A Month with the Aussies!

We had such a fun time with our Australian friends, Luke & Jerusha Howse. They were here most of June. So, here's a try at capturing a whole month of vacationing in one post:

They are Finally Here!!


Millie & Blaise--Friends at First Sight



The Reunion of Two Mission Friends




A Trip to Paradise--Thatcher Manor


Millie & Blaise Learning to Share



Luke & Jerusha at the Logan Temple



A Sunday in Paradise--A Nice Break



A Private Bath Just Her Size



Now This Is Paradise for Grace!



Kangaroo Zoo!!


Tummy Time with Perks


Blaise with a Bat


Here's our little Kangaroo



Downtown SLC

Temple Square Visitor Center



Trax!



Gateway




An Austrian Mission Reunion



Vacation in St. George





Swimming at the Washington Rec. Center







Zion National Park






Bee's Baseball Game



Finally learned to share with a smile


Time to Say Good-bye



We loved our time with Luke, Jerusha, Blaise & Ethan. As you can see, we packed it in! They are like family to us. Hopefully our next reunion will be in Australia!

________________________________________________________________

Gracie and Millie
Finally in Matching Dresses!

Lost Child at Lagoon

Last night at Stake Lagoon day, we were standing in a long line for the Wild Kingdom Train. Paul saw someone he knew further up in the line and went to say "hello." I remember looking down to see Millie's empty stroller and thinking, "Oh, that's nice, Paul took Millie with him." When Paul came back about 5 minutes later, without Millie, we realized she had been gone for a while. When we began the search, I thought we'd find her in a matter of a minute or two. We had our neighbors helping us. But each time I met eyes with one of the others on the search team and saw that they hadn't found her, I began to worry more and more.

I had thoughts like "How far can a two-year-old go in just a few minutes? What can she do? Is she crying? Why can't we hear her? Would someone take her? Where's Millie?"

Then I began praying. I didn't want to panic, but I really began to worry. I prayed and prayed as I frantically looked for her. Paul was praying too. We met up at the Merry-go-Round where we had been earlier. As he searched to see if she was on there, I thought it was a waste of time. How would she get on there? But Paul's face lit up, "there she is!" She was sitting on a sleigh with a mother and children, going around and around, but with the expressionless face of a lost child.

How did she get on there? No clue! I doubt she waited in line. She probably got in through the exit.

We were just so grateful that we found her relatively quickly and that she was safe. We feel that Heavenly Father heard our prayers and inspired Paul to look on the Merry-go-round.

After finding Millie, we held her more closely, hugged her more often, and felt more gratitude for her. I guess losing (and finding) a child can be a good reminder of the treasure that you have.

Three Years Ago Today...

A perfect day





An afternoon wedding




Sealed in the Holy Temple for eternity



Family and friends surrounding us





But lost in our own little world









And now, after 3 years...








More acquainted

More knowledgeable




More than just us





More experienced

More fun memories








More devoted






and most importantly...





More in love

I Love You, Sweetheart!

Oh, the Joy of Blowing Out Candles!

Millie turned two on May 24th. We had a fun little "bug" birthday party with a few friends. The ironic thing is, within a day or so, she had a big bug bite right on her nose. The bandaid wouldn't work on the nose, but it did it's job while on the cheek.

Here's Millie singing happy birthday to herself (with a little help) and then blowing out the candles. We did this over and over all week long. She loved it!

Our Two-Year Old Millie!

She's Finally Two! So, for the record, here are some of the things Millie has been doing lately (things that we love, and things that we'll love to be done with):

• She loves to put on mommy's "lipiss" and she always has a guilty face afterward (as shown above).
  

• She insists in doing things herself, by saying, "I do it, do it, do it, do it, do it!" really fast. Lately, she has to be the one to close ALL doors, cupboards, lids, or anything else she can reach. It takes a lot longer to do anything with this routine, but she gets a lot of satisfaction.
  

• When asked how she is doing, she replies, "I doing good."

• When opening a door, she first knocks 4 times, as if that allows her to open it.

• Friday mornings when the garbage man comes, we drop what we're doing and Millie runs to the window to watch with excitement, saying "bye-bye, garbage!"

• For a while there, we were so wrapped around her finger that when she would cry in her crib, we'd open the door to see what's wrong, and she would just hold out her sippy cup and say, "ice!" Boy! I'm glad we nipped that one in the bud!
  

• She has learned how to turn around in circles, and while she does, she sings, "turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around" over and over again until she is too dizzy.


• In church, she seems to wait until it is relatively quiet to yell out, "I see Daddy! Hi, Daddy!"


• In the car, when Gracie starts to fall asleep, or if Millie is bored, Millie will start screaming with a loud, high screech that drives us absolutely crazy! Gracie starts to cry, and the more we try to get Millie to stop, the more she does it. This is our hardest test with her right now (any suggestions?).


• When she wants to get into mischief, she'll say, "Mommy right back" meaning, "mommy say you'll be right back and LEAVE!" She usually says this while standing at my make-up drawer.
  

