Little Cheerleader!

Todd's little sister is a varsity cheerleader at her high school. Every summer they do a fundraiser where they do a mini cheer camp. They have little girls from ages 3-12 come for three days and learn cheers and a dance, then they perform for the parents.

This year Isabelle was old enough to go for the fun. We went down and stayed with my in laws for three days and Isabelle learn how to be a cheerleader. She LOVES to dance but she is her own person and doesn't like to be told what to do. All week I told her she was going to be just like Carol but she had to follow the big girls and do whatever they did. She was very excited but I was a little nervous about how she would do. There were about 30 girls her age so it was a little distracting to her but she had a blast. We would come home and practice her 30 sec. song to Little Mermaids, Kiss the Girl, and she actually was doing pretty good. The night of her performance she wore her hair and shirt just like Carol's and she was excited. It was her time to go on and during her cheers all she did was stick her tongue out and watched the audience. During her dance she did do a little better as she was watching me do the actions down in the front. Over all she was a darling little cheerleader and she did pretty good. She was so proud of herself and couldn't wait to show daddy and her other grandma and grandpa. Once fall comes we are going to put her in a dance class and I think it will be very good for her and I think she will do better with a smaller class. I just can't believe how old she is getting...time goes by to fast!

DISNEYLAND!!

My sister and brother in law and there 5 kids were taking a family trip to Disneyland and so my mom and dad decided to go with them. I decided to tag along too. We figured if we were going as far as Vegas for graduation then we might as well go a little bit longer and go to California. We spent two days at the park and then a day at the beach. My parents haven't been to Disneyland for 15 years and so it was really fun to go with them. Can I just say that Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth. It is so fun to go as a parent and see the excitement and magic in your child's eyes. Isabelle has been a few times before and every time she loves it! When we first got there she wanted to go on Small World but unfortunately it was closed. We did make it to all of her other favorite rides: Dumbo, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Tea Cups, and the Carousel. We also tried a lot of new rides like Peter Pan, Pinocchio, the Haunted Mansion, Bugs Life, Monsters Inc., the new Finding Nemo ride, the train ride and much more. She also is very into princess now and so we went and met with the princess and listened to a story. Last time we went to Mickey's house but she didn't dare see him, this time she was very brave and gave him a high five. My parents were great and were amazed at how much everything had changed. They had never even been to California Adventure. They were such good sports and went on all the big rides with the big kids. Only the roller coaster in California Adventure made my dad a little sick. We were so glad to have them along. We had two full days of running around, standing in line, eating cotton candy and having tons of fun.




The other day we went to the beach. Now I have blogged before about how Belle is not a big water fan and so I thought that this would be an interesting day. She also is not a big fan of sand or dirt either. Well we had a little bit of a rough start but it was a beautiful day and after she watched her cousins playing in the water and making sand castles she soon found out that the beach is a ton of fun. I did have to make her put her toes in the cold water but she was playing in the sand all by herself. We stayed and played all day and even got a little sunburned.


Todd wasn't able to come with us because he was still in school. We missed him but we had a great time playing with grandma and grandpa and the other kids. After three fun days we headed back to Vegas for the big graduation. Isabelle of course didn't want to leave but I am sure we will be back soon.

For some unknown reason I didn't take many pictures this trip....I guess we were too busy having fun!

Happy Late Father's Day!

I know that this is a little late but I didn't want to miss wishing the great dad's in our lives a Happy Father's Day. We were able to have a great weekend and were able to spend a lot of time with family. I am so grateful to have such great men in my life and just want to tell them how much I love them.

First of all I have an amazing dad. He knows everything and knows how to fix anything. Growing up I loved following him around the garage, the garden or whatever he was doing. I loved when I was in the Murray marching band with him, or going to visit him at work and getting a treat or laying in bed with him on a Saturday morning. He is such a kind and generous man. I remember many times him going to help someone in need in the neighborhood or shoveling all the neighbors walks. He loves to have fun and is definitely a party guy. I love watching him with the grandkids. He gets down and plays with them and they can't get enough of him. He has such patience with the grandkids and they truly love being around him. My dad is a big worrier but I know that it is because he loves me so much, and I appreciate that. I know that I could call my dad at anytime and he would be where I needed him as fast as he could. My dad is a great example to me in everything that he does. I love him very much and appreciate all that he has done for me and continues to do for me and my family.

Another great dad in my life is Todd's dad. He is an awesome father in law. He is so kind and generous and such a hard worker. I have a lot of respect for him because he works extremely hard so that his family can have a great life. I love how he is so dedicated to whatever he is doing at the time, wither it be his work,or church, his hobbies or his family. I love that he has taught Todd how to be a great man and a great husband and father. I appreciate how generous and supportive he is to us. He is a great grandpa too. He loves to talk to Belle and watch her play. He is so loving and patient. I appreciate all that he continues to do for us.

