free flying butterflies this year.



Here was another visit to the Schnepf Farm. That tree to the left of Emily's head is a whitethorn acacia - my new favorite desert tree. Those little yellow round blossoms smell like heaven! We are planting one in our front yard to replace the dead something-or-other that is there now. By the way, Emily is squinting, not scowling. She really does love her mommy.



Happy girl!



Well, so long; we'll post again when more nothing is going on! :)

So Cute

This little darling has been such an amazing addition to our family! She cracks me up when she smiles SO big during diaper changes, and even giggles when tickled. Anna always has an audience whenever Emily is in the room. That girl never loses sight of her big sister. I am certain she just can't wait until she can keep up with her!

Emily is still spoiling me, too! She sleeps so well and is growing so fast; it's hard to believe she is already 11 weeks old. She and Anna now sleep in the same room since they are basically on the same schedule. I just have to sneak in a little early to feed her before she wakes Anna up. I kind of think it is important for sisters to share a room, especially since it is only the two of them. I know I will envy the connection they will share as they grow.

Anna has always shown constant love toward her little sis. Even when she doesn't think I'm looking, she is so gentle and loving. She sneaks in as many kisses as she can throughout the day, and even gets upset if she doesn't get to say goodbye if one of them leaves.

I love my little girls. They bring so much energy to our home and we feel so blessed having them in our lives!

Favorite Things

One of my children (and I won't mention which one...) decided that the "shift" key on my laptop wasn't necessary and proceeded to remove it. I can't believe it takes several weeks to fix one key, but it seems my computer will be away for a while. Anyway, in the mean time, I didn't want to download any of my new pictures to our dinosaur desktop. Thus, this post is pictureless. :(
However, I've been thinking lately about all of those little things that make me smile each day and decided to share them!

Here are a few of my favorite things:

*Waking up just because the sun began to light up the room, not because anyone screamed or cried or started shaking their crib really hard or snored extra loud.

*Having a very clean and organized house with all the dishes put away and the floor vacuumed.

*Watching both girls watch their daddy. Especially when Emily quits feeding and tries to talk to him with her mouth full.

*Not that it has happened in a while, but snuggling up in a warm blanket with an awesome book, a glass of cold milk and a few cookies on a rainy day.

*A perfectly made bed with crisp clean sheets.

*Going to the park with my girls, packing a lunch and having a picnic.

*When Anna tries to sing. She's really bad and its so cute.

*That moment you get home from church, change into your grubby sweats and know you have all the rest of the day to spend with your family at home.

*Spontaneously dancing with my girls and occasionally my favorite man!

*Eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

*When Anna trips over something or drops something and says "Whoot!" for "Whoops!".

*Getting that perfect idea for my book and writing it even better.

*Having a newborn fall asleep on my chest and a toddler rest her head on my shoulder when she's tired.

*Seeing both my girls increase in ability and awareness.

*Finding those old beloved jeans actually fit again!

*Catching hubby in an act of secret good-doings!

*Having Anna scream, "Mama!" with a huge smile on her face if she hasn't seen me for a few minutes.

*Having a safe home, a healthy family, a wonderful knowledge of the gospel, financial security, an education, and so many other things that it's too much to list!

I hope you all have favorite things that bring joy to your life each day! Let me know what they are!

Aviation Lesson

Harold the Helicopter from Thomas the Train books is always a bright smiling happy helicopter. Well, as Anna was learning about her different aviation vehicles, she would always call Harold an airplane. Poor Harold, I'm sure that would have taken away his smile! I certainly couldn't let that go on for very long, so today we dropped by the Gilbert Hospital on our way home. I spoke with the front office person and asked about showing my daughter their helicopter close up. I was kind of expecting either a "no", or being able to maybe look out of a window near the helipad. Little did I know how cool Native Air was! I received a personal tour with the girls right on the helipad with the paramedic that actually goes on each flight. He taught us all about how helicopters work, what they take for each flight, how much it costs to operate one, and all these really neat details about helicopters! Anna had so much fun looking at it, and touching everything. She would have gotten a chance to sit inside had it not been for the mechanic currently working on it. Anyway, the paramedic even took our picture - nicest guy ever!
Harold definitely won't be mistaken for an airplane ever again!

Pics Pics Pics

Tummy time is a huge favorite...well, maybe not.



