The Boulder

We went with some of Sam's family down to Boulder mountain over the 24th for some camping, fishing & 4-wheeling. I was a little apprehensive to see how Hollie would do, but my fears were completely unfounded. She absolutely had a ball! It was so fun to watch her play in the dirt & explore a whole new world.


Hollie & Kelden both loved having a little playmate (even though they missed you, Jackson, Annie & Will!). They're only 4 months apart, so there were some non-sharing moments, but they played great together for the most part.

Here fishy, fishy...

In case you didn't know, Hollie is obsessed with animals. Obsessed. The only thing is, all animals are named Snoopy (after our dog). Hollie LOVED all the fishy "Soopies" up at Boulder. This first shot is of her trying to give one of them a kiss. *Mmmuaaahh* The second is of her playing with her friend the squirmy little worm (I know, Cassie, you're probably dying!). She thought they were awesome! Thankfully, she did not try to kiss the worm. Yuck!

Boulder slide

Cherry Hills

I am finally trying to post all of the summer craziness that we've had this year. I will hopefully have them all up before we go on our next 2 trips. Sheesh! This summer has been nuts! Anyway, my Dad's family has their reunion every year at the Cherry Hills campground. This year, Sam & I decided to stay the night with my 2 brothers & their families. Hollie thought our tent was the coolest thing ever! We all had a ball playing in the water park & just being together.

Tag

I was tagged a couple weeks ago by the fabulous Cassie (also known as wife to Tim & mother to Alyssa). Anyway, here goes...

8 Things I Love/Am Passionate about:
Hollie
Sam
My religion
Photography
My home
Family
Snowbird
Friends

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
Go skydiving
Go scuba diving
Swim with dolphins
Go to Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio
Travel, travel, travel - Egypt, Italy, Hawaii, New York & another cruise to the Bahamas
Move to Daybreak (we've been in love w/DB since the first phase & it keeps getting better & better)
Be in the temple with all of my children
Go on a mission with Sam

8 Phrases or Words I Say Often:
Can I have a kiss?
I don't think so, Dave.
Oohhh, I love you!
Seriously?
Hollie Paige! (in a stern, reprimanding voice)
What the crap, man!
How's my princess?
Coolio (Scrubs fans, you should know this one)

8 Books I've Read & Enjoyed:
Les Miserable
Anything Stephenie Meyer - Twilight series & The Host
Watchers
Odd Thomas (and sequels)
Ender's Game (and sequels)
Pride & Prejudice
The Book of Mormon
Goose Girl
Uglies
Christy
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
All of Hollie's books, but especially Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon & The Thingumajig Book of Manners
I think that was way more than 8. Oh, well. I like to read, what can I say.

I also had to add books that I detest -
Jane Eyre & Little Dorrit (Miss Cassie Stanfield Campbell, if you're reading this, I know you feel my pain, too.)

8 Things I've Learned or Remembered This Past Year:
There is nothing more wonderful or challenging than raising children
I have a deep passion for photography. I can't imagine my life without the joy of capturing beautiful moments.
It is possible to do 15 things at one time.
I am in love with vampires.
My heart can literally melt with just one smile from a little blue-eyed doll.
Picking up the same room 8 times a day can nearly drive you to drinking.
LOST is the greatest tv series, ever!
Life goes by too fast. If you blink, you'll miss it.

8 People I Want To Tag:
Erin
Mom
Tammy
Mandy
Jen R.
Shannon
Cassie C.
Tiffany

Cherish.

I have very vivid memories from my childhood of my mother kneeling by the living room couch. Now I know why she was there. She was praying for us. I know because this morning I felt the call of my own living room couch. As I was speaking with my Heavenly Father, I felt this tiny body climb up on the couch & put her face right by mine. When she saw that I was crying, she patted my cheek & gave me a kiss. Oh, how I love her. I only hope & pray that I can be all that she deserves. I know that having a toddler will be nothing compared to the school years. Then those will be nothing to having a teenager. Then, when she's grown, I know that I will wish to have every single moment back. So, for now, I'm going to do my best, learn all I can, and rely on my Savior. Because I know I won't be able to have those little arms around my neck forever and I don't want to miss a single minute.