And I want to wish my husband a Happy Father's Day. I will always remember when I first saw Todd holding Isabelle and how gentle he was. I could see in his eyes how much he loved her. He is such a great dad and I appreciate all he does for us. I love just watching him and Belle play or when she would fall asleep on his chest, or when he tries to do her hair. He is so good with her, has much patience with her and is always teaching her. She loves going on bike rides, watching movies, going to the cabin, going to Cabela's or just having him read her a book. Although she seems to be a mommas girl she really does love and look up to her dad more than he thinks. He is a great dad and I can't wait to have more children with him. I know that having two girls in the house can be a handful but we love him very much and appreciate all that he does for us. I feel so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man and that we can together raise our family.


Happy Fathers Day!! (a little late)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEIDI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Heidi,
I love you and hope you have a great 25th birthday today. You are such a great wife and I am so glad I have you in my life. I am excited to share many more birthdays with you by my side.
Love,
Todd

What Princess are you?

You Are Belle!

Intelligent and kind. Your beauty goes much further than your apperance. Also, you make judgements of people based on their personality and not their looks. Attaining all the knowledge that you can is one of your major goals in life, but you are also a person who can make things happen.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Graduation!!!

The day has finally come that we have been looking forward to for the last three years. Todd graduated from Pharmacy school! It has been a long and short journey. After me and Todd got married we stayed at Snow college for two years. Then he was accepted into the University of Southern Nevada and we moved to Henderson. His school was an accelerated school and so he finished in three years instead of four. We stayed in Vegas for two years and then came back to Utah for the last year where he did his rotations. Although it has been a hard journey we have learned and experienced a lot and we wouldn't change anything.

I just want to say that I am so proud of Todd. He has put so much hard work and effort into these last few years. He has worked extra hard so that I could stay at home with Isabelle and I really appreciate that. He is so smart, dedicated, intelligent, and I know that he will be a great pharmacist. Even though he has had a very busy schedule he always found time to be a great dad and husband. We were very demanding at times and he always managed to juggle school, work, and family. I love him so much and am so proud of him.

It was a great day for us to have him walk across that stage and receive his diploma. He has put all the effort that he could into it and he deserves to celebrate his big accomplishment. I am so glad that we are married and that I got to go on this journey with him. We have grown together and I hope that we continue that. We had a great few days being able to celebrate with both of our parents. We are so lucky that we have great families that have been a big support to us and we couldn't have done this without both of them. We are ready to move on, but will always remember the good times as students, the friends we made and the challenges we went through.I guess now on to the next chapter in our lives...bigger and better things!



Walking across the stage!

















The four friends and their supportive wifes!

Finally, Our Cruise!

I have been waiting for the last month to be able to write about our fun cruise that we went on to Mexico. First of all we took my parents camera and couldn't get the pictures off for awhile, then we were having major computer problems, so here we are finally I can tell everyone how much fun we had.

So Todd and I had always talked about going on a trip when we graduated from school and it also happens to be our 5th anniversary around the same time. We found a great deal on a 5 day cruise to Baja Mexico, so we decided to go. We left out of San Diego and we had two stops, first was Cabo San Lucas and then we went to Ensenada. We couldn't believe how big the ship was and I was a little nervous about being on the ocean and out of sight from land. I really didn't think that I would get sick but that first night I was feeling a little woozy. We had a great time relaxing by the pool, watching all the fun shows, eating the amazing food, taking naps in the afternoon and watching all the people drink tons of alcohol.



Top of the huge ship before we left San Diego.



Getting our lesson on our life jackets!


The elegant night at dinner!

We took a chance and didn't book our excursions on the boat, so when we got off we found a Mexican and told him we wanted to go snorkeling. He booked us on this old, paint chipped catamaran.There weren't very many people on it with us but it turned out great. We had a great time snorkeling and while we were on the boat we saw a whale( which is very rare at this time of year), we saw a manta ray and the guy driving the boat caught two mahi mahi. We had a little time to do some shopping before we had to be back on the ship.


Lands End in Cabo while we were on the catamaran.


Todd bringing in the beautiful mahi mahi.

In Ensenada we took a bus to the La Bufadora, which is a big blow hole. We went through the city and our tour guide was really funny and informative. The blow hole was cool but the shopping around it was even better. We each got a few souvenirs and then headed back to the port. We got some lunch and then it was back on the ship. The next morning we arrived back in San Diego. We had a great trip and it was great to relax and get away with just the two of us. We missed Belle, although I don't think she missed us to much. She was too busy being spoiled at her grandma's and aunts house. Thanks so much to our great family who took such great care of our little one for us.




The amazing ice scultpure of a dragon on the ship.



One last picture of the Carnival Elation.