Quote of the day-

Maylee was sitting on the chair with a shiny pink necklace hanging around her neck.
Me:  "Are you a princess?"
Maylee: "No...girl!"

Oh, right!  I need to remind her she is both! :)

Out and about

 A couple of days ago, the girls and I hit up the Children's Museum.  I was a little nervous to go ALL by MYSELF with BOTH girls to such a crazy place, but it ended up being a fabulous outing!  Brooklyn was great and chilled in the Baby Bjorn and Maylee had a blast playing.  The favorites of the trip were the art center, shopping carts, and the bikes...  She seemed to choose the biggest trike there to try and ride!  She did it, but I don't think the kids that had to wait behind her were the happiest. :)

Dressed in White

On Aug. 7th, we blessed our sweet little Brooklyn.  We are so happy that we were able to share her special day with family.  Jeff went to his early morning meetings, so I woke up earlier than normal to make sure we would get there in time.  Apparently it wasn't early enough and I even had Kim helping me!  We were racing to the church and still weren't there at 9 o'clock.  We finally arrived during the opening hymn, being the last ones there from our families!

Brooklyn looked darling and was so peaceful during the blessing.  She had wide eyes through the whole blessing and the people in the front rows said she even cracked a smile when Jeff held her up!  Sweet Brooklyn!  We sure love this little girl!

Pay It Forward

I'm not such a fan of grocery shopping.  I don't really love the experience of pushing a basket around with Brooklyn taking up half the basket because her car seat doesn't sit on the handle bar and Maylee going from the basket, to walking, to the seat, to walking... all while paying attention to my list of things we need and things on sale and what coupons I need to use.

Today wasn't particularly a bad grocery shopping day, but but I was still grateful when we were ready to hop in the check out lane.  I noticed one woman was almost finished unloading her cart, so I dashed in line behind her.  As I began putting my groceries on the checkout stand I noticed the lady talking to the cashier.  And then she stayed there once her groceries were all bagged.  

The sweet woman then came up to me and said she wanted to buy my groceries but to remember it was from the Lord.  I told her that was sweet but she really didn't need to do it, but she insisted and kept reminding me it was not from her but from the Lord.  

I was touched.  I know I will never forget the day when a sweet lady bought my groceries.  I feel kind-of bad in a way- sure we try really hard to save money but we definitely weren't down to our last dollars.  So it is not the kind of story you hear where the family doesn't have enough money to buy groceries but then someone brings them food or buys them groceries.  But it is a story of love and service.  

This woman brightened my day.  I saw the light of our Savior in her eyes.  She was a great example to me of how we can serve one another and be more Christlike.  Now there is only one thing for me to do- pay it forward.      

Quiet book is finished (for now anyway!)

While being pregnant with Brooklyn I started making a quiet book.  I figured we could use any kind of help to keep Maylee busy and reverent during church, especially since we would have a new little one as well.  It was finished right before going to church with both girls (thanks to some help from Grandma and Grammie!)  I love the way it turned out and it helped me work on my sewing skills that I so lack!  It is far from perfect, but serves its purpose.  She can play with the farm puppets, button on flowers, drive cars, fix hair and create faces, match shapes and colors, and get all dolled up with things found in a purse.  Maylee's favorite page is probably a tie between the page with cars and the purse full of "girlie" things.

Our little retreat

The end of July, we finally had the chance to escape from the day to day chores, work, and the intense Arizona heat! We were so ready for a chance to get away. Jeff worked a half day on Tuesday, July 27th, and we hit the road for St. George. We left Phoenix around 3 pm and didn't arrive in St. George until 1 AM! Yes- one in the morning! The days of the 6 hour drive are over! Yikes! The extra hours were added due to rainstorms and a little Brooklyn who decided she didn't want to eat from a bottle. :) Besides that, the girls were actually GREAT in the car!

We hung out in St. George for most of the day and then headed up to the cabin during nap time. The drive through Cedar Canyon is amazing!

We had a lot of rain while at the cabin, but it was a welcomed change. There is something about hearing the pitter-patter of rain hit the metal roof.
Between storms we had the chance to go on lots of   4 wheeler rides (which Maylee LOVED!!  Plus- don't you just LOVE the accessories- the helmet for safety, the sunglasses to keep bugs out of her eyes!),

 

swing,

fish,

throw rocks in the water,

walk to the creek,

and just chill!

Jeff and I even celebrated our 6 year anniversary while up there!

We had a great time.  And to top it off, the girls were fabulous when we drove home on Sunday (thank heavens for portable DVD players and driving during nap time!

bookworm

Maylee completed her first library summer reading program and got lots of cool prizes!  She was mighty proud of herself.  Reading the 30 books was a piece of cake and now we have a new book to read plus a ticket to go watch those D-backs!