I love you my little peanut. Thank you for being mine.

P.S. To my amazing friends & family, thank you all for your kind words, wise advice, and most of all inspiring examples. I appreciate every last one of you.

Untitled.

We just got back from our trip yesterday. It was wonderful & relaxing & everything I had hoped for. I took tons of pictures & can't wait to post them all. We really had an amazing time. Unfortunately, that's not what this post is about. This post is a cry for help. I realized something while I was gone - I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing as a mother.

I just don't know what to do with Hollie. She screams when I put her in the car. She screams when I pull her out. She screams when I change her diaper. She screams when I wipe her face. She screams when I won't let her play in the toilet. She just screams. Literally, every time I guide or direct her behavior. Every. Time. I know I must not be meeting her needs, but I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I just don't know how to help her.

I really think this transition into toddlerhood is going to kill me. Hollie was an easy baby. Really easy. I never felt sleep-deprived or overwhelmed. Never. Not once. I had this sweet little angel & every moment was cherished. It seems like overnight, however, she has turned into a monster that I want to beat on a daily basis. I hate to admit that. I hate it. I feel so helpless. Especially because she communicates 6-8 months ahead of her age. She's using full sentences, for pete's sake! She shouldn't be screaming. She knows how to tell me what she wants, but chooses not to. She's smart & stubborn & ridiculously independent. Which, apparently, is a wicked combination.

So, my plea to the blogging world is please help me. How do I get her to stop screaming? Any ideas? Books? Any anything?

P.S. Here is a little preview from the Bird. She looks like a little darling here, doesn't she? Don't be fooled. Thankfully these moments do still come, few and far between although they may be.

Uglies?

I need help from my lovely friends. Has anyone read the Uglies series? I really want to read it while I'm up at Snowbird. Is it good? Worth buying? Let me know!

No way!

I decided to take this quiz & answer completely honestly (you know, not trying to manipulate the results or anything). I was so excited when this came up! For those who don't know, Ariel is my absolute favorite Disney princess & Little Mermaid is my long-standing favorite movie of all time. Anyway, I had to share. :O)

You Are Ariel!

Headstrong and fiesty. You have a mind of your own that's full of romantic dreams about the world around you. Exploring exotic places is your ultimate dream, and although you can be a little naive you'll realize that there is something to be gained from your family's wisdom.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Zoom, zoom

It has been a crazy whirl-wind summer! I can't even believe it's July! July, really? Between sessions, work, lagoon, wheeler farm & cherry hill, I have had zero time to blog. And now we're getting ready to go on our next adventure...Snowbird! We leave on Saturday & I can hardly contain myself! I fully intend to lay by the pool 8 hours a day, read, hike, scrapbook with Tammy, play games, take Hollie to the park, & not worry about one dang thing. I was this-close to lugging my computer along. This close. But I know I would spend the whole week editing, or feeling guilty about not editing. So, it's staying home! It gives me slight panic attacks to think about not being on my computer for a whole week, but it will be a much-needed break.

I would love to post all of the summer goodness from the above-stated activities, but I must get to work. So, for now, here are a few from Hollie's first day in Nursery (can you believe she's 18 months!?). Which, she loved, by the way. Not a single look back. Zero tears. Didn't even notice we were gone. I'm told it's better than hysterical fits, but I'm not convinced. ;O) I will admit, however, our darling sunbeam class goes much smoother without the 1-year-old addition. And Hollie is much happier now in her own class. Her teacher says she's doing great, other than the fact that she is a climber. Sorry, Brother Brochinsky. We're working on that. I can't stop myself from peeking in there every 5 minutes, though. I love watching her interact. She's growing up way too fast, but I love watching the process.


This is Hollie doing the actions to "I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee..." She was really excited to learn a new song.