It's okay, she survived.





Sorry about the hair - it was right after nap time. Anna's eyes are SO pretty, they are such an amazing color!



Not much to say, just thought some pictures would be fun.

A Day On The Farm Continued

Okay, this first picture wasn't actually at the farm (see previous post), but out here in Queen Creek, there are some animals that get a little confused; either that, or Target was having a strange sale on REALLY fresh chicken that day...


Here are some of the peach trees we saw during our hay ride. There were more that had bigger blossoms, but apparently I was busy getting Anna a snack during that part...



I loved all the different play areas that kids could enjoy. Anna definitely did as well. That's her bum poking up between the two tunnels.



They even had an area where all the rescued deer gathered to be fed by the hay riders.



Emily missed most of the morning snoozing away. She just doesn't appreciate the things we do for her...

A Day On The Farm

Today was the start of the Peach Festival at Schnepf Farms, so we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and spent the day at the farm! We had never been before and I would definitely say that besides a little unpreparedness by the farm workers, we were not disappointed! Anna had so much fun! There was a little train for her to ride:


She wasn't too excited about sitting on the train as it was running, but as we were choo-chooing along, she kept clapping her hands and laughing out loud.



It was so cool, they even had a tunnel to go through.



Here is Emily and I waiting to leave the station.



There was also a hay ride where we received a guided tour by Mark Schnepf (the farm owner). It truly was a beautiful day and Anna was SO well behaved, having tons of fun looking around and even getting to pet the animals at the "petting zoo". The cost to enter the park and ride all the rides was only $7.00, so it was really great for us. Plus, the farm is less than 5 miles away from our home; what a great deal! :)

Post Continued

So here are more pictures for my previous post.
Y'know, I have a hard time catching Jared with a sincere smile in pictures, but put his beautiful baby girl in his arms and suddenly, that sincerity is undeniable. These girls have the best daddy ever!



The dress was amazing; I loved the simple elegance that it held. Emily looked so sweet in it. Thank you Mom for having such amazing talents and sharing them with my family!



Here are the four generations that were in my house at once! I just wish Grandpa Eddie could have made it, too! He is one spunky guy (see the post where he is feeding Anna about a year ago.) So, this is Jared's Dad and Grandma. Grandpa Eddie is Grandma Gardner's Father.



I just love that Anna is slowly becoming more photogenic! She is beginning to understand that poses are appropriate! :)



Check out that massive pony tail! It's like it needs 80 rubber bands just to keep it in place!

Blessing, Family and More

We were able to bless Emily while Jared's family was in town last week. It was such a great experience. The dress was handmade by my mother and was extremely beautiful. I will do two posts in order to fit all the pictures I wanted. Anyway, Here is the first family picture the Gardners have been able to do for probably a year. I am so pitiful when it comes to setting up family pictures; they just never seem to work out, but here is at least one that shows that we all do exist...


Anna has been having so much fun lately with the house, but sometimes still finds ways to get herself into trouble. I had a candy dish on this small ledge that Anna has never had anything out of before, but lo and behold, she seemed to find a way to get a hold of a treat.



Emily continues to be an amazing baby and seems to fit in with our family perfectly. She still sleeps at least eight hours in a row at night, with another four after a feeding. She has spoiled this mother completely! I still feel like a nap in the afternoon is needed while the girls sleep! One of her little quirks is that she never is silent during her sleep. She always makes a noise with each breath; most often it sounds like a purr, or moan, but the other day she was making almost the exact noise of a squeaky swing set. It was funny. Anyway, this must have been a pleasant dream...



Jared's dad, or Grandpa as he's more commonly known, completely spoiled Emily while they were here. I don't think she ever was put down if he was in the room! Those two were just two peas in a pod. I can't wait until she can ride a snowmobile - oh, the places they'll go!



Then, as the family left, so did the sunshine. Here is Anna's poor little car stuck in the middle of our yard lake. I guess she just didn't see all the road signs saying the area was flooded. Luckily, she was able to get a helicopter in the area to pick her up because that night, the wind blew so hard that the car ran into the wall. We had some dirty dogs that week. I should have taken a picture of the caked mud in our washroom. Yum.



Well, that's about it for now. I'll post more as I can! Thanks again Gardner family for visiting!