Birthday Again???

Another year of getting older... Yikes, it was my birthday. This is going to be a short post, but I just wanted to thank everyone for making my day so special. Thank you so much for the calls, emails and gifts. I feel so blessed to have such great friends and family. You guys are the best and I love you all.
Blaine and I got to go out on a date for my birthday. It's been about eight months since we've actually gone out on a date. It was kind of weird because all we could really talk about was Emi. But, it was so nice to not have to worry about her and have her yelling for food. I had a great day and I just want to thank everyone for making my day so special.

Here'a little Emi update. Emi started walking!!! She started walking on July 4th, and literally, she just stood up and started walking to Blaine. Now, she moves all over the house. She is so funny because everytime you ask her a question, she always says, 'YEAH!'. She doesn't know what you are saying, but any question you ask her, she'll reply back and say 'YEAH!' Anyways, she is our little entertainer and cracks us up.

This is the beautiful cake that Shawna got for me. It was a perfect gift because we forgot to get a cake anyway. Thank you so much!!! We all love you!

Trip to Utah

So, we're in Park City, Utah with my family right now, enjoying the cool weather up in the mountains. My sister is at BYU right now doing the SOAR program. The weather is so nice in Utah, I love the summers in Utah. We have been enjoying the weather and taking advantage of the pool and jacuzzi. It's been nice visiting the old sites and seeing how much things have changed in the last year and a half since I've been back.
We had the opportunity to go to This is the Place Heritage Park. This is the place where Brigham Young pointed and chose Salt Lake to be the place that they were going to settle. Of all the years that I have lived in Utah, I have never heard of this place, so it was fun to visit. It was a really cool place and reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg, VA because they have little villages set up in the 1800s, but the only difference is that there's Mormon history associated with the village. It's a good place to take your kids and Emi had so much fun.

In front of the Pioneer Family Statue. I wish they had this in a smaller version, so that I could buy it.


In front of the This is the Place Monument.


Grandpa and Emi riding on the train at Heritage Park.


My Mom churning butter at Brigham Young's Farmhouse. She would not survive one day living the pioneer life. The bread and butter that they gave us to eat was really good though.


Me pulling this heavy handcart. Notice that I have nothing in it and I'm already struggling.


Emi in the covered wagon ride and then at the petting barn.



Finally, us swimming in Park City.

Back Home in HOT HOT AZ

I'm back home! It feels like it's been a while, it HAS been a while. You know that you have been gone for a while when you forget your address. Thank goodness for those American Express credit cards that make you type in your zip code when you buy something.
While I was gone, I guess they had a huge wildfire a couple of miles from our house. Blaine told me about it really late at night, but he didn't seem concerned. Then my cousin called me in Tennessee and asked if I needed a place to stay. So then, I started freaking out because I thought that my house was about to burn down, so then I check the AZ news and see this fire headlining the news. I then rush to call Blaine and of course, he is not bothered by it at all. If our house was burning, I wonder if he would ever lose his cool. Probably not, he would say something like... "oh well, that's life." oh geez... Anyways, I'm glad to return home and see it just how I left it. Still standing...

I was sad to leave my family in Tennesee, but I'll see them next week as we head to Utah for a little family vacation and meet up with my Dad since he is in Washington for right now.
It's kind of hard to come back to this hot hot nasty weather when Tennesee is so beautiful in June. Emi loves to go outside and we did a lot in TN, but now I dread going outside, but we still do and come back sweaty and with pink cheeks.
Anyways, here's some pictures of the trip.

Emi loved this little wagon which was my sister's years ago. By the way, my daughter is almost 14 months and still cannot walk. Oh geez...


Grandma and Emi at the zoo. She loved the zoo and was so excited to see every animal. She is definitely transitioning from the baby stage to the toddler stage and is so much fun.


For some reason, Emi loved this ugly otter (I think otter). Kids love the strangest things. I didn't want that, so we got her a cute giraffe instead. I don't know if she likes it... oh well.


Emi and her best friend Piko riding in the wagon. This poor dog was abused by my daughter, but he was so good with her and let her grab him and lie on him like a pillow. Poor dog...