• She is learning to compliment others. The other day, I carried something for her up the stairs and she said, "mommy's strong!" and then when I helped her with her drink, she said, "mommy is nice." That's almost better than a "thank you!" Maybe she is learning good manners after all!

• When asked why she loves Jesus, she replied, "Jesus is cute"

• Lately, when she purposely hurts Gracie, she'll say (ironically), "Sorry, Gracie! I didn't need to!" (instead of, "I didn't mean to")
  

• She learned how run ahead of me from the garage into the house, slam the door, and then lock it, laughing all the while. Problem: she doesn't know how to unlock it! There have been a few times (when I've been without house keys) that she has run into the house while I'm still getting Gracie. Knowing what she is up to, I've had to RUN as fast as I could to the door to stop from getting locked out--by a two year old! I've wondered what I would do in that situation. No idea! I think we need a spare key.
  

• She somehow picked up on comments like, "I don't like that!" and "Don't touch my hair!" Excuse me? Where did my little angel go, and who are you?

• But then at night when saying her prayers, she'll always say "thank you for mommy" before she says anything else. Then I think, "oh, she is still an angel, isn't she?"
  

A Visit to Great Grandma Lucy

We have been wanting to make this visit to see my Grandma Yorgason ever since Grace was born! She lives in Fountain Green, Ut. (which is close to Manti) in the family homestead which holds many childhood memories for me. We slept over Friday night and spent Saturday morning helping her clean off the porch, playing at the park, looking at bugs and flowers, and visiting with Grandma. It still felt too short. We loved our time with Grandma! She was so sweet with our girls!

Here's Millie in front of the monument (built in memory of Charlie's Monument) and Grandma's very old apple tree that my dad used to climb in after his mother died

Grandma let Millie pick a daffodil from her garden

Grandma, meet Gracie!


Gracie loved Grandma!


What a delight!

The Simple Joys

Paul caught this frog out in our yard. Millie LOVED holding it!



Millie was so happy to be working in the garden with dad. Let's hope that continues for many years to come!



Bath time is so much fun now that Gracie can sit up well. Even though Gracie gets knocked over and splashed on, it's usually Millie who cries about the water that Grace splashed into her eye. Hmm...should I feel bad for her?



The girls love playing in the kitchen that I got for FREE at a garage sale a few weeks ago. What a bargain! I guess that makes up for all the junk I've paid money for.

A Little Too Quiet For a Little Too Long

Not only did Millie get her first attempt at mascara (without a mirror), she also managed to pour out a bottle of astringent onto the carpet, rub mommy's face lotion all over her cheeks, and put deodorant and lip gloss on. She knew she was in trouble, but I think she was still happy with her beauty treatment (until she looked in the mirror and saw the mascara--we should have taken a picture of that face!).

I hope the camera attention doesn't reinforce the behavior--how do you not capture a moment like this? Here's Millie's explanation of what she did, and her apologies to mommy:

A Housewife's Version of Being Spoiled

For Mother's Day, Paul pampered me all week long! But the best part was on Saturday. He informed me that it was MY day! He woke up early with the kids and let me sleep in a little. He changed all the diapers (I think), fed the girls, and let me just take off shopping for as long as I wanted.

It was exhilarating! I think I made it into 7 stores, and probably spent too much (but come on, do you think I bought a lot of stuff for myself? I'm a mom!). I saw all these men trying to figure out what to buy for their wives/mothers, and I kept thinking to myself, "Paul really has this one figured out." But I never would have guessed a few years ago, that I'd be SO happy to just go shopping alone.

Then when I came home, he took care of the girls while I planted flowers in pots and hanging baskets. It was so much fun! But then I started to feel neglectful and guilty. Paul reassured me that it was fine and that he just loved taking care of the girls. Afterward, he told me how that day made him appreciate all that I do even more. I loved hearing that! What a great husband I have. I love and adore him so much! I can't wait to spoil him for Father's Day.

Bad Luck Mothering

I've realized after writing the "Tribute to Miss Grace" that I broke the number 1 rule of parenting:

If your child is good and easy and patient, DON'T admit it to anyone! And certainly don't publish it on your blog for the whole world to read.

This week, Gracie has had a sudden change in disposition. I hope she's just teething. I mentioned that she has found her voice and knows how to use it. Well, that is an understatement now. I can hardly leave her sight for 5 seconds without hearing all about it from her. And when she wants something, she will grunt and moan and scream until we can figure out what it is. I guess this is normal!

A Tribute to "Miss Grace"

She doesn't get as much attention on this blog as her older sister, so it's about time that we have a post just for her.

This little girl absolutely fits her name. She...

• smiles all day long
• waits patiently for everything
  
• loves to laugh
  
• has found her voice and knows how to use it!
• loves to swing, even when Millie is pushing her
  
• loves to go in the stroller, even if it means waiting to eat
• has cheeks that most babies only dream of having, and every parent loves to kiss
• and has blessed our lives more than we could have ever